How the Mind WorksIn this book the author, a cognitive scientist explains how the brain evolved to store and use information, allowing our ancestors to control their environment, and why we think and act as we do. He explains what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and ponder the mysteries of life. This work explains many of the imponderables of everyday life. Why does a face look more attractive with makeup? How do "Magic-Eye" 3-D stereograms work? Why do we feel that a run of heads makes the coin more likely to land tails? Why is the thought of eating worms disgusting? Why do men challenge each other to duels and murder their ex-wives? Why are children bratty? Why do fools fall in love? Why are we soothed by paintings and music? And why do puzzles like the self, free will, and consciousness leave us dizzy? The arguments in the book are as bold as its title. The author rehabilitates unfashionable ideas, such as that the mind is a computer and that human nature was shaped by natural selection. And he challenges fashionable ones, such as that passionate emotions are irrational, that parents socialize their children, that creativity springs from the unconscious, that nature is good and modern society corrupting, and that art and religion are expressions of our higher spiritual yearnings. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 93
Page 6
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 11
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 21
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 24
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Page 25
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Sorry, this page's content is restricted.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
adaptive ancestors animals autostereogram baby behavior believe biological body brain called child chimpanzees cognitive color complex computational theory concepts consciousness Cosmides cultures Daly Darwin Dawkins Dennett designed doomsday machine emotions evolution evolutionary evolutionary psychology evolved example explain face feel females foraging genes genetic goals homunculus human idea imagine innate input intelligence intuitive kind language learning living logic look machine male man’s mate memory mental mentalese mind modules mother natural selection neural neurons objects offspring one’s organisms parents pattern people’s person physical Pinker polygyny problem psychology reason reciprocal altruism representation retina robot savanna sense sentences sentience sexual shape siblings social species stereo stereo vision stereoblind stereogram surface symbols Symons theory theory of mind things thought tion Tooby Trivers vision visual field women words Yanomamo