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Our minds must be considered among the wonders of the natural
world., It seems hardly credible that an organized assemblage of molecules can
generate vivid feelings and sensations, yet the brain is such an assemblage and
it does… So, how does our conscious mind arise from our physical brain? Evolving
the Mind examines this question by following two main themes: how theories
of the mind have evolved in science and how the mind itself evolved in Nature.
This book is written in a very accessible way. It is amusing,
serious, informative and at all times conversational. It starts in history and
follows a trail for a physical theory of consciousness inadvertently laid down
by twentieth century science. Graham Cairns-Smith
is a Reader in Chemistry at the University of Glasgow and a Fellow of the Royal
Society of Edinburgh. Both his undergraduate degree and his PhD were taken at
Edinburgh, the latter in the field of organic and solid-state chemistry. He then
moved to a lectureship at Glasgow, teaching organic chemistry, molecular biology
and the history and nature of science. He is well known throughout the world for
his ideas on the nature, origin and evolution of life, themes which have appeared
in his string of successful books: The Life Puzzle (1971), Genetic
Takeover (1982), Seven Clues to the Origin of Life (1985) and Clay
Minerals and the Origin of Life (!986). Seven Clues to the Origin of Life
has so far been translated into eight languages. In addition to his books, Dr.
Cairns-Smith has given invited lectures worldwide and made numerous contributions
to radio and television programmes. |
