The Long Evolution of Brains and Minds (eBook)

Gerhard Roth (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2013 | 2013
XVII, 320 Seiten
Springer Netherland (Verlag)
978-94-007-6259-6 (ISBN)

Infos

The main topic of the book is a reconstruction of the evolution of nervous systems and brains as well as of mental-cognitive abilities, in short 'intelligence' from simplest organisms to humans. It investigates to which extent the two are correlated. One central topic is the alleged uniqueness of the human brain and human intelligence and mind. It is discussed which neural features make certain animals and humans intelligent and creative: Is it absolute or relative brain size or the size of 'intelligence centers' inside the brains, the number of nerve cells inside the brain in total or in such 'intelligence centers' decisive for the degree of intelligence, of mind and eventually consciousness? And which are the driving forces behind these processes? Finally, it is asked what all this means for the classical problem of mind-brain relationship and for a naturalistic theory of mind.

---

The main topic of the book is a reconstruction of the evolution of nervous systems and brains as well as of mental-cognitive abilities, in short "e;intelligence"e; from simplest organisms to humans. It investigates to which extent the two are correlated. One central topic is the alleged uniqueness of the human brain and human intelligence and mind. It is discussed which neural features make certain animals and humans intelligent and creative: Is it absolute or relative brain size or the size of "e;intelligence centers"e; inside the brains, the number of nerve cells inside the brain in total or in such "e;intelligence centers"e; decisive for the degree of intelligence, of mind and eventually consciousness? And which are the driving forces behind these processes? Finally, it is asked what all this means for the classical problem of mind-brain relationship and for a naturalistic theory of mind.

Inhalt

Introduction: Are mind and brain a unity? 1. Mind and Intelligence1.1  Types of learning1.2 Types of memory1.3 Intelligence and behavioral flexibility 1.4 Consciousness1.5 Mind-brain theories1.6 What does all that tell us? 2. What is evolution? 2.1 Historical concepts of evolution 2.2 Neodarwinism and its problems2.3 Concepts of evolution beyond natural selection2.4 The reconstruction of phylogeny and evolution2.5 What does all that tell us?3. The mind begins with life3.1 What is life? 3.2 Order, self-production and self-maintenance3.3 Life, energy acquisition and metabolism3.4 The origin of first life3.5 The further development of simple life3.6 What does all that tell us?4. The language of neurons4.1 The structure of a nerve cell4.2 Principles of membrane excitability4.3 Ion channels and neural transmission4.3.1 The function of ion channels4.3.2 The origin of the action potential4.3.3 Neurotransmitters and other neuroactive substances4.4 Principles of neuronal information processing4.5 What does all that tell us?5. Bacteria, archaea, protozoa: successful life without a nervous system5.1 Bacteria and Archaea5.2 Protozoa5.3 Why did multicellular organisms evolve? 5.4 What does all that tell us?6. The “invertebrates” and their nervous systems6.1 Non-bilaterians6.1.1 Sponges6.1.2 „Coelenterates“ 6.2 Bilaterians 6.2.1 Acoelomorpha6.2.2 Protostomia6.2.2.1 Lophotrochozoa 6.2.2.2 Ecdysozoa6.3 What does all that tell us?7. Invertebrate cognition and intelligence7.1 Learning, cognitive abilities and intelligence in insects7.2 Learning, cognitive abilities and intelligence in cephalopods7.3 What does all that tell us?8. The Deuterostomia8.1 The origin of deuterostomes and their nervous systems8.2 Echinoderms 8.3 Hemichordates8.4 Chordates – Craniates - Vertebrates8.4.1 Myxinoids8.4.2 Vertebrates8.4.2.1  Petromyzontids8.4.2.2 Chondrichthyans8.4.2.3  Osteichthyans8.4.2.4  Amphibians 8.4.2.5  “Reptiles”8.4.2.6  Birds8.4.2.7  Mammals 8.5 What does all that tell us?9. The brains of vertebrates9.1 The basic organization of the vertebrate brain9.2 Medulla spinalis and oblongata9.3 Cerebellum 9.4 Mesencephalon 9.5 Diencephalon 9.6 Telencephalon9.6.1 Functional anatomy of the isocortex9.6.2 Are the mammalian cortex and the mesonidopallium of birds homologous?9.7 What does all that tell us?10. Sensory systems – the coupling between brain and environment.10.1 The general function of sense organs10.2 Olfaction10.3 The mechanical senses and electroreception10.3.1 The sense of touch, vibration and medium currents10.3.2 The mechanoreceptive and electroreceptive lateral line system of fish and amphibians10.3.2.1 Mechanoreceptive lateral line system10.3.2.2 The electroreceptive system. 10.3.3 The auditory system10.4 The visual system10.4.1    The compound eye of insects10.4.2    The vertebrate eye and retina10.4.3    Parallel processing in the visual system of vertebrates10.5      What does all that tell us?11. How intelligent are vertebrates?11.1 Cognition in teleost fishes11.2 Learning and cognitive abilities in amphibians11.3 Cognitive abilities and intelligence in mammals and birds11.3.1 Tool use and tool fabrication11.3.2 Quantity representation11.3.3 Object permanence11.3.4 Reasoning and working memory11.3.5 Social intelligence11.3.5.1 “Machiavellian” intelligence11.3.5.2 Gaze following11.3.5.3 Imitation 12. Do animals have consciousness?12.1 Mirror self-recognition 12.2 Metacognition12.3 Theory of mind: understanding the others 12.4 Conscious attention12.5 How intelligent are dolphins and elephants?12.6 What does all that tell us? 13. Comparing vertebrate brains13.1 Brain size and body size. 13.2 The significance of relative brain size and of “encephalization”13.3 The fate of the cortex as the “seat” of intelligence and mind13.3.1 Information processing properties of the cortex13.3.2 Modularity of the cortex13.3.3 Specialties of the cytoarchitecture of the mammalian cortex13.4 Bird brains and mesonidopallium. 13.5 What does all that tell us?14. Are humans unique?14.1 How did Homo sapiens evolve? 14.2 Leaving the jungle and its consequences14.3 Enlargement of the brain and its consequences14.4 Language and the brain14.4.1 Animal language 14.4.2 The evolution of human language14.4.3 The tempo of the evolution of human language. 14. 5 Do humans exhibit a special social behavior?14.6 What does all that tell us?15. Determinants of the evolution of brains and minds15.1 Patterns of the evolution of nervous systems and brains15.2 The evolution of cognitive-mental functions15.3 How do differences in intelligence relate to differences in brain structures and functions?15.4 Which are the ultimate factors for evolution of brains and minds?15.4.1 Ecological intelligence15.4.2 Social intelligence15.4.3 General intelligence15.5 Basic mechanisms of evolution of brains and cognitive functions15.6 What does all that tell us?16. Brains and minds16.1 The problems of dualism16.2 Problems of strong emergentism 16.3 Problems of reductionism16.4 The anatomy and physiology of mind16.5 Brains and minds in birds, Octopus and the honeybee16.6 Is mind multiply realized and artificially realizable?16.7 What is the true nature of mind? Literature

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 3.6.2013
• Zusatzinfo: XVII, 320 p. 55 illus., 23 illus. in color.
• Verlagsort: Dordrecht
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Natur / Technik ► Natur / Ökologie
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Psychologie ► Allgemeine Psychologie
• Themenwelt: Informatik ► Theorie / Studium ► Künstliche Intelligenz / Robotik
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Humanbiologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Zoologie
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Geowissenschaften
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: Animal and human intelligence • Determinants of brain evolution • Evolution nervous systems and brains • Evolution of intelligence and mind • Mind-brain relationship
• ISBN-10: 94-007-6259-3 / 9400762593
• ISBN-13: 978-94-007-6259-6 / 9789400762596