Metazoa: Animal Minds and the Birth of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith (Eng

Description: Metazoa by Peter Godfrey-Smith The follow-up to the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week Other MindsA Times and Sunday Times Book of the YearA Waterstones Best Book of 2020The scuba-diving philosopher explores the origins of animal consciousness. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description The follow-up to the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week Other MindsA Times and Sunday Times Book of the YearA Waterstones Best Book of 2020The scuba-diving philosopher explores the origins of animal consciousness. Dip below the oceans surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom – the Metazoa – they can teach us about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds.In his acclaimed book, Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus – the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, he expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of experience with the assistance of far-flung species. Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the first animal body form well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. He charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments – eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment – shaped the lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers these stories together to bridge the gap between matter and mind and address one of the most important philosophical questions: what is the origin of consciousness?Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophy and biology, Metazoa reveals the impossibility of separating the evolution of our minds from the evolution of animals themselves. Author Biography Peter Godfrey-Smith is a distinguished professor of history and the philosophy of science at the University of Sydney. He is the author of five books, including the bestselling Other Minds, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Royal Society Science Book Prize and Natural Selection, which won the 2010 Lakatos Award for an outstanding work on the philosophy of science. Review A Times and Sunday Times Book of the YearA BBC Science Focus Book of the MonthThis gentle approach won a wide readership for Godfrey-Smiths last book and deserves to do the same for this. But perhaps his exploratory style is well-suited, not just to the general reader, but to the problem of consciousness itself Times Literary SupplementEnthralling … A rather winning combination of not once ever making readers feel as if they are being lectured to; rather, it is the sensation of joining a wise, ever-patient friend on a time-traveling tour of the cognitive experiences of animals … Metazoa brings an extraordinary and astute look at our own minds essential link to the animal world Aimee Nezhukumatathil, New York TimesA profound scientific drama, in which the lives of quite un-human creatures illuminate deep mysteries about the nature of sentience, and what it means to possess a mind … In Metazoa, the scuba-diving historian and philosopher of science tackles these questions with eloquent boldness … As in Other Minds, Mr Godfrey-Smith recounts close encounters with marine fauna, gleaned from years of diving off the Australian coast. These have an electric immediacy … Evocative [and] gripping Barbara Kiser, Wall Street JournalPeter Godfrey-Smiths new book Metazoa is, like his last one, not only deeply interesting but beautifully written. Also, it finally taught me how to pronounce "cnidarian" properly Philip BallPeter Godfrey-Smith writes and thinks like no one else that I know of. Hes well immersed in the science of life, a deep-diver into the philosophical implications of the factual world –and a writer so skillful he can give a reader chills. Metazoa is his deepest dive to date on what life is Carl Safina, author of Becoming Wild Review Quote Praise for Other Minds: Entrancing and profound Financial Times Startlingly incisive New York Times The beauty of Godfrey-Smiths book lies in the clarity of his writing; his empathy, if you will. He takes us through those early stirrings in the seas of deep time, from bacteria that sense light and can taste, to cnidarian jellyfish, the first organisms to exhibit nervous systems, which he describes wonderfully. Philip Hoare, Guardian Fascinating and often delightful ... This book ingeniously blends philosophy and science to trace the epic journey from single-celled organisms of 3.8 billion years ago to the awakening and development of cephalopod consciousness. The Times As poignant as anything you will read this year Mail on Sunday In Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith, a philosopher, skilfully combines science, philosophy and his experiences of swimming among these tentacled beasts to illuminate the origin and nature of consciousness. The Economist Feature BESTSELLING AUTHOR of Other Minds, which sold 12.5K in HB and 65K in PB. ASKS BIG QUESTIONS about the origins and significance of life and of consciousness. FASCINATING ENCOUNTERS with non-human intelligence, including a chapter on the octopus. WILL APPEAL TO viewers of Blue Planet and Planet Earth, and readers of Other Minds, Sapiens and Life on Earth. Competition: Soul of an Octopus;Sapiens;Life on Earth;Intriguing Animals;Hidden Life of Trees;The;Man Who Mistook his wife for a hat;River of consciousness;Idea of the Brain;Body;Entangled Life. Sy Montgomery;Yuval Harari;David ;Ben Hoare;Henry Marsh;Oliver Sacks;Matthew Cobb;Bill Bryson;Merlin Sheldrake Details ISBN000832123X Pages 288 ISBN-10 000832123X ISBN-13 9780008321239 Year 2021 Short Title Metazoa Language English DEWEY 128.2 Format Paperback Publication Date 2021-07-08 UK Release Date 2021-07-08 Imprint William Collins Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom Author Peter Godfrey-Smith Publisher HarperCollins Publishers Subtitle Animal Minds and the Birth of Consciousness Alternative 9780008321215 Audience General AU Release Date 2021-07-04 NZ Release Date 2021-07-04 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:132720713;

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