City of Belmont - Ruth Faulkner Public Library

Beyond the brain, how body and environment shape animal and human minds, Louise Barrett

Includes bibliographical references and index

Beyond the brain

Louise Barrett

how body and environment shape animal and human minds

When a chimpanzee stockpiles rocks as weapons or when a frog sends out mating calls, we might easily assume these animals know their own motivations - that they use the same psychological mechanisms that we do. But as Beyond the Brain indicates, this is a dangerous assumption because animals have different evolutionary trajectories, ecological niches, and physical attributes. How do these differences influence animal thinking and behavior? Removing our human-centred spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative approach for understanding animal and human cognition. Drawing on examples from animal behavior, comparative psychology, robotics, artificial life, developmental psychology, and cognitive science, Barrett provides remarkable new insights into how animals and humans depend on their bodies and environment--not just their brains--to behave intelligently

ch. 1 Removing Ourselves from the Picture -- ch. 2 The Anthropomorphic Animal -- ch. 3 Small Brains, Smart Behavior -- ch. 4 The Implausible Nature of Portia -- ch. 5 When Do You Need a Big Brain? -- ch. 6 The Ecology of Psychology -- ch. 7 Metaphorical Mind Fields -- ch. 8 There Is No Such Thing as a Naked Brain -- ch. 9 World in Action -- ch. 10 Babies and Bodies -- ch. 11 Wider than the Sky