Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds
    Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds
    Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds
    Ebook406 pages7 hours

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

    By Louise Barrett

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A new approach to understanding animal and human cognition

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPrinceton University Press
    Release dateApr 4, 2011
    ISBN9781400838349
    Beyond the Brain: How Body and Environment Shape Animal and Human Minds
    Author

    Louise Barrett

    LOUISE BARRETT is Lecturer in Evolutionary Psychology and Behavioural Ecology at the University of Liverpool, UK.

    Related to Beyond the Brain

    Related ebooks

    Biology For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      How We Really Tamed the Dog

      Jul 13, 2017

      Suppose you wanted to build the perfect dog from scratch. What would be the key ingredients in the recipe? Loyalty and smarts would be musts. Cuteness would be as well, perhaps with gentle eyes, and a curly, bushy tail that wags in joy in anticipatio

      23 min read

    • Article

      Gene Pull

      Feb 16, 2020

      When Robert Plomin made himself the first guinea pig for his “polygenic” mapping – scoping people’s genetic make-up to see how prone they are to various traits – he learnt something no one wants to hear: he was in the 95th percentile for obesity. Tho

      11 min read

    • Article

      Our Library

      Oct 28, 2019

      For choices involving dramatically new experiences, we are confronted by the brute fact that we can know very little about our subjective futures. This has serious implications for our decisions. If we make life choices in the way we naturally and in

      2 min read

    • Article

      Talk About the Passion

      Aug 9, 2023

      Talk About the Passion
      19 min read

    • Article

      B.J. Hollars Explores the Midwest’s Strangest Corners

      Aug 27, 2019

      Mysteries aren’t something to be solved, but something to be embraced. We don’t need to conquer; we just need to be curious. For me, that’s where the revelation lives—in the not-knowing. The post B.J. Hollars Explores the Midwest’s Strangest Corners

      10 min read

    • Article

      Itchy Feet-itis

      Jun 2, 2021

      Itchy Feet-itis
      9 min read

    • Article

      The Man Who Seduced the World with Whale Songs: Roger Payne sparked the anti-whaling movement. He’s not done yet.

      Dec 27, 2021

      Happy Holidays. In this special issue we are reprinting our top stories of the past year. This article first appeared online in our “Whale Songs” issue in September, 2021. It’s been more than 50 years since biologist Roger Payne brought whale song in

      7 min read

    • Article

      May The Fort Be With You

      Nov 2, 2023

      May The Fort Be With You
      14 min read

    • Article

      Broadening The Bookshelves

      Dec 31, 2022

      Broadening The Bookshelves
      4 min read

    • Article

      Readers' Letters

      Jul 26, 2023

      SIR: I have just celebrated my 80th birthday and been much acclaimed by my family and friends. Even the government has got in on the act, as it has increased my state pension by 25p a week. Unfortunately, my village shop has hardly anything to offer

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Man Who Seduced the World with Whale Songs

      Sep 8, 2021

      It’s been more than 50 years since biologist Roger Payne brought whale song into the lives of millions via the popular album, Songs of the Humpback Whale. At the time, commercial whaling had decimated global whale populations, and Payne’s record help

      7 min read

    • Article

      Notes From The Field

      Feb 27, 2019

      Notes From The Field
      2 min read

    • Article

      Consciousness Began When the Gods Stopped Speaking: How Julian Jaynes’ famous 1970s theory is faring in the neuroscience age.

      May 28, 2015

      Julian Jaynes was living out of a couple of suitcases in a Princeton dorm in the early 1970s. He must have been an odd sight there among the undergraduates, some of whom knew him as a lecturer who taught psychology, holding forth in a deep baritone v

      14 min read

    • Article

      Consciousness Began When the Gods Stopped Speaking

      Nov 9, 2017

      Julian Jaynes was living out of a couple of suitcases in a Princeton dorm in the early 1970s. He must have been an odd sight there among the undergraduates, some of whom knew him as a lecturer who taught psychology, holding forth in a deep baritone v

      14 min read

    • Article

      When Research Is A Monster

      Feb 3, 2020

      When Research Is A Monster
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Beyond the Brain

    5/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Beyond the Brain - Louise Barrett

