by Marek Kohn
|
A Reason for Everything: Natural Selection and the English Imagination by Marek Kohn |
by Jonathan Littell
|
by Marek Kohn
|
Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness by Richard H Thaler |
See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.
|
Customers Viewing This Page May Be Interested in These Sponsored Links(What is this?) |
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
There is an assumption, often made but no truer for that, that the facts of evolutionary life are right-wing. One of the aims of this remarkable book on the development of intelligence among early humans is to knock that particular assumption on the head. For Kohn, one of the crucial facts about the evolution of humanity is that it took place among humans; genes are passed down individually, but we exist collectively. The two particular issues on which he concentrates--the making of flint hand axes, identical across a million years and three continents, and the formation of female coalitions through deceit or tact about fertility--are fascinating in themselves but best seen as examples of his overall theme. Those who know Kohn's work from his books on drug panics--Narcomaniaand Dope Girls--and his exemplary account of race, science and racism--The Race Gallery--or from his computer column in the Independent on Sunday will know his clarity of mind and expression. This is a book that says some new things and popularises some new ideas, but its precision of thought is its point and its chief merit. This is not only one of the best recent books on early humans--it is also the best-written. --Roz Kaveney
Product Description
An account of how the human mind evolved. Marek Kohn offers a theory of mind that suggests how our ancestors might have thought, and seen the world, in the absence of language, gods or culture. He relates that ancient heritage to our humanity, and examines the influence of our hominid past on our own behaviour, as creatures who speak, symbolize and create. Central to the book is a meditation on the handaxe, crafted again and again for hundreds of thousands of years by our proto-human ancestors. In his reconstruction of the uses and meanings of the handaxe, Kohn takes the reader into an alien world that is strangely close to our own. This is a work of sociobiology, in that it applies Darwinism to human culture. Unlike other works of "evolutionary psychology", it seeks to recapture Darwnism from the political right, and to show that a better understanding of our evolutionary history need not lead to an imposing of limits on who we are and what we may become.
There is an assumption, often made but no truer for that, that the facts of evolutionary life are right-wing. One of the aims of this remarkable book on the development of intelligence among early humans is to knock that particular assumption on the head. For Kohn, one of the crucial facts about the evolution of humanity is that it took place among humans; genes are passed down individually, but we exist collectively. The two particular issues on which he concentrates--the making of flint hand axes, identical across a million years and three continents, and the formation of female coalitions through deceit or tact about fertility--are fascinating in themselves but best seen as examples of his overall theme. Those who know Kohn's work from his books on drug panics--Narcomaniaand Dope Girls--and his exemplary account of race, science and racism--The Race Gallery--or from his computer column in the Independent on Sunday will know his clarity of mind and expression. This is a book that says some new things and popularises some new ideas, but its precision of thought is its point and its chief merit. This is not only one of the best recent books on early humans--it is also the best-written. --Roz Kaveney
Product Description
An account of how the human mind evolved. Marek Kohn offers a theory of mind that suggests how our ancestors might have thought, and seen the world, in the absence of language, gods or culture. He relates that ancient heritage to our humanity, and examines the influence of our hominid past on our own behaviour, as creatures who speak, symbolize and create. Central to the book is a meditation on the handaxe, crafted again and again for hundreds of thousands of years by our proto-human ancestors. In his reconstruction of the uses and meanings of the handaxe, Kohn takes the reader into an alien world that is strangely close to our own. This is a work of sociobiology, in that it applies Darwinism to human culture. Unlike other works of "evolutionary psychology", it seeks to recapture Darwnism from the political right, and to show that a better understanding of our evolutionary history need not lead to an imposing of limits on who we are and what we may become.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
A million years ago there were minds that may have been human, but not as we know it. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
A million years ago there were minds that may have been human, but not as we know it. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
|||||||||||
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
 |
Customer Discussions
Beta (What's this?)|
This product's forum
(0 discussions)
Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Active discussions in related forums
|
Related forums
|
|||||||||||||||||
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
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 Cambridge Encyclopedia of...
The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Evolution is a wide-ranging...
Read more
|
More From Marek Kohn
Trust: Self-Interest and the Common Good Trust - our belief in the truth or reliability of someone or...
Read more
|
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). |
||||||||
| |||||
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
| ||||
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 | |
| Conditions of Use & Sale | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. and its affiliates |