The thin bone vault [electronic resource] : the origin of human intelligence / Fredric M. Menger.

ISBN:

9781848163379

9781282441293

Title:

The thin bone vault [electronic resource] : the origin of human intelligence / Fredric M. Menger.

Author:

Menger, Fredric M., 1937-

Personal Author:

Menger, Fredric M., 1937-

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 302 pages)

Contents:

Section 1. Evolution ch. 1. Introductory remarks. ch. 2. Darwin and natural selection. ch. 3. Darwin analyzed. ch. 4. Lamarck -- section 2. The thin bone valut. ch. 5. Introduction. ch. 6. Definition of intelligence. ch. 7. A brief history of the mind. ch. 8. Population. ch. 9. Culture. ch. 10. Animal intelligence -- section 3 Evolutionary potential. ch. 11. Introduction. ch. 12. Elementary genetics. ch. 13. Gene variability, examples. ch. 14. Directed mutations. ch. 15. Genetics and intelligence -- section 4. Evolution of intelligence, and epigenetic model. ch. 16. Introduction. ch. 17. Epigenetics. ch. 18. The cranial feedback mechanism -- section 5. Bibliography.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

Intellect.

Brain -- Evolution.

Human evolution.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view

Publication Date:

2009

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
612.82 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

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Summary

This book delves into one of the greatest riddles perplexing modern science: "Why are humans so smart?" In a format understandable even by the non-expert, the author investigates the origins of human intelligence, starting with classical Darwinian concepts. Thus, the strengths and beauty of natural selection are presented with many examples taken from natural history. Common criticisms of Darwin, from scientists and non-scientists alike, are confronted and shown to be either inconclusive or outright false.The author then launches into a discussion of human intelligence, the most important feature of human evolution, and how it cannot be fully explained by mutational selection. Modern humans are smarter than what is demanded by our evolutionary experience as hunter-gatherers. The difficulty lies in the inability of natural selection to answer the following question: how can a complex set of genes, controlling expensive traits with little immediate benefit, come into permanent existence within a short time period in every member of a small population (which was dispersed and geographically isolated over a huge planet) which had a low reproductive output and a low mutation rate?The book concludes with a speculative epigenetic theory of intelligence that does not require DNA mutations as a source of evolution. Although the book is comprehensible by anyone with a college education, this last section in particular should intrigue both layman and expert alike.

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

The evolution of intelligence in humans is a topic that has yielded much writing and speculation, but little consensus. With this work, Menger (Emory Univ.) attempts to explain human intelligence from a new perspective. Section 1 of the book provides background material on Darwinian evolutionary theory and natural selection. Section 2 delves into discussions and definitions of intelligence, mind, and consciousness, focusing on the various forms of human intelligence (linguistic, musical, mathematical); flexibility as a key feature of the human mind; and other adaptations in early human evolution (e.g., bipedality). Section 3 then provides background material on genetic processes important to Menger's argument. Finally, in section 4 Menger ties together natural selection, genetics, and intelligence, concluding that human intelligence cannot be explained in a strictly Darwinian context but must have evolved via complex epigenetic factors involving cranial feedback mechanisms. Although spotty in its incorporation of previously published work on human evolution, this book provides an interesting, well-argued scenario of the evolution of human intelligence. The Thin Bone Vault would perhaps be appropriate for a graduate seminar course, but would need to be supplemented by articles from the primary literature to provide a comprehensive perspective. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and graduate students. L. Swedell CUNY Queens College