Cognitive Foundations of Natural History
Towards an Anthropology of Science
£38.99
- Author: Scott Atran
- Date Published: April 1993
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521438711
£
38.99
Paperback
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available on inspection
-
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'.
Reviews & endorsements
' … 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 it. The result is a book that contains more substance per page than any book I have read in a generation.' David Hull, Biology and Philosophy
See more reviews'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
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: April 1993
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9780521438711
- length: 376 pages
- dimensions: 228 x 151 x 24 mm
- weight: 0.615kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Common sense: its scope and limits
Part I. Folkbiology:
2. Folktaxonomy
3. The semantics of living kinds
Part II. Aristotelian Essentials:
4. Essence and environment
5. Materials of logical division
Part III. From Herbals to Systems:
6. Origins of the species concept
7. The nature of the genus
Part IV. The Scientific Breakaway:
8. The method of families and classes
9. Science, symbolism and common sense
Conclusions
Appendix
Notes
References
Index.
Related Books
related journals
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email lecturers@cambridge.org
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×