Audiobook17 hours
Mind Shift: How Culture Transformed the Human Brain
Written by John Parrington
Narrated by Steven Crossley
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
()
About this audiobook
The mental capacities of the human mind far outstrip those of other animals. Our imaginations and creativity have produced art, music, and literature; built bridges and cathedrals; enabled us to probe distant galaxies, and to ponder the meaning of our existence. When our minds become disordered, they can also take us to the depths of despair. What makes the human brain unique, and able to generate such a rich mental life?
In this book, John Parrington draws on the latest research on the human brain to show how it differs strikingly from those of other animals in its structure and function at a molecular and cellular level. And he argues that this 'shift', enlarging the brain, giving it greater flexibility and enabling higher functions such as imagination, was driven by tool use, but especially by the development of one remarkable tool - language. The complex social interaction brought by language opened up the possibility of shared conceptual worlds, enriched with rhythmic sounds, and images that could be drawn on cave walls. This transformation enabled modern humans to leap rapidly beyond all other species, and generated an exceptional human consciousness, a sense of self that arises as a product of our brain biology and the social interactions we experience. Our minds, even those of identical twins, are unique because they are the result of this extraordinarily plastic brain, exquisitely shaped and tuned by the social and cultural environment in which we grew up and to which we continue to respond through life. Linking early work by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky to the findings of modern neuroscience, Parrington explores how language, culture, and society mediate brain function, and what this view of the human mind may bring to our understanding and treatment of mental illness.
Unlike all other animals, the 'mind shift' we humans underwent has left us with the extraordinary power of conscious awareness. And words may lie at the heart of that transformation.
In this book, John Parrington draws on the latest research on the human brain to show how it differs strikingly from those of other animals in its structure and function at a molecular and cellular level. And he argues that this 'shift', enlarging the brain, giving it greater flexibility and enabling higher functions such as imagination, was driven by tool use, but especially by the development of one remarkable tool - language. The complex social interaction brought by language opened up the possibility of shared conceptual worlds, enriched with rhythmic sounds, and images that could be drawn on cave walls. This transformation enabled modern humans to leap rapidly beyond all other species, and generated an exceptional human consciousness, a sense of self that arises as a product of our brain biology and the social interactions we experience. Our minds, even those of identical twins, are unique because they are the result of this extraordinarily plastic brain, exquisitely shaped and tuned by the social and cultural environment in which we grew up and to which we continue to respond through life. Linking early work by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky to the findings of modern neuroscience, Parrington explores how language, culture, and society mediate brain function, and what this view of the human mind may bring to our understanding and treatment of mental illness.
Unlike all other animals, the 'mind shift' we humans underwent has left us with the extraordinary power of conscious awareness. And words may lie at the heart of that transformation.
Related to Mind Shift
Related audiobooks
The Biological Mind: How Brain, Body, and Environment Collaborate to Make Us Who We Are Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How Your Brain Works: A User's Guide to Neuropsychology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIn Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Understanding the Brain: From Cells to Behavior to Cognition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Frontal Lobe: The Neurobiology of the Cerebral and Prefrontal Cortex in the Human Brain Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Why We Do What We Do: Understanding Our Brain to Get the Best Out of Ourselves and Others Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Brainscapes: The Warped, Wondrous Maps Written in Your Brain-and How They Guide You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Neuroplasticity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Becoming Human: A Theory of Ontogeny Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Very Short Tour the Mind: 21 Short Walks Around the Human Brain Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Consciousness Instinct: Unraveling the Mystery of How the Brain Makes the Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brain from Inside Out Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Enigma of Reason Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Innate: How the Wiring of Our Brains Shapes Who We Are Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Accidental Mind: How Brain Evolution Has Given Us Love, Memory, Dreams, and God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Biological Psychology Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Archaeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Connectome: How the Brain's Wiring Makes Us Who We Are Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Our Senses: An Immersive Experience Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Task: How Our Brain Gets Things Done Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Embodied Mind: Understanding the Mysteries of Cellular Memory, Consciousness, and Our Bodies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Human Brain: Exploring the Mental Capacity and Unlimited Creative Potential of Our Brains Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Neuro-Philosophy and the Healthy Mind: Learning from the Unwell Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cognitive Gadgets: The Cultural Evolution of Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Disordered Mind: What Unusual Brains Tell Us About Ourselves Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Psychology: An Introduction to the Key Psychologists and Theories You Need to Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Keep Your Brain Alive: Neurobic Exercises to Help Prevent Memory Loss and Increase Mental Fitness Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Zero to Birth: How the Human Brain Is Built Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Biology For You
Return of the God Hypothesis: Three Scientific Discoveries That Reveal the Mind Behind the Universe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hot Zone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Neuroscientist Who Lost Her Mind: My Tale of Madness and Recovery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Genius Foods: Become Smarter, Happier, and More Productive While Protecting Your Brain for Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Confident Mind: A Battle-Tested Guide to Unshakable Performance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Elephant in the Brain: Hidden Motives in Everyday Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love & Wisdom Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Things We Make: The Unknown History of Invention from Cathedrals to Soda Cans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How the Mind Works Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cosmic Serpent: DNA and the Origins of Knowledge Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Summary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: The Real Anthony Fauci Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Longevity Paradox: How to Die Young at a Ripe Old Age Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Change Your Brain, Change Your Life (Before 25): Change Your Developing Mind for Real-World Success Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All That Remains: A Renowned Forensic Scientist on Death, Mortality, and Solving Crimes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don't Have To Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Radiolab: Journey Through The Human Body Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related categories
Reviews for Mind Shift
Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings
0 ratings0 reviews