Metazoa : animal life and the birth of the mind / Peter Godfrey-Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Godfrey-Smith, Peter, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Metazoa.

Consciousness.

Perception.

Evolution (Biology).

Physical Description:

x, 336 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 22 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020.

Summary:

"Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom--the Metazoa--they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds, the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus--the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments--eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment--shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness." -- Amazon.com

"A philosopher of science explains how the animal kingdom gave rise to human consciousness"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Protozoa

Down the Steps

Matter, Life, and Mind

The Gap

2. The Glass Sponge

Towers

Cell and Storm

The Taming of Charge

Metazoa

Light Through Glass

3. The Ascent Of Soft Coral

Ascent

In Search of the First Animal Actions

The Animal Path

Avalon to Nama

Traction

4. The One-Armed Shrimp

Maestro

The Cambrian

Animal Sensing

An Inquisitive Crab

Another Path

The Decorator

Goodbye

5. The Origin Of Subjects

Subjects, Agents, Selves

Qualia and Other Puzzles

Beyond the Senses

Night Dive

6. The Octopus

Rampage

When Cephalopods Ruled

Lines of Control

Octopus Watching

Octopus and Sharif

Integration and Experience

Down Among the Stars

7. Kingfish

Power

History of Fishes

Swim

The Presence of Water

Other Fish

Rhythms and Fields

River Riven

8. On Land

Hothouse

Leaders Once Again

Sense, Pain, Emotion

Varieties

Plant Life

9. Fins, Legs, Wings

Difficult Times

Our Branch of the Tree

The Roles of Land and Sea

10. Put Together By Degrees

1993 Elsewhere

By Degrees

Consequences

The Shape of Mind.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-319) and index.

ISBN:

9780374207946

0374207941

OCLC:

1158510266