      ^d2^book_preview_excerpt.html}˒DZ寤q1U |i& ateZDUFU%;+.V~Wn[| d5B*Q>ڮ]nwzv~ں;/_On뾫kEXE%K׻:e,XeM˪d~Su"B]&]Bm>ϓwVbQETBG9wo([T vb{0+nn.Zhy5uZ?sƵ%fּY^z̋"UܸWY}xgEwT]>5@^.oߎw;}ִ-6Em"'UsB`7lpUx)a O}r-#ݲ*OV*ǗU{޻^]t[ZZOD>(W$X/C[|6+c_=OxE2ؠy/ЯO6>}Vng~.D'BoՆ-it~ӆ]؆}xrij'Yj߸JvGܹb g]톮Qn oMEbO fE*aǿlbJb`˗aVdڋu8y'-7bt804^f&«HzWFp&b mP01 C؋Q!H;aGD|Ȩ0LJůϑ[N>b| nYlk]t]y;v uqT3]ah^Y4"2{{3eSrԴdi L7b\'f-LZ y((KrK̗҇@3>UM=3V>?/[W(bTswvm/m<pD.q+BF(=% xXŀouDB^[`Xt͡C(=o W I D[ ⊽\﵁71hYol.XVx' e& 2_me;eP5x j$UGoY %J ǺPz1 6hY;Izbc ŠH;om%M`b'Ȇfta-F<ߍwPFHn)VW"t1xؐvD̃(RzRUo"MQz,g'hksַm%.+kUZdRRU^,`zp"_iU׹ˀ ^AjF[-O&lHsObX/z\mqW"5xJ`/^nDQNyy]˧6mvU TQ:D38R HɃ8L#=rlDP o$qJ,JVc]yzN F{;VdC 0US[L DcCN2Zf)keV)㪽7p[+JL٘0Hk^[TxΝ:jV liF/z<3CR6U+nbU}`^`yD\z/P*~m˦a(;,Ĵ"N+Eq-fycRcS$;~+νFZ/ɊT2K Ik@o 5.j٥6,y!Ek^NoU' JCQKV-2k`;JPܐ.%}tqA&_.+dآ4Dq)XAi69-fDͣ2=+5qrIm[Xm M2e8'2rZ,A݄ɏnR'Ydր406/fG?e]$v1 lJFmѓ1F">]K̑N47IP͸Y `̋'+;D;dm+JZ5^vP~@$7<_9 e"2HN%؅XYS,n%fKvTlBGd-%R"~!Ttsb6. B m9D܎-]wi!Xr\ZҿQ]`oAC;|#vꈉ:~COܫكJ<8oe:j^ V^ r؅r󻍬L5(kA\fVd]\wb ՗bD(& >q7-9֊RHpd$dTgn˔ 5.0h~+*Aѫ)gObDvDrf`ɭ(Hl>L`GŭeZh<*G>ߓ•UaMks %h$atn-,\"z WL,F.D-n%Hݹ d9IA;y#D.f\=60T9-]F@#.AgNXvEٻ?|A6pRq0D !eet0yhC.$ )r`θ4i\oT+.Er̖%dhhU-W.If7"s?U.#L"rռJ/zF\dKBewMF !4d髙'fK\ /#h-`9g|4}Ӏ_āq \UfJ!Cg ΍OϠzwKTE"瞆=[&3R*/*=x`7Z~!(RpRLy\K".ʯ2;rFV a~Cr D%4Wbc{2)\)}ݘӁ_bH$SN^e[s]H 6G32q ;rA7w9Ƣ[=ɾ"&s@\^8pK#)r;bb9zi"1̢J9Tyy GL :vG Qr /`;vtq)WRtcAG#dcE"h v\PDANƵx׷NhDRb+*!!L,#_:[s:u?H\ͮ\nN_uhd4 cuC׫s[ >/MdZCÇ  @n4SU)֛iWM5ծenQ r!}9_Krcg PjLƎL.|t!ӣ6I$Cc^j?ىyi%/ۂ#&8jPr7{ ,Ld2A NI &5 cp3_ dA=ﱘ O5ӭVqyM^FX& ^xKj3-,_\& PZZ4#_c!&>GRRĈ*nh*ǘUnbfEuu'9,E>4{4?M韼;oQO8MFFUx2(3ٹܸ]W =U0sb^G"/ "i+zs1Fbe:Q#yq$ &V\JʉtQC,d񮽏jȬD! PW_A bit5-*%A Gl!JM:+,呂V ԹU5octeUA="E秕s YsӢ'%hH qGnIf+Kե+( jI)A>g̐uP{qJ x6DCu(8k0+KǗa IX@GfPdg<65uH %eŽ'>_' &<zVOӼ9 Z)ͥk5R,B@& 9n>Q>3t4Ϊ\v ;v ⵃ$@7-h|`>K!E.+ vahs!