Review
Ten years ago, Henry Plotkin wrote The Nature of Knowledge, a popular science book which was concerned with exploring and explaining adaptations, instinct and the evolution of human intelligence. Since then he has repeatedly returned to this, and similar, themes, using works such as Evolution in Mind and Darwin Machines to explore the roles of nature, nurture and evolution on the human psyche. Here he continues his thesis, broadening the depth and scope of his studies to include recent work on genetics and the human genome project. Plotkin writes with purpose and focus, weaving together topics such as the theory of mind, imitation, behavioural ecology and memetics (the study of cultural analogues of genes). The ideas he deals with are complex, yet he doesn't pull his punches or simplify his arguments. Readers who enjoyed Matt Ridley's Nature Via Nurture will find this a similarly engaging and intriguing book. Seen in context, it is not so much a stand-alone volume as another chapter in an ever-expanding body of work. The Imagined World takes us one step closer to Plotkin's ultimate aim of developing a 'natural science of culture', which will pull together psychology, anthropology and biology, rather than continuing to see them as separate and unrelated sciences. (Kirkus UK)
Product Description
Can the insights of science provide a proper understanding of human culture, or must the analysis of culture be left to the so-called human sciences - anthropology, psychology, or sociology? "The Imagined World Made Real" is an attempt to marry the human and biological sciences, bridging the gulf between these various disciplines. The theory of evolution provides the bridge. The text can be used as an introduction to evolutionary theory and its analysis of human nature, offering a unified approach to the natural and human sciences.
