The Lopsided Ape: The Evolution of the Generative Mind

by Michael C. Corballis

How great is the evolutionary distance between humans and apes, and what is it that creates that gulf? Philosophers and scientists have debated the question for centuries, but Michael Corballis finds the mystery revealed in our right hands. For humans are the only primates who are
predominantly right handed, a sign of the specialization of the left hemisphere of the brain for language. And that specialization, he tells us, makes a massive distance indeed, as he describes what exactly it means to be the lopsided ape.
In The Lopsided Ape , Corballis takes us on a fascinating tour of the origins and implications of the specialization of the two halves of the brain--known as laterality--in human evolution. He begins by surveying current views of evolution, ranging from the molecular level--the role of viruses,
for instance, in transporting genes between species--to the tremendous implications of such physical changes as walking on two feet. Walking upright freed our ancestors' arms for such things as tool-making and gesturing (a critical part of early language). Corballis argues that the evolution of
the brain--and language--was intimately tied up with these The proliferation of objects made by early hominids, in an increasingly artificial environment marked by social cooperation, demanded greater flexibility in communication and even in thinking itself. These evolutionary pressures
spurred the development of laterality in the brain. He goes on to look at the structure of language, following the work of Noam Chomsky and others, showing how grammar allows us to create an infinite variety of messages. In examining communication between animals and attempts to teach apes and
dolphins language, he demonstrates that only humans have this unlimited ability for expression--an ability that he traces back through hominid evolution. After this engrossing account of what we know about evolution, language, and the human brain, Corballis suggests that the left hemisphere has
evolved a Generative Assembling Device, a biological mechanism that allows us to manipulate open-ended forms of representation and provides the basis for mathematics, reasoning, music, art, and play as well as language and manufacture. It is this device, he writes, that truly sets us off from the
apes.
Both a detailed account of human language and evolution and a convincing argument for a new view of the brain, The Lopsided Ape provides fascinating insight into our origins and the nature of human thought itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Psychology, Neuroscience

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 20, 1991

Reviews

[Ian Pitchford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An account by one of the leading researchers on the importance of the differential development of the brain's left hemisphere in the development of distinctively human cognitive abilities, including language and reasoning.

[Riversue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very interesting theories and a little bit of dated material.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting science with touches of humor ("The waggle dance thus falls far short of anything resembling human language. Of course, one possible reason for this is that bees do not have anything very interesting to say."). The author cites the laterality of the brain as being the distinguishing feature between humans and all other life. He describes physical structures and research and experiments, but says little about consciousness other than to note that we may be the only animals "to be aware that we are aware." (However, animals can't tell us if they are aware they are aware). I was hoping for more on the origins of consciousness, it was still pretty good reading.