How Homo Became Sapiens On the Evolution of Thinking [Paperback]

Our ability to 'think' is really one of our most puzzling characteristics. What it would be like to be unable to think? What would it be like to lack self-awareness? The complexity of this activity is striking. 'Thinking' involves the interaction of a range of mental processes--attention, emotion, memory, planning, self-consciousness, free will, and language. So where did these processes arise? What evolutionary advantages were bestowed upon those with an ability to deceive, to plan, to empathize, or to understand the intention of others? In this compelling new work, Peter Gardenfors embarks on an evolutionary detective story to try and solve one of the big mysteries surrounding human existence--how has the modern human being's way of thinking come into existence. He starts by taking in turn the more basic cognitive processes, such as attention and memory, then builds upon these to explore more complex behaviors, such as self-consciousness, mindreading, and imitation. Having done this, he examines the consequences of putting thought into the world -i.e., using external media like cave paintings, drawings, and writing. Immensely readable and humorous, the book will be valuable for students in psychology and biology, and accessible to readers of popular science.

1. Thinking from an evolutionary perspective
1.1. The human family tree
1.2. Enter homo
1.3. What is to be explained: the components of thought
1.4. Four sources of empirical support
1.5. Early stages in the evolution of thought
1.6. Skinnerian beings
2. Sensation, perception and imagination
2.1. Sensations: being aware of the world
2.2. The art of aiming - why chimpanzees cannot throw darts
2.3. Perceptions: seeing the world
2.4. Categorical perception: sorting the world into boxes
2.5. Object permanence: the world outside our sensations
2.6. The art of chasing a mouse
2.7. Going between the senses
2.8. Causal reasoning: finding the invisible thrlÓE