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Beyond the Brain: 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-centered 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. Barrett begins with an overview of human cognitive adaptations and how these color our views of other species, brains, and minds.

Considering when it is worth having a big brain--or indeed having a brain at all--she investigates exactly what brains are good at. Showing that the brain's evolutionary function guides action in the world, she looks at how physical structure contributes to cognitive processes, and she demonstrates how these processes employ materials and resources in specific environments. Arguing that thinking and behavior constitute a property of the whole organism, not just the brain, Beyond the Brain illustrates how the body, brain, and cognition are tied to the wider world.

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Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds by Louise Barrett.
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Beyond The Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds.
Beyond The Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds?
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Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds: Medicine & Health Science Books @ bahana-line.com Editorial Reviews. Review. One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for . Beyond the Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds 1st Edition, Kindle Edition . Removing our human-centered spectacles, Louise Barrett investigates the mind and brain and offers an alternative.

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How to absorb information like a human sponge and learn more in less time. Hear Your Body Whisper: Mind-body connection has never been so clear!

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You can produce a massive positive change in your life by simply choosing to think in a different way and interpret certain experiences differently. Product details File Size: April 4, Sold by: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention louise barrett beyond the brain body and environment human minds shape animal environment shape brain body animal and human cognition animals psychology view embedded example explain due embodied examples important process.

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. This is an absolutely superb book that I have both in hardcover and Kindle versions. Barrett is unquestionably expert in the subject and writes in a clear and attention-absorbing style. After reading her book I collected quite a few of her editorial previews of articles appearing in Animal Behaviour during her term as Executive Editor.

She is a real scientist and a gifted writer who is skilled enough to make reading her story about a salticid spider a memorable experience. This is easily the best book I have read in many years and I read some good stuff. One person found this helpful. For instance, she explains how the female cricket - which has been thought to exhibit a complex choice behavior when responding to the calls of male crickets - actually just moves toward the noise that most consistently and loudly stimulates her eardrums.

The idea that the mating call lets her know that there's a male cricket around, the plan to seek him out, and even the idea that she's searching for the source of the sound rather than just moving towards it because that somehow stimulates her, are unnecessary complications in explaining her behavior.

This perspective on body-up explanations makes Occam's razor-sharp sense, as the grey area between what we consider alive and what we consider non-organic is filled with automated responses or simple one-need-fullfilment in a complex environment, which at first glimpse seem like irrefutable proof of a mind at work.

As such, the book is very interesting and has really shifted my perspective on animal behavioral studies, which often get lost in trench wars between those who presume a mind at work anyplace they find human-like behavior, and those who presume only humans have minds. The book gets tediously theoretical and abstract at times, which seems mainly as an essentially unneccessary attempt to escape being misunderstood. It also often tends to rephrase the same point several times. But as a welcome respite from the trench wars of anthropomorphisms and a revealing glimpse into alternative explanations for emergence, I warmly recommend it.

My humble opinion is that Beyond the brain is going to be one of the essential readings in "embodied cognition discussion". As Andrew Wilson put it in his blog Barrett realy "knows her Gibson". That means that Barrett is taking the stance that cognition is a process that spans the brain, body and environment of an organism, so you need a good theory of perception to systemize this triad, biosemiotic conception of semiosis.

In my opinion this is the best approach. She upgrades this theoretical view with the concept of umwelt via ecological psychology. Jun 19, Wing rated it really liked it. The author makes a strong case that most if not all animal behaviors can be explained by non-representational and non-computational cognitive processes that inherently and inextricably involve and include the physical body and its environment.

In other words, the "mind" is a process or a state but not the brain itself or anything within it. We humans somehow manage to exist, at least at times, in the Heideggerian mode of "vorhanden", and are prone to anthropomorphize animals which are in the " The author makes a strong case that most if not all animal behaviors can be explained by non-representational and non-computational cognitive processes that inherently and inextricably involve and include the physical body and its environment. We humans somehow manage to exist, at least at times, in the Heideggerian mode of "vorhanden", and are prone to anthropomorphize animals which are in the "zuhanden" mode.

Studies on animals, babies and robotics are used extensively to support the author's stance. Concepts like the 'umwelt' and 'distributed cognition' are explained very well. Mar 22, Jessica rated it it was amazing. Barrett's book does a great job of addressing issues in the study of the brain and cognition that many probably have not ever thought about. The book is a great way to expand your horizons and views on how we interact with the world. The tone is casual and engaging, and is full of helpful anecdotes. She also does a good job of helping to break down more complicated theories and making them more accessible, while not oversimplifying things.

An overall great read that really made me think differen Barrett's book does a great job of addressing issues in the study of the brain and cognition that many probably have not ever thought about.

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An overall great read that really made me think differently about the world. May 13, Jordan Wagge rated it it was amazing. I have FINALLY found a book on embodiment that is accessible to my students master's in counseling with or without a background in cognition.

Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds

This is a wonderful piece and doesn't lack in quality what it makes up in clarity. Sep 11, Rhys rated it it was amazing. And, amazingly, she makes Gibson almost intelligible. A joy to read.

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Apr 14, Buff Davis rated it really liked it. Straightforward and readable introduction to some of the most difficult aspects of embodied cognition - with real examples and detailed explanation.

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My humble opinion is that Beyond the brain is going to be one of the essential readings in "embodied cognition discussion". Return to Book Page. Most recent customer reviews. Trivia About Beyond the Brain Life, Feeling, and the Making of Cultures.

Essential if you want to tackle some of the more cutting edge books that focus almost entirely on the theory alone. May 11, jorge gomez rated it liked it Shelves: Barrett highlights the implications that come with anthropomorphising other species, most notably how we identify intelligence with brain size, and presents a persuasive view of cognition as both embedded and extended. May 04, Shelby rated it it was amazing.

I had the pleasure of taking multiple neuroscience and psychology classes from Louise! Absolute GEM she is! Mar 30, Tim marked it as to-read. Alex Woika rated it it was ok Apr 22, Spats McGee rated it it was amazing May 14, Jordan Martin rated it it was amazing Jul 07, Ro Man rated it it was amazing May 23, Jake rated it really liked it Jun 14, Mehmet Soylu rated it it was amazing Oct 06,