Join Amazon Prime and get unlimited Free One-Day Delivery. Already a member? Sign in.

Quantity:

More Buying Choices

21 used & new from �6.81

Have one to sell? Sell yours here

A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness (Paperback)

by M Donald (Author) "Many books have been written on the subject of consciousness, and at least as many on human evolution ..." (more)

4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

RRP:	�13.50
Price:	�12.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
You Save:	�0.51 (4%)
	o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o

In stock.
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want guaranteed delivery by Saturday, July 18? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

14 new from �7.50 7 used from �6.81

Other Editions:	RRP:	Our Price:	Other Offers:
Hardcover			10 used & new from �9.43

Frequently Bought Together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain

by TW Deacon

4.6 out of 5 stars (12)

The Cultural Origins of Human Cognition

by M Tomasello

�17.05

Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition

by M Donald

�18.00

Acts of Meaning (Jerusalem-Harvard Lectures)

by J Bruner

�14.20

SPSS Survival Manual: A Step by Step Guide to Data Analysis Using SPSS for Windows (Version 15)

by Julie Pallant

4.3 out of 5 stars (15) �24.64

› Explore similar items

Product details

Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.; New edition edition (7 Aug 2002)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0393323196
ISBN-13: 978-0393323191
Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14.1 x 2.4 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 163,159 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Popular in these categories:

#21 in	Books > Scientific, Technical & Medical > Biology > Human Biology > Evolution
#49 in	Books > Health, Family & Lifestyle > Psychology & Psychiatry > Schools of Thought > Evolutionary Psychology
#59 in	Books > Science & Nature > Biological Sciences > Evolution > Human

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links

(What is this?)

Conscious Videos

www.consciousmedianetwork.com Free video interviews with leading thinkers in science & consciousness

Evolution is a lie

www.prophecyandtruth.com What does science evidence prove? Is evolution in the bible?

Evolution & Spirituality

www.EnlightenNext.org/evolution Free articles & audios exploring a spiritual perspective on evolution.

Product Description

Product Description
Drawing on his theory of the origins of the modern mind, Merlin Donald's thesis presents the forces, both cultural and neuronal, that power our distinctively human modes of awareness. Donald proposes that the human mind is a hybrid product of interweaving a supercomplex form of matter (the brain) with an invisible symbolic web (culture) to form a "distributed" cognitive network. This hybrid mind, Donald suggests, is our main evolutionary advantage, for it allowed humanity as a species to break free of the limitations of the mammalian brain.

About the Author
MERLIN DONALD is a professor in the Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada.

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
Many books have been written on the subject of consciousness, and at least as many on human evolution. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

merlin donald

cognitive science

cognitive psychology

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	85% buy the item featured on this page: A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness 4.0 out of 5 stars (1) �12.99
	15% buy Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain 4.6 out of 5 stars (12)

Explore similar items

Customer Reviews

1 Review

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A mind so limitless, 18 Jan 2002

By	Gunnar Odhner (Kil Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness (Hardcover)

What is human conscience? How did it develop? What is language? In what part of evolution did language first exist? These are questions that Merlin Donald deals with in his book A mind so Rare.
The first chapters are devoted to a criticism of the Hardliners, people like Steven Pinker, Jackendoff, Noam Chomsky and others who think that language can be explained as a solely innate process. Merlin Donald gives lots of examples - among them Helen Keller - of how this might not be true. Language must be consciously aquired, and this can be done in many ways. Thus he argues that conscience is a prerequisite of language.
His book is the first one I have read where the vast, seemingly fathomless possibilities of the human mind are explored. Contrary to Steven Pinker, who wants to narrow down language to a common brain-base for all of mankind, Donald shows that our possibilities of symbolic expression are virtually without limits.
His conclusion is that language has been aquired from the outside and in, that it's not an innate process but a cultural one. It developed from acting, body-language, sounds and other primitive means of communication within hunting and food-gathering groups, he claims.
But is this an explanation? Body language is also a form of language, pointing has to be learned consciously as Wittgenstein has shown (to point might mean: look in the other direction, or anything at all). It seems that Donald is saying that language is a prerequisite of language. He has to explain how language taken in a wider context including body language could arise in the first place. He has to show how you can be conscious (if consciousness precedes language) without knowing that you are conscious, that is without having some sort of language.
My guess is that both Hardliners and those speaking in behalf of deep enculturation like Donald are wrong and that language (some sort of symbols) and conscience arose simultaneously. When you study language you are already enveloped in language and can never go back to the beginning, something that strongly advocates my view. You are in chains when you try to find out what chains are, which makes it impossible to do so.
Donald's book is nevertheless very interesting. His attempts to smother Hardliners are very convincing and therefore worth every bit of praise that they can get.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all customer reviews...

.jsOffDisplayBlock { display: block; } .jsOffDisplayInline { display: inline; } .jsOffVisibility { visibility: visible; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayNoneBlock { display: block; } .jsOnDisplayNoneInline { display: inline; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; } .jsOnDisplayBlock { display: none; } .jsOnDisplayInline { display: none; } .jsOnVisibility { visibility: hidden; }

Customer Discussions

Beta (What's this?)

This product's forum (0 discussions)

	Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
	No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight

Start a new discussion

Topic:

First post:

Prompts for sign-in

[Cancel]

Guidelines

Active discussions in related forums

	Discussion	Replies	Latest Post
	politics Can anybody recommend a book on Thatcher's impact on Britain's international standing?	5	13 days ago

Related forums

politics (2 discussions)

Listmania!

Popular science books recommended by (some) scientists: A list by pb
What's it all about?: A list by Sukha
Best Popular Science for the non-scientist: A list by T. Bobley "Tibley Bobley"

Create a Listmania! list

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.

The Development of the Mediated...

This is a festschrift for Katherine Nelson, an NYU professor who was a... Read more
£40.80

›Find similar items

More From Merlin Donald

Origins of the Modern Mind: Three...

This bold book asks the ultimate question of the life sciences: How... Read more
£18.00

Up to 53% off Braun Series Shavers

Braun Series 3 390cc Clean & Renew System Rechargeable Foil Electric Shaver

Get in touch with your smooth side with Braun Series shavers, now with Gillette blade technology.

›Discover Braun Series at Amazon.co.uk

Treat Someone

With an Amazon.co.uk Gift Certificate, you can get them what they want (even if you don't know what that is).

›Learn more about Gift Certificates

Where's My Stuff?

track your recent orders
view or change your orders in Your Account

Delivery and Returns

see our delivery rates and policies
thinking of returning an item? (See our Returns Policy)

Need Help?

Forgot your password?
Buy Gift Certificates.
still have questions? Visit our Help Pages

Your Recent History

(What's this?)

You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue Shopping: Top Sellers

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

4.5 out of 5 stars (76)�3.86

Breaking Dawn (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer

4.1 out of 5 stars (468)�6.49

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

4.1 out of 5 stars (170)�3.99

Eclipse (Twilight Saga) by Stephenie Meyer

4.4 out of 5 stars (222)�3.84


Amazon Home

International Sites: United States \| Germany \| France \| Japan \| Canada \| China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon \| Fulfilment by Amazon \| Join Associates \| Join Advantage

Customer Service \| Help \| View Basket \| Your Account

About Amazon.co.uk \| Careers at Amazon


Amazon Home

International Sites: United States \| Germany \| France \| Japan \| Canada \| China

Business Programs: Sell on Amazon \| Fulfilment by Amazon \| Join Associates \| Join Advantage

Customer Service \| Help \| View Basket \| Your Account

About Amazon.co.uk \| Careers at Amazon