The First Idea

How Symbols, Language, and Intelligence Evolved from Our Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans

By: Stanley Greenspan, Stuart Shanker

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Paperback | 8 February 2008 | Edition Number 1

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512 Pages

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22.86 x 15.24 x 3.25

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In this highly original work, one of the world''s most distinguished child psychiatrists together with a philosopher at the forefront of ape and child language research present a startling hypothesis-that the development of our higher-level symbolic thinking, language, and social skills cannot be explained by genes and natural selection, but depend on cultural practices learned anew by each generation over millions of years, dating back to primate and prehuman cultures. Furthermore, for the first time, they present their remarkable research revealing the steps leading to symbolic thinking in the life of each new human infant and show that contrary to now-prevailing theories of Pinker, Chomsky, and others, there is no biological explanation that can account for these distinctly human abilities.Drawing from their own original work with human infants and apes, and meticulous examination of the fossil record, Greenspan and Shanker trace how each new species of nonhuman primates, prehumans, and early humans mastered and taught to their offspring in successively greater degrees the steps leading to symbolic thinking. Their revolutionary theory and compelling evidence reveal the true origins of our most advanced human qualities and set a radical new direction for evolutionary theory, psychology, and philosophy.

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You Can Find This Book In

Non-Fiction Science Biology, Life Sciences Life Sciences in General Evolution Psychology Cognition & Cognitive Psychology Science in General Popular Science Sociology & Anthropology Anthropology Language & Linguistics

Linguistics Human Biology Zoology & Animal Sciences Zoology & Vertebrates Zoology & Mammals Primates Child & Developmental Psychology

Introduction	p. 1
Origin and Development of Symbols
Origin of Symbols	p. 17
Intellectual Growth and Transformations of Emotions During the Course of Life	p. 41
A New Direction for Evolutionary Theory
Introduction	p. 97
The Early Stages of Emotional Regulation, Engagement, and Signaling: Nonhuman Primates and the Earliest Hominids	p. 103
Problem-Solving Collaborations: Chimpanzees and Early Humans	p. 132
Symbols, Words, and Ideas: Archaic Homo sapiens and Early Moderns	p. 147
Representation and the Beginning of Logic: Homo sapiens sapiens	p. 167
The Engine of Evolution	p. 181
The Development of Language and Intelligence
Introduction	p. 185
The Origins of Language	p. 187
The Role of Emotions in Language Development	p. 208
Emotions and the Development of Intelligence	p. 232
How Emotional Signaling Links Emotion and Cognition and the Brain's Subsymbolic and Symbolic Cortical Systems: Implications for Neuroscience and Piaget's Cognitive Psychology	p. 250
Emotional Development Derailed: Pathways to and from Autism	p. 295
The Development of Social Groups
Introduction	p. 319
The Developmental Levels of Groups, Societies, and Cultures (With Elizabeth Greenspan)	p. 321
A New History of History	p. 375
Future Evolution: Toward a Psychology of Global Interdependency	p. 424
Notes	p. 457
References	p. 471
Index	p. 489
About the Authors	p. 504
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

The First Idea

How Symbols, Language, and Intelligence Evolved from Our Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans

At a Glance

Paperback

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

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