The recursive mind : the origins of human language, thought, and civilization / with a new foreword by the author Michael C. Corballis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Corballis, Michael C., author.

Contributor:

Corballis, Michael C.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Evolutionary psychology.

Language and languages--Origin.

Language and languages.

Thought and thinking.

Cognition and culture.

Human evolution.

Brain--Evolution.

Brain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (304 p.)

Edition:

Updated edition with a New Foreword

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Recursive Mind challenges the commonly held notion that language is what makes us uniquely human. In this compelling book, Michael Corballis argues that what distinguishes us in the animal kingdom is our capacity for recursion: the ability to embed our thoughts within other thoughts. "I think, therefore I am," is an example of recursive thought, because the thinker has inserted himself into his thought. Recursion enables us to conceive of our own minds and the minds of others. It also gives us the power of mental "time travel"--the ability to insert past experiences, or imagined future ones, into present consciousness. Drawing on neuroscience, psychology, animal behavior, anthropology, and archaeology, Corballis demonstrates how these recursive structures led to the emergence of language and speech, which ultimately enabled us to share our thoughts, plan with others, and reshape our environment to better reflect our creative imaginations. He shows how the recursive mind was critical to survival in the harsh conditions of the Pleistocene epoch, and how it evolved to foster social cohesion. He traces how language itself adapted to recursive thinking, first through manual gestures, then later, with the emergence of Homo sapiens, vocally. Toolmaking and manufacture arose, and the application of recursive principles to these activities in turn led to the complexities of human civilization, the extinction of fellow large-brained hominins like the Neandertals, and our species' supremacy over the physical world. Some images inside the book are unavailable due to digital copyright restrictions.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Foreword to the Paperback Edition

Preface

Chapter 1. What Is Recursion?

Part 1

Language

Chapter 2. Language and Recursion

Chapter 3. Do Animals Have Language?

Chapter 4. How Language Evolved from Hand to Mouth

Part 2

Mental Time Travel

Chapter 5. Reliving the Past

Chapter 6. About Time

Chapter 7. The Grammar of Time

Part 3

Theory of Mind

Chapter 8. Mind Reading

Chapter 9. Language and Mind

Part 4

Human Evolution

Chapter 10. The Recurring Question

Chapter 11. Becoming Human

Chapter 12. Becoming Modern

Chapter 13. Final Thoughts

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

0691160945

ISBN:

9786613088840

9781400851492

1400851491

9781283088848

1283088843

9781400838332

1400838339

OCLC:

721194567