As We Know it: Coming to Terms with an Evolved Mind - Hardcover

Kohn, Marek

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1862070253 ISBN 13: 9781862070257

Publisher: Granta Books, 1999

Synopsis

An account of how the human mind evolved. Marek Kohn offers a theory of mind that suggests how our ancestors might have thought, and seen the world, in the absence of language, gods or culture. He relates that ancient heritage to our humanity, and examines the influence of our hominid past on our own behaviour, as creatures who speak, symbolize and create. Central to the book is a meditation on the handaxe, crafted again and again for hundreds of thousands of years by our proto-human ancestors. In his reconstruction of the uses and meanings of the handaxe, Kohn takes the reader into an alien world that is strangely close to our own. This is a work of sociobiology, in that it applies Darwinism to human culture. Unlike other works of "evolutionary psychology", it seeks to recapture Darwnism from the political right, and to show that a better understanding of our evolutionary history need not lead to an imposing of limits on who we are and what we may become.

About this title

Review

There is an assumption, often made but no truer for that, that the facts of evolutionary life are right-wing. One of the aims of this remarkable book on the development of intelligence among early humans is to knock that particular assumption on the head. For Kohn, one of the crucial facts about the evolution of humanity is that it took place among humans; genes are passed down individually, but we exist collectively. The two particular issues on which he concentrates--the making of flint hand axes, identical across a million years and three continents, and the formation of female coalitions through deceit or tact about fertility--are fascinating in themselves but best seen as examples of his overall theme. Those who know Kohn's work from his books on drug panics--Narcomaniaand Dope Girls--and his exemplary account of race, science and racism--The Race Gallery--or from his computer column in the Independent on Sunday will know his clarity of mind and expression. This is a book that says some new things and popularises some new ideas, but its precision of thought is its point and its chief merit. This is not only one of the best recent books on early humans--it is also the best-written. --Roz Kaveney

About the Author

Marek Kohn lives in Brighton. He is the internet correspondent of the Independent on Sunday. His previous books include Dope Girls and The Race Gallery.

Edition details

• Publisher: Granta Books
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1862070253
• ISBN 13: 9781862070257
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352