A History of Bodies, Brains, and Minds: The Evolution of Life and Consciousness

Aboitiz, Francisco

  • 出版商: MIT
  • 出版日期: 2024-09-17
  • 售價: $2,340
  • 貴賓價: 9.5$2,223
  • 語言: 英文
  • 頁數: 360
  • 裝訂: Quality Paper - also called trade paper
  • ISBN: 0262049023
  • ISBN-13: 9780262049023
  • 無法訂購

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商品描述

A panoramic view of the evolution of life on our planet, from its origins to humanity's future.

In A History of Bodies, Brains, and Minds, Francisco Aboitiz provides a brief history of life, the brain, and cognition, from the earliest living beings to our own species. The author proceeds from the basic premise that, since evolution by natural selection is the process underlying the origin of life and its evolution on earth, the brain--and thus our minds--must also be the result of biological evolution. The aim of this book is to narrate how animal bodies came to be built with their nervous systems, and how our species evolved with culture, technology, language, and consciousness.

The book is organized in four parts, each delving into a different aspect of evolutionary development:
- Definitions lays the groundwork by discussing the principles of biological evolution and explores the definition and mechanisms of life itself.
- Beginnings describes the origins of life, starting from the emergence of the first cells to the development of neurons as the building blocks for brain networks.
- The Rise of Bodies and Brains examines the evolution of animals with bilateral symmetry, the emergence of chordates and vertebrates, and the expansion and diversification of the vertebrate brain.
- A Singular Ape explores Homo sapiens and our species' unique traits, such as bipedality, tool use, culture, language, communication, and consciousness.

Comprehensive and deeply insightful, this book helps us understand our place in the natural world and the cosmos--as well as what the future might hold for life on Earth.

商品描述(中文翻譯)

本書提供了地球上生命演化的全景視角,從其起源到人類的未來。

在《身體、大腦與心智的歷史》中,Francisco Aboitiz 簡要回顧了生命、大腦和認知的歷史,從最早的生物到我們自己的物種。作者基於一個基本前提,即自然選擇的演化過程是生命起源及其在地球上演化的基礎,因此,大腦——也就是我們的心智——必然也是生物演化的結果。本書的目的是敘述動物身體如何構建其神經系統,以及我們的物種如何隨著文化、技術、語言和意識的演變而發展。

本書分為四個部分,每個部分深入探討演化發展的不同面向:
- 《定義》奠定基礎,討論生物演化的原則,並探索生命本身的定義和機制。
- 《起源》描述生命的起源,從第一個細胞的出現到神經元作為大腦網絡的基本單位的發展。
- 《身體與大腦的崛起》檢視具有雙側對稱的動物的演化,脊索動物和脊椎動物的出現,以及脊椎動物大腦的擴展和多樣化。
- 《獨特的猿類》探討 Homo sapiens 及我們物種的獨特特徵,如雙足行走、工具使用、文化、語言、溝通和意識。

這本書內容全面且深具洞察力,幫助我們理解在自然界和宇宙中的位置,以及未來地球生命可能面臨的情況。

作者簡介

Francisco Aboitiz is Director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Neuroscience at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He researches brain evolution and cognition, including medical conditions such as ADHD, ASD, schizophrenia, and multiple sclerosis.

作者簡介(中文翻譯)

Francisco Aboitiz 是智利天主教大學跨學科神經科學中心的主任。他研究大腦的演化和認知,包括 ADHD、ASD、精神分裂症和多發性硬化等醫療狀況。