The Phenomenon of Science [Hardcover]

Valentin Fedorovich Turchin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Russian (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 348 pages
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr; First Edition edition (October 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231039832
• ISBN-13: 978-0231039833
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #399,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An essential look at the evolution of mind, February 21, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Brussels, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Phenomenon of Science (Hardcover)

This is the first book to introduce the ideas of Metasystem Transitions Theory. It is directed at a broad, non-specialised public, and requires not more than high school mathematics. It discusses the evolution of humanity, starting from the first living cells up to human culture and science. It shows how the great advances in intelligence and cognition, from simple reflexes, to learning, thought, mathematical reasoning and the most advanced realms of metascientic analysis, can be understood as metasystem transitions, in which a higher level of control emerges. Its originality lies in the integration of a cybernetic analysis of knowledge with the trial and error process of natural selection, which creates ever higher levels in the hierarchical organization of mind. Prof. Valentin Turchin, a cyberneticist, computer scientist and physicist, started his research career in the Soviet Union, but is presently an emeritus professor at the City College of the City University of New York. He is a founding editor of the Principia Cybernetica Project. Although the original text is almost 30 years old, this visionary document is still highly relevant to our present situation and state of knowledge.