Metazoa : animal life and the birth of the mind / Peter Godfrey-Smith.

By:

Godfrey-Smith, Pete

Publisher: New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020Edition: First editionDescription: x, 336 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 22 cmContent type:

text

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780374207946
0374207941

Subject(s):

DDC classification:

612.8233 23
590 23

LOC classification:

QL45.2 .G63 2020

Contents:

Protozoa -- The glass sponge -- The ascent of soft coral -- The one-armed shrimp -- The origin of subjects -- The octopus -- Kingfish -- On land -- Fins, legs, wings -- Put together by degrees.

Summary: "Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom--the Metazoa--they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds, the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus--the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments--eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment--shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness." -- Amazon.comSummary: "A philosopher of science explains how the animal kingdom gave rise to human consciousness"-- Provided by publisher.

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Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 4 )

Holdings
Item type	Home library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Book	Marshall Public Library	Adult Nonfiction	Adult Nonfiction	590 GOD (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		33051006387108

Includes bibliographical references (pages 283-319) and index.

Protozoa -- The glass sponge -- The ascent of soft coral -- The one-armed shrimp -- The origin of subjects -- The octopus -- Kingfish -- On land -- Fins, legs, wings -- Put together by degrees.

"Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom--the Metazoa--they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds, the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus--the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments--eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment--shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness." -- Amazon.com

"A philosopher of science explains how the animal kingdom gave rise to human consciousness"-- Provided by publisher.