Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life
- 作者
- 出版社 William Collins
- 出版时间 2017年3月
- ISBN 000822627X 或 9780008226275
- 定价 212.00
内容简介
‘Brilliant’Guardian‘Fascinatingandoftendelightful’TheTimesSHORTLISTEDFORTHE2017ROYALSOCIETYSCIENCEBOOKPRIZEWhatifintelligentlifeonEarthevolvednotonce,buttwice?Theoctopusistheclosestwewillcometomeetinganintelligentalien.Whatcanwelearnfromtheencounter?InOtherMinds,PeterGodfrey-Smith,adistinguishedphilosopherofscienceandaskilledscubadiver,tellsaboldnewstoryofhownaturebecameawareofitself–astorythatlargelyoccursintheocean,whereanimalsfirstappeared.Trackingthemind’sfitfuldevelopmentfromunrulyclumpsofseabornecellstothefirstevolvednervoussystemsinancientrelativesofjellyfish,heexplorestheincredibleevolutionaryjourneyofthecephalopods,whichbeganasinconspicuousmolluscswhowouldlaterabandontheirshellstoriseabovetheoceanfloor,searchingforpreyandacquiringthegreaterintelligenceneededtodoso–ajourneycompletelyindependentfromtheroutethatmammalsandbirdswouldlatertake.Butwhatkindofintelligencedocephalopodspossess?Howdidtheoctopus,asolitarycreaturewithlittlesociallife,becomesosmart?Whatisitliketohaveeighttentaclesthataresopackedwithneuronsthattheyvirtually‘thinkforthemselves’?Bytracingthequestionofinnerlifebacktoitsrootsandcomparinghumanbeingswithourmostremarkableanimalrelatives,Godfrey-Smithcastscrucialnewlightontheoctopusmind–andonourown.
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