About this Item
Hardcover; light fading, light shelf wear to exterior; otherwise in very good condition with clean text, firm binding. Dust jacket, light fading, light shelf wear. Seller Inventory # 13040
Bibliographic Details
Title: The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of ...
Publisher: Norton
Publication Date: 1997
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: UsedVeryGood
Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
About this title
What separates humans from animals, Deacon writes, is our capacity for symbolic representation. Animals can easily learn to link a sound with an object or an effect with a cause. But symbolic thinking assumes the ability to associate things that might only rarely have a physical correlation; think of the word "unicorn," for instance, or the idea of the future. Language is only the outward expression of this symbolic ability, which lays the foundation for everything from human laughter to our compulsive search for meaning.
The final section of The Symbolic Species posits that human brains and human language have coevolved over millions of years, leading Deacon to the remarkable conclusion that many modern human traits were actually caused by ideas. Deacon's background in biological anthropology and neuroscience makes him a reliable companion through this complicated multidisciplinary turf. Rigorously researched and argued in dense but lively prose, The Symbolic Species is that rare animal, a book of serious science that's accessible to layman and scientist alike.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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