Animal Architects: Building and the Evolution of Intelligence
By: and
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- Synopsis
- Animal behavior has long been a battleground between the competing claims of nature and nurture, with the possible role of cognition in behavior as a recent addition to this debate. There is an untapped trove of behavioral data that can tell us a great deal about how the animals draw from these neural strategies: The structures animals build provide a superb window on the workings of the animal mind. Animal Architects examines animal architecture across a range of species, from those whose blueprints are largely innate (such as spiders and their webs) to those whose challenging structures seem to require intellectual insight, planning, and even aesthetics (such as bowerbirds' nests, or beavers' dams). Beginning with instinct and the simple homes of solitary insects, James and Carol Gould move on to conditioning; the "cognitive map” and how it evolved; and the role of planning and insight. Finally, they reflect on what animal building tells us about the nature of human intelligence-showing why humans, unlike many animals, need to build castles in the air.
- Copyright:
- 2007
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- Book Size:
- 336 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9780465028399
- Related ISBNs:
- 9780465028399, 9780465027828
- Publisher:
- Basic Books
- Date of Addition:
- 09/04/21
- Copyrighted By:
- James L. Gould and Carol Grant Gould
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Nonfiction, Science
- Grade Levels:
- Eighth grade, Ninth grade, Tenth grade, Eleventh grade, Twelfth grade, College Freshman, College Sophomore, College Junior, College Senior, Graduate Student, Undergraduate Student
- Reading Age:
- 13 and up
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.