A01=Keith E. Stanovich
agency
anthropology
Author_Keith E. Stanovich
autonomy
brain
capitalism
Category=QD
cognition
cognitive science
constraint
creation
darwin
desire
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
evolution
evolutionary biology
genes
human nature
intelligence
meaning
memes
nonfiction
ontology
philosophy
preference
psychology
purpose
rationality
reason
religion
replication
reproduction
richard dawkins
robot
self
self-determination
significance
soul
survival mechanisms
threats
Product details
- ISBN 9780226770895
- Weight: 652g
- Dimensions: 16 x 23mm
- Publication Date: 15 May 2004
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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The idea that we might be robots is no longer the stuff of science fiction; decades of research in evolutionary biology and cognitive science have led many esteemed thinkers and scientists to the conclusion that, following the precepts of universal Darwinism, humans are merely the hosts for two replicators (genes and memes) that have no interest in us except as conduits for replication. Accepting and now forcefully responding to this disturbing idea that precludes the possibilities of morality or free will, among other things, Keith Stanovich here provides the tools for the "robot's rebellion," a program of cognitive reform necessary to advance human interests over the limited interest of the replicators. He shows how concepts of rational thinking from cognitive science interact with the logic of evolution to create opportunities for humans to structure their behavior to serve their own ends. These evaluative activities of the brain, he argues, fulfill the need that we have to ascribe significance to human life.
Only by recognizing ourselves as robots, argues Stanovich, can we begin to construct a concept of self based on what is truly singular about humans: that they gain control of their lives in a way unique among life forms on Earth - through rational self-determination.
Keith E. Stanovich holds the Canada Research Chair in Applied Cognitive Science at the University of Toronto. A fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society, he is the author of Who Is Rational? Studies of Individual Differences in Reasoning and How to Think Straight About Psychology, now in its seventh edition.
