Cognitive Foundations of Natural History
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Cognitive Foundations of Natural History by Scott Atran
What is it about human nature that makes our species capable of thinking scientifically? Inspired by the debate he set up between Noam Chomsky and Jean Piaget, Scott Atran traces the development of Natural History from Aristotle to Darwin, and demonstrates how the science of plants and animals has emerged from common conceptions of folk biology. The author proceeds not only from the more traditional philosophical, historical, or sociological perspectives, but from a point of view which he considers to be more basic and necessary to all of these: that of cognition. He applies a 'cognitive' perspective to an explanation of the successive scientific incarnations, transformations, and mutations of what Hume called 'mankind's original stock of ideas'.
' … only Atran could have written this book, because only Atran combines the deep understanding of anthropology, biological systematics, history of science, and philosophy necessary to write itThe result is a book that contains more substance per page than any book I have read in a generation.' David Hull, Biology and Philosophy
'This subtle and sophisticated book has a little of that same power to shock by innocence. It is about how children think of living things, less a matter of what they learn than of what human nature teaches about nature.' Ian Hacking, London Review of Books
'There can be no doubt that the book establishes new standards of rigour in its area and will be the starting-point for future investigations in years to come.' Andrew Brennan, The Times Higher Education Supplement
'This subtle and sophisticated book has a little of that same power to shock by innocence. It is about how children think of living things, less a matter of what they learn than of what human nature teaches about nature.' Ian Hacking, London Review of Books
'There can be no doubt that the book establishes new standards of rigour in its area and will be the starting-point for future investigations in years to come.' Andrew Brennan, The Times Higher Education Supplement
Scott Atran is the director of anthropology research at France's National Institute for Scientific Research. He's also a visiting professor of psychology and public policy at the University of Michigan, a Presidential Scholar in sociology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and the cofounder of ARTIS Research and Risk Modeling. In Gods We Trust: The Evolutionary Landscape of Religion is one of his books.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780521438711 |
| ISBN 10 | 0521438713 |
| Title | Cognitive Foundations of Natural History |
| Author | Scott Atran |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 1993-01-29 |
| Number of pages | 376 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |