A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness

by Merlin Donald

"The most significant contribution yet to the rapidly growing literature of minds, brains, and consciousness."―Steven Rose In this masterful rebuttal to the prevailing neuroscientific arguments that seek to explain away consciousness, Merlin Donald presents "a sophisticated conception of a multilayered consciousness drawing much of its power from its cultural matrix" ( Booklist ). Donald makes "a persuasive case...for consciousness as the central player in the drama of mind" (Peter Dodwell), as he details the forces, both cultural and neuronal, that power our distinctively human modes of awareness. He proposes that the human mind is a hybrid product, interweaving a super-complex form of matter (the brain) with an invisible symbolic web (culture) to form a "distributed" cognitive network. This hybrid mind, he argues, is our main evolutionary advantage, for it allowed humanity as a species to break free of the limitations of the mammalian brain. "Donald transcends the simplistic claims of Evolutionary Psychology,...offering a true Darwinian perspective on the evolution of consciousness."―Philip Lieberman

Genres: Psychology, Science, Evolution, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Neuroscience, Anthropology

388 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 2001

Reviews

[Dylan Krider · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot of books on consciousness and this is by far the best. It does a good job of building a more and mire sophisticated model the same way the brain probably evolved.

[Ejaz Ahmed]

A Mind So Rare: The Evolution of Human Consciousness

[Miriam]

Some intriguing ideas about the various layers of consciousness. I don't know enough about other species to judge the accuracy of his comparisons with them.

[Stephie Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real dissapointment. When could read better elsewhere.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought this in the best bookshop of Australia - in Canberra. A great book.