Customer Reviews

The Descent of Mind: Psychological Perspectives on Hominid Evolution

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I found this collection of 17 essays to be a delightful read. Only two seemed a little too dense or obscure for an introduction, and many seemed to be top-drawer. Because this book captures different perspectives in one volume, I believe it is an excellent primer on the issues and contemporary state of evolutionary psychology.

Taken as a whole this collection argues most explicitly for the evolution of mind. In particular, the primary challenge is to understand the evolutionary development of personality, theory of mind, metamind, social mind, intelligence and language. I was continually amazed at the blending of paleontology, neurology, animal studies, and childhood development into a synthetic whole. The importance of social context in hominid evolution, especially in the development of semantics and grammar, was presented in a clear and convincing manner.

Evolutionary psychology must deal with a breadth of data that is astonishing. Mastery of this interdisciplinary approach may be beyond most readers, but Corballis and Lea offer a diverse collection capable if whetting the appetite of almost everyone. It is my pleasure to recommend this book for the curious, the analytical, and the theorist. Within these pages may lie the kernel of a meta-narrative for all of psychology.

I found this collection of 17 essays to be a delightful read. Only two seemed a little too dense or obscure for an introduction, and many seemed to be top-drawer. Because this book captures different perspectives in one volume, I believe it is an excellent primer on the issues and contemporary state of evolutionary psychology.

Taken as a whole this collection argues most explicitly for the evolution of mind. In particular, the primary challenge is to understand the evolutionary development of personality, theory of mind, metamind, social mind, intelligence and language. I was continually amazed at the blending of paleontology, neurology, animal studies, and childhood development into a synthetic whole. The importance of social context in hominid evolution, especially in the development of semantics and grammar, was presented in a clear and convincing manner.

Evolutionary psychology must deal with a breadth of data that is astonishing. Mastery of this interdisciplinary approach may be beyond most readers, but Corballis and Lea offer a diverse collection capable if whetting the appetite of almost everyone. It is my pleasure to recommend this book for the curious, the analytical, and the theorist. Within these pages may lie the kernel of a meta-narrative for all of psychology.