Figments of Reality: The Evolution of the Curious Mind

by Ian Stewart , Jack Cohen

• ISBN13: 9780521663830
• ISBN10: 0521663830
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-28
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Peppered with wit and controversial topics, this is a refreshing new look at the co-evolution of mind and culture. Bestselling authors Ian Stewart and Jack Cohen (The Collapse of Chaos, 1994) eloquently argue that our minds evolved within an inextricable link with culture and language. They go beyond conventional views of the function and purpose of the mind to look at the ways that the mind is the response of an evolving brain that is constantly adjusting to a complex environment. Along the way they develop new and intriguing insights into the nature of evolution, science, and humanity that will challenge conventional views on consciousness. The esteemed authors tantalize the reader with these bold new outlooks while putting a revolutionary spin on such classic philosophical problems as the nature of free will and the essence of humanity. This clearly written and enjoyable book will inspire any educated reader to critically evaluate the existing notions of the nature of the human mind.

Author Biography

Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, UK, and Professor of Mathematics at the Royal Institution of Great Britain. In 1995 he was awarded the Royal Society Michael Faraday medal. Jack Cohen is an internationally known reproductive biologist who was a university teacher for thirty years and has published nearly a hundred research papers. He acts as a consultant to top science fiction writers and frequently appears on radio and television.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Figure Acknowledgements	xiii
Prologue	1	(4)
The Origins of Life	5	(28)
The Reductionist Nightmare	33	(30)
Ant Country	63	(14)
Winning Ways	77	(32)
Universals and Parochials	109	(26)
Neural Nests	135	(30)
Features Great and Small	165	(28)
What is it Like to be a Human?	193	(34)
We Wanted to Have a Chapter on Free Will, but We Decided not to, so Here It Is	227	(16)
Extelligence	243	(28)
Simplex, Complex, Multiplex	271	(30)
Epilogue	301	(4)
Notes	305	(8)
Further Reading	313	(4)
Index	317