Origins of the Modern Mind: Three Stages in the Evolution of Culture and Cognition [Paperback]

This bold and brilliant book asks the ultimate question of the life sciences: How did the human mind acquire its incomparable power? In seeking the answer, Merlin Donald traces the evolution of human culture and cognition from primitive apes to artificial intelligence, presenting an enterprising and original theory of how the human mind evolved from its presymbolic form.Origins of the Modern Mind is an admirable book& Its author displays throughout an engaging enthusiasm, a fertile imagination and an impressive knowledge of his subject-matter.A fine, provocative and absorbing account of what makes humans human.Nowadays one hears&that hand-held calculators destroy young peoples motivation to learn arithmetic. But not to worry, says Merlin Donald, author of this revelatory but demanding history of human consciousness. He welcomes the computer, as well as other forms of electronic storage and manipulation of data and images, including TV, as the highest stage of mental developmentand perhaps the final one.A wonderful book that deserves to be read by everyone interested in the human mind. It weaves together the best available evidence into a convincing theory of cognition, culture, consciousness, and communicationtheir structure, evolution, meaning, and future.A radically different evolutionary framework for the understanding of mind and behavior: I dont know when I have enjoyed reading a book more, or when I have learned so much from one.This bold and brilliant book asks the ultimate question of the life sciences: How did the human mind acquire its incomparable power? In seeking the answer, Donald traces the evolution of human culture and cognition from primitive apes to A.I., presenting an enterprising and original theory of how the human mind evolved from its presymbolic form.