Overview

The question of origins is inseparable from a web of hypotheses that both shape and explain us. Although origin invites examination, it always seems to elude our grasp. Notions have always been produced which seek to interpret the genesis of life, mind and the social order, and these notions have all been found to be unstable in the face of theoretical and empirical challenges. In any given period, the central ideas on origin have had a mutual resonance, frequently overlooked by specialists engaged in their particular fields. The main purpose of this interdisciplinary book is the drawing together of contributions from biology, the cognitive sciences and the humanities into a joint exploration of some of the main contemporary notions which deal with the understanding of origins in life, mind and society. The book consists of four central chapters (on social organization, symbols and money, life forms and perception) followed by acute and perceptive discussions. The book arose from an international meeting held at Stanford University.

Full Product Details

Author:   Francisco J. Varela ,  J.P. Dupuy
Publisher:   Springer
Imprint:   Springer
Edition:   1991 ed.
Volume:   130
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   1.460kg
ISBN:  

9780792312512

ISBN 10:   0792312511
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   31 January 1992
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Understanding Origins: An Introduction.- Origins: A View from the Literature.- I: Violence: The Origin of Social Order.- Supplement to Apocalypse: Girard and Derrida.- A Morphogenetic Hypothesis on the Closure of Post-Structuralism.- Girard and the Origin of Culture.- II: The Origin of Money: Symbols and Texts.- The Origin of Money.- Primitive Money, Modern Money.- III: Evolution and the Diversity of Life.- Origins of Order in Evolution: Self-Organization and Selection.- Optimization in Question.- Incorporating Origins into Evolutionary Theory.- The Evolution of Generic Forms.- Is Phylogeny Recapitulating Ontogeny?.- IV: Perception and the Origin of Cognition.- Whence Perceptual Meaning? A Cartography of Current Ideas.- Perception, Connectionism, and Cognitive Science.- The Original and the Copy.- Appendix / Symposium Program and List of Contributors.- Index of Authors.- Index of Names.

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