Peter Godfrey-Smith

The eagerly anticipated conclusion to Peter Godfrey-Smith’s three-part exploration of the origins of intelligence on Earth, which began with the bestselling Other Minds in 2018 and continued with Metazoa in 2020. The eagerly anticipated conclusion to Peter Godfrey-Smith’s three-part exploration of the origins of intelligence on Earth, which began with the bestselling Other Minds in 2018 and continued with Metazoa in 2020. Peter Godfrey-Smith, the scuba-diving philosopher, examined the evolution of sentience in Other Minds. In Metazoa he asked how that consciousness shaped and was shaped by animal bodies. Now, in Living on Earth, he takes that line of questioning a step further, asking, how has life shaped and been shaped by our planet? He visits the largest living stromatolite fields, examples of how cyanobacteria began belching oxygen into the atmosphere as they converted carbon dioxide and water into living matter using the sun's light. The extraordinary increase in oxygen in the atmosphere resulted in an explosion in the diversity of life. And so began a riotous tangle of coevolution between plants and animals, as each changed the environment around them allowing others to utilise these new ecosystems and thus new species to evolve. From cyanobacteria, through algae on to ferns or trees or grasses, and from protists , through invertebrates and fish through the dinosaurs and on to birds and mammals – our planet has seen an explosion of life forms, all reacting to their environment and all creating new environments that allow other life to evolve. In our own evolutionary line, an initially unremarkable mammal changed in new ways, evolving to come out of the trees to inhabit new savannas and then onto inhabit the whole planet. One of the most adaptable species ever found on Earth, and arguably the species causing the most change, humans are still part of this 3.8 billion year history of life forms changing the world around them. In Living on Earth, Godfrey-Smith takes us on a grand tour of the history of life on earth. He visits Rwandan gorillas and Australian bowerbirds, returns to coral reefs and octopus dens, considers the impact of language and writing, and weighs the responsibilities our unique powers bring with them, as they relate to factory farming, habitat preservation, climate change, and the use of animals in experiments. Living on Earth shows that Humans belong to the infinitely complex system that is the Earth, and our minds are products of that system, but we are also an acting force within it. We are creatures of Earth, but we hold Earth's future in our hands. It is a responsibility that we must all understand and accept.

The eagerly anticipated conclusion to Peter Godfrey-Smith's three-part exploration of the origins of intelligence on Earth, which began with the bestselling Other Minds in 2018 and continued with Metazoa in 2020.

The eagerly anticipated conclusion to Peter Godfrey-Smithâ??s three-part exploration of the origins of intelligence on Earth, which began with the bestselling Other Minds in 2018 and continued with Metazoa in 2020.

Vuelve el autor de Otras mentes con un ensayo fascinante y revelador sobre lo que une a todos los habitantes de la Tierra. Si la historia de la Tierra se redujera a un a o, nuestra especie surgir a en los ltimos treinta minutos. Pero la vida ha existido durante 3.700 millones de a os, la mayor parte de la historia de nuestro planeta y m s de una cuarta parte de la edad del universo. Qu hicieron esos organismos durante todo este tiempo? Impulsado por esta cuesti n, el fil sofo y submarinista Peter Godfrey-Smith se pregunta en su nuevo libro c mo la vida fue moldeada y molde la Tierra, y nos invita a un fascinante recorrido por su historia. Visitaremos a gorilas ruandeses y p jaros australianos, bucearemos arrecifes de coral y guaridas de pulpos, consideraremos el impacto del lenguaje y la escritura para el planeta, y sopesaremos las responsabilidades que conllevan nuestros poderes nicos, en relaci n con la agricultura industrial, la conservaci n del h bitat, el cambio clim tico y el uso de animales en experimentos. Desde los mares hasta los bosques, desde la primera aparici n de la materia animada hasta su futura extinