July 30, 2012
The Foundations of Cognitive Archaeology by Marc A. Abramiuk (MIT Press, 2012)
(amazon.co.uk)
Book description from the publisher:
In The Foundations of Cognitive Archaeology, Marc Abramiuk proposes a multidisciplinary basis for the study of the mind in the past, arguing that archaeology and the cognitive sciences have much to offer one another. Abramiuk draws on relevant topics from philosophy, biological anthropology, cognitive psychology, cognitive anthropology, and archaeology to establish theoretically founded and empirically substantiated principles of a discipline that integrates different approaches to mind-related archaeological research.
Abramiuk discusses the two ways that archaeologists have traditionally viewed the human mind: as a universal or as a relative interface with the environment. He argues that neither view by itself can satisfactorily serve as a basis for gleaning insight into all aspects of the mind in the past and, therefore, the mind is more appropriately studied using multiple approaches. He explains the rationale for using these approaches in mind-related archaeological research, reviewing the literature in both cognitive psychology and cognitive anthropology on human memory, perception, and reasoning. Drawing on archaeological and genetic evidence, Abramiuk investigates the evolution of the mind through the Upper Paleolithic era–when the ancient mind became functionally comparable to the modern human mind. Finally, Abramiuk offers a model for the establishment of a discipline dealing with the study of the mind in the past that integrates all the approaches discussed.
Google Books preview:
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- cognitive science,culture,human evolution,new books
July 28, 2012
The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning by Iain McGilchrist is currently $1.50 in the US Kindle store (or £1.02 at amazon.co.uk). (Price is subject to change and may vary by region.)
Book description from the publisher:
In this 10,000-word essay, written to complement Iain McGilchrist’s acclaimed The Master and His Emissary, the author asks why – despite the vast increase in material well-being – people are less happy today than they were half a century ago, and suggests that the division between the two hemispheres of the brain has a critical effect on how we see and understand the world around us. In particular, McGilchrist suggests, the left hemisphere’s obsession with reducing everything it sees to the level of minute, mechanistic detail is robbing modern society of the ability to understand and appreciate deeper human values. Accessible to readers who haven’t yet read The Master and His Emissary as well as those who have, this is a fascinating, immensely thought-provoking essay that delves to the very heart of what it means to be human.
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- consciousness,culture,happiness
July 13, 2012
Sincerity: How a moral ideal born five hundred years ago inspired religious wars, modern art, hipster chic, and the curious notion that we all have something to say (no matter how dull) by R. Jay McGill Jr. (W.W. Norton & Co., 2012)
(kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk)
Book description from the publisher:
A cultural and intellectual history of sincerity, from its emergence during the Protestant Reformation to its present incarnations and adversaries.
People have long been duped by “straight-talking” politicians, confessional talk-show hosts, and fake-earnest advertisers. As sincerity has become suspect, the upright and honest have taken refuge in irony. Yet our struggle for authenticity in back-to-the-woods movements, folksy songwriting, and a craving for plainspoken presidential candidates betrays our longing for the holy grail of sincerity.
Bringing deep historical perspective and a brilliant contemporary spin to Lionel Trilling’s 1972 Sincerity and Authenticity, R. Jay Magill Jr. argues that we can’t shake sincerity’s deep theological past, emotional resonance, and the sense of conscience it has carved in the Western soul. From Protestant theology to paintings by crazy people, from French satire to the anti-hipster movement, Magill navigates history, religion, art, and politics to create a portrait of an ideal that, despite its abuse, remains a strange magnetic north in our secular moral compass.
See also: Review in the Wall Street Journal
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- culture,new books
July 11, 2012
Witchcraft, Oracles and Magic among the Azande, a classic ethnographic work by E.E. Evans-Pritchard is currently only $2.99 on Kindle. (Prices subject to change and may vary by region.)
(Print edition at Amazon.com, amazon.co.uk)
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- culture
