The Human Place in Nature

This book explores a new approach to understanding the evolution of mind and consciousness by examining the perceptual abilities of animals and the way they experience their world. It offers a science-based bottom-up approach to our own conscious worldview by seeing it through the eyes of others. Emphasis is on the role of context in evolution and the way animals internalize and engage with the contextual properties of their world that are meaningful for them. The core argument is that a context, which is subjective and comprised of the perceptual capacities, offers new insights into the evolution of mind. Rather than seeing biological evolution in terms of the emergence of mindless forms and cultural evolution as the emergence of disembodied minds, the book seeks to integrate these two perspectives through the rigorous mapping of contexts.

Key Features

Reveals an understanding of animal minds

Formulates a hypothesis for the evolution of consciousness

Includes a discussion of the origin of technological innovation

Provides a rationale for the ecology of mind

Proposes a theory of the evolution of language

Outlines the science of experience and how it influences choice

Explains the role of context and choice with respect especially to human ecology