Promethean Fire: Reflections on the Origin of the Mind

By Charles J. Lumsden

Book Overview

There is a missing link in human evolution about which few facts are known and surprisingly little has been written. It is not any one of the intermediate forms connecting modern man to his apelike... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0674714458
• ISBN13: 9780674714458
• Release Date: April 1983
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Gene-culture coevolution.

This book proves that there is no division between culture and biology, but that both are intertwined. As the authors state: Gene-culture coevolution is "a complicated interaction in which culture is generated and shaped by biological imperatives while biological traits are simultaneously altered by genetic evolution in response to cultural innovation." (p.20)The authors illustrate this coevolution convincingly, mostly by the case of brother-sister incest.In fact, this theory tells us how the mind is 'formed', but doesn't explain the origin (come into being) of the mind. The title is a little bit misleading.It is an original work, because it broadens Darwinism with cultural aspects.It is also an important work, because it counters the Standard Social Science Model which proposes a fundamental division between biology and culture.Not to be missed.