How history made the mind : the cultural origins of objective thinking / David Martel Johnson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Johnson, David Martel.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Knowledge, Theory of.

Objectivity.

Philosophical anthropology.

Physical Description:

xi, 227 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Chicago, Ill. : Open Court, [2003]

Summary:

Import Text Use this feature to import existing text from another title. Key Notes The author defends his astonishing claim that the mind arose from culture not biology. The book argues that the mind is anti-natural Description How History Made the Mind, David Martel Johnson argues that what we now think of as "reason" or "objective thinking" is not a n product of the existence of an enlarged brain or culmination of innate biological tendencies. Rather, it is a way of learning to use t brain that runs counter to the natural characteristics involved in being an animal, a mammal, and a primate. Johnson defends his theory of mind as a cultural artifact against objections, and uses it to question a number of currently fashionable positions in philosophy of mind, known theories of Julian Jaynes, which Johnson argues go too far in the direction of emphasizing the dissimilarities between ancient and modern ways of thinking.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Humans Are Cultural as well as Physical Animals 1

2 Two Forms of Naturalism: Ancient and Modern 41

3 Mind As a Product of the Greek Revolution 87

4 Reintroducing the Mind into Nature 131

5 A Short, Speculative History of Reason 173.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-219) and index.

ISBN:

0812695364

OCLC:

52720651