->*GvS )9+ [, VE*wT'PM֩5W_ eLmD~ȃϐ˺Ԕ&^v)Uz2r0NVdE6Q4Qh;9+2Z S5p!N"b*T  /~+V$ 4 ZQ'q1;c $J!!yPKYsK@1ZꙪm}gӌ'پۅoHʦۢ AjPq+e(&ްrKEB?Q5D7,="fHs]/1", fXiJQO4Ab|$s:w*(J[%<@Lrt&$ZD,^5][ZϿ:墕!W(o~VNP %/cx#ZX4 ?Zf.5g46fC8&x# jߺFgY}[m&fC[Z7 )p"C²ׯ"$yLm&ֺ0,TC\1fx}3[b `Ulac_"0O=JKD%rET (E'\:t˕tYCYJuk03;9XEE,sQ-g(^,a?Q}o] ýŒ簋;d.GՈ"M=2FwBIp("H6(Q3VvGv@yۊ~,e -9[CfQK/".]RmhF0d`,!k%nCVFSXrUD%[^0 JQ52A=-Kn:Ԋ;-**-%ci4k_T`ZdV-cH :2ڛמ  "s8cBF63k{HA2C*_T.Yȸ[K $߅Gg%V]qĻX?SzV:`F~l#,Vf2mL4:Pʪޡnf*{ڬN\0F9o$0J4Ֆ^2`ڂwc42/P`ґy;OD_\ #bZns*#W+ Y_rtBCg1}c?VREL^+*P3oXQJS3^(K̚XpR}\ 65]jz];Qn'* ,AIBʝdM.lPYz<4,Za 6KӶʎLeQ9!!zOh= LS\=1&L/6m-z7V83% U@3m2OִR0)21kљUc>*Wh inj dE7Y69K]Nꏊu#yY֌xBl3d7C[KcH\bg"L`Z3EBNp"gѨ"+@d`E~%'k{NΪ F1fA 3JM ZrˈDRЩāL+kPwcj:TML4b~Z(Q57B2tvb##+J')jOVccU#[b,qNU JLO&! 2+nOte9$lnRZ𼨇JBxlV̜kek1gb=,`|+CYp)nxY]&JYcQ,sM\j91Ti$UhV/;qu\NvYrӢK:)vp6%CfNp)2CV&4i.wi@: .}CZ{QOvŔfQ.-1Ȟo6Ύg˧ie7EM6XqghFh]+y`@ge2.4)bD !("$ju\;|q3hOc]glS.\u fq G^t1> >Č .Ju?'u:;V,),;h6g%009djmfb6RCIXф1NAU1ij"@( Vo )Uy (Biyl05~rlGJ$uA5"i}lH=;h`_ܛ*3gaxduɐ}CH%LM\fI1_~OVLrY[3M q'u4Yn:?jgU_M"#,T ҺMJ^5'?.0Ǽ#{ֻDviaKŮc x`ac(?#06XԕO+HgG%͡c*sO}DJH3j2U t+`zԠEÚ m"q "̇\1+e,WHhj%kYM^sPݠZq*^?ʕx "QJlҦ4[}\W IsAEQa[I: 'pj|EJM'JjDG"o `|dQxA#sQcy:d92>VMDWgd BY2j xϢy '{DϺͨ]6œO0*ptqi`x V] crcĸ 5+Yslo0}!GO7LԍBKkTbGbhdv3}{ U=RT1c495%rc22ɌL}(_lDyUzDb7܅#%`&Rz8 PgI鑳8tjR㣗2uϞ{di'Yeo(kUqkƘ)$x*X:`^Hh ҭvAz=R<0I񈘱:*C,6 %ag#ayPsᑯ-~6qV<<ZO]+bՕL2&.kYxLpJ~t GUiEՑ'N.u&$˫|Z%K<(jLü1!ijhϦt*x򴇱1y.*Ǝ&C) JGxP7K;׈x2&#ZYcEud[ӦO>W0pv$[d}ZϹx#c-׾1Ph4qqEj5TZPW0Ќxnp*&ɹ+q4,'9sV%MXz>7);l?)Psc¯OаȟU?WebLf.!v6 >q%ZQjxt}2Y`(A握B"nA{ iO&&gOjo4yDzZTvԴ4dӘJOȜ@K3?xD5c D ?٥QfƵqFa-c4:1w{9D|I1uv (NTJ3Ѽ6=Z]~N&*mEteH]?QwBbcfrN?J.G@5O7&\AŶҫ|yEXŗX! 2 f e/͈G/1|>2jF8%׍)~EOD.z(ڻZ塧㴮mj_-\cO9hM*+i v_ FxyZnj<&=RS11cތ\zJکXܼ< Ɣc~pY$I4 "m]u0T Yd3,ڹTzXGXc>a{(ljКGeJ4Q2٘^EmD'&\zC0/̾uifBhlH
      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1