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The symbolic species: the co-evolution of language and the brain
Abstract
This revolutionary book provides fresh answers to long-standing questions of human origins and consciousness. Drawing on his breakthrough research in comparative neuroscience, Terrence Deacon offers a wealth of insights into the significance of symbolic thinking: from the co-evolutionary exchange between language and brains over two million years of hominid evolution to the ethical repercussions that followed man's newfound access to other people's thoughts and emotions. Informing these insights is a new understanding of how Darwinian processes underlie the brain's development and function as well as its evolution. In contrast to much contemporary neuroscience that treats the brain as no more or less than a computer, Deacon provides a new clarity of vision into the mechanism of mind. It injects a renewed sense of adventure into the experience of being human.
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Citations
Cited by
Wynter, S. (2003) · CR: The New Centennial Review · doi:10.1353/ncr.2004.0015 · Cited by 5,753
The revolution that wasn't: a new interpretation of the origin of modern human behavior
Mcbrearty, S., & Brooks, A. S. (2000) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1006/jhev.2000.0435 · Cited by 2,718
Building machines that learn and think like people
Lake, B. M., Ullman, T. D., Tenenbaum, J. B., & Gershman, S. J. (2017) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x16001837 · Cited by 2,550
Putting the Altruism Back into Altruism: The Evolution of Empathy
de Waal, F. B. M. (2008) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093625 · Cited by 2,483
The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel, and is it unique to humans?
Suddendorf, T., & Corballis, M. C. (2007) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x07001975 · Cited by 2,031
Metadata
- Venue
- Choice Reviews Online
- Publisher
- American Library Association
- Published
- 1997-11-01
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 03
- Pages
- 35-1500-35-1500
- ISSN
- 0009-4978 (ISSN-L)
- 1523-8253
- OpenAlex
- W2148300948
- Cited by
- 2,434
- References
- 0
- Type
- book review
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
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