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OverviewA fascinating examination of what science can and cannot explain about human nature. Are humans unique? Can animals think as we do? Will machines ever have consciousness? What is free will? For centuries, attempts to answer these questions have been the stuff of both bar-room debates and intense theological and philosophical dispute. Now scientists claim they can solve these riddles of human existence once and for all. In so doing, they promise to upset many of the accepted ideas about morality and human nature. ""Man, Beast, and Zombie"" is an original and accessible book. Vast in its scope, it draws on cutting-edge sciences such as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence to assess what, precisely, science can and cannot explain about human nature. Kenan Malik explains the histories of these sciences (and the philosophies that underpin them) and analyzes the complex relationship between human beings, animals, and machines to explore what really makes us human. Malik demonstrates that much current thinking about human nature is flawed: how there is more than one way to design a mind; why the lifestyles of contemporary hunter-gatherers do not illuminate the lives of our prehistoric ancestors; and what intelligent machines really reveal about human consciousness. He shows, too, how the scientific debate about human nature is as influenced by politics as by science."""" ""Man, Beast, and Zombie"" is both a defense of scientific reason and a challenge to some of todays most cherished scientific theories. It deftly interweaves philosophy, science, and history to answer the most fundamental question of all: what is a human being? Full Product DetailsAuthor: Kenan MalikPublisher: Rutgers University Press Imprint: Rutgers University Press Dimensions: Width: 17.10cm , Height: 4.40cm , Length: 24.00cm Weight: 0.953kg ISBN: 9780813531229ISBN 10: 0813531225 Pages: 470 Publication Date: 01 May 2002 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Out of Stock Indefinitely Availability: Awaiting stock Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationTab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |