Man, beast and zombie : what science can and cannot tell us about human nature / Kenan Malik
- Bib ID:
- 2264806
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Malik, Kenan, 1960-
- Description:
-
- London : Weidenfeld & Nicolson, c2000
- x, 470 p. ; 25 cm.
- ISBN:
- 0297643053
- Summary:
-
"Man, Beast and Zombie draws on cutting-edge sciences such as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence to assess what, precisely, they can and cannot explain about human nature. Kenan Malik explains the histories of these sciences (and the philosophies that underpin them) and analyses the complex relationship between human beings, animals and machines to explore what really makes us human.".
"Malik's conclusions are important and controversial. He tackles the arguments of many contemporary scientists and philosophers including Daniel Dennett, Jared Diamond, E. O. Wilson, Stephen Jay Gould and Peter Singer. He demonstrates that much current thinking about human nature is flawed: how there is more than one way to design a mind; why the lifestyles of contemporary hunter-gatherers do not illuminate the lives of our prehistoric ancestors; and what intelligent machines really reveal about human consciousness. He shows, too, how the scientific debate about human nature is as influenced by politics as by science." "Man, Beast and Zombie is both a defence of scientific reason and a challenge to some of today's most cherished scientific theories. It deftly interweaves philosophy, science and history to answer the most fundamental question of all: what is a human being?"--BOOK JACKET.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (p. [431]-458) and index.
- Subject:
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2000
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