Man, Beast and Zombie
What Science Can and Cannot Tell Us About Human Nature

Malik, Kenan
Publisher:  Phoenix
Year First Published:  {26391 Man, Beast and Zombie MAN BEAST AND ZOMBIE What Science Can and Cannot Tell Us About Human Nature Malik, Kenan Phoenix Drawing upon the ideas of evolutionary biology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence, Malik questions many of our assumptions about human nature. 2000 2001 B Book Kenan Malik's Man, Beast and Zombie: What Science Can and Cannot Tell Us About Human Nature explores the scientific debates and evolutionary theories of Man from the early Renaissance to the modern day. Relying on various philosophers and scientists, Malik discusses how the relationship between nature, science and humanism has changed over time, reflecting popular paradigms of each era. The author states "One of the aims of this book is to suggest how we can integrate a scientific view of humanness with philosophical and political conceptions". Examining the rationale behind modern humanistic thought, Man, Beast and Zombie "is in part an exploration of the scientific arguments about human nature; in part is a study of cultural history, about the impact of intellectual and cultural changes on scientific conceptions of the human, and in part it is an attempt to understand the philosophical framework within which the contemporary science of Man works". <br> <br>Malik provides a view into the significant events shaping scientific theories since the late 1400s, tracing how these events impacted the interaction between science and human nature. Man, Beast and Zombie "investigates the ways in which certain strands of science have constructed an idea of what it means to be human" and how each generation has defined their relationship to humanity through scientific advancements and discoveries. Discussing evolutionary biology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence, the author questions how the human relationship with our animalistic past has adjusted to meet the conceptions of specific scientific movements. Science has altered the ways in which human beings have viewed themselves in relation to nature, to the universe and to their everyday surroundings. Harnessing the theories of Aristotle's universe, Descartes' rationalism and Darwin's 'survival of the fittest', among other examples, Malik shows how science has acted as a guiding force, altering the foundation and relationship between humans, nature and their biological heritage. <br> <br>[Abstract by William Stevenson] <br> <br> <br> <br>Table of Contents <br> <br>Preface <br>1. The Ascent of Man, the Descent of Humanity <br>2. Body and Soul <br>3. Experience and the Spirit <br>4. God's Will and Natures Law <br>5. From Ubermensch to Unesco Man <br>6. The Making of a Proper Science <br>7. Stone Age Darwinism <br>8. Humane Beasts and Beastly Humans <br>9. Ways of Designing a Mind <br>10. A World in Our Heads <br>11. Expelling the Ghost from the Machine <br>12. The Extended Mind <br>13. Subject and Object <br>14. Disturbing the Universe <br>Notes and References <br>Bibliography <br>Index CX11450 0 false true false CX11450.htm [0xc000fc8fc0 0xc0011e3e00 0xc001400f60 0xc0014570e0 0xc0015c5440 0xc000066450 0xc000308270 0xc000273500 0xc000549440 0xc000549800 0xc00022fce0 0xc00024c750 0xc00072cc30 0xc0008c8c00 0xc000f180f0 0xc0011e6300 0xc0012df260 0xc000b06e10 0xc0017c8300 0xc001984870 0xc002373f50 0xc0002d4f30 0xc0008f8540] Cx}
Year Published:  2001
Resource Type:  Book
Cx Number:  CX11450

Drawing upon the ideas of evolutionary biology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence, Malik questions many of our assumptions about human nature.

Abstract: 
Kenan Malik's Man, Beast and Zombie: What Science Can and Cannot Tell Us About Human Nature explores the scientific debates and evolutionary theories of Man from the early Renaissance to the modern day. Relying on various philosophers and scientists, Malik discusses how the relationship between nature, science and humanism has changed over time, reflecting popular paradigms of each era. The author states "One of the aims of this book is to suggest how we can integrate a scientific view of humanness with philosophical and political conceptions". Examining the rationale behind modern humanistic thought, Man, Beast and Zombie "is in part an exploration of the scientific arguments about human nature; in part is a study of cultural history, about the impact of intellectual and cultural changes on scientific conceptions of the human, and in part it is an attempt to understand the philosophical framework within which the contemporary science of Man works".

Malik provides a view into the significant events shaping scientific theories since the late 1400s, tracing how these events impacted the interaction between science and human nature. Man, Beast and Zombie "investigates the ways in which certain strands of science have constructed an idea of what it means to be human" and how each generation has defined their relationship to humanity through scientific advancements and discoveries. Discussing evolutionary biology, cognitive science and artificial intelligence, the author questions how the human relationship with our animalistic past has adjusted to meet the conceptions of specific scientific movements. Science has altered the ways in which human beings have viewed themselves in relation to nature, to the universe and to their everyday surroundings. Harnessing the theories of Aristotle's universe, Descartes' rationalism and Darwin's 'survival of the fittest', among other examples, Malik shows how science has acted as a guiding force, altering the foundation and relationship between humans, nature and their biological heritage.

[Abstract by William Stevenson]



Table of Contents

Preface
1. The Ascent of Man, the Descent of Humanity
2. Body and Soul
3. Experience and the Spirit
4. God's Will and Natures Law
5. From Ubermensch to Unesco Man
6. The Making of a Proper Science
7. Stone Age Darwinism
8. Humane Beasts and Beastly Humans
9. Ways of Designing a Mind
10. A World in Our Heads
11. Expelling the Ghost from the Machine
12. The Extended Mind
13. Subject and Object
14. Disturbing the Universe
Notes and References
Bibliography
Index

Subject Headings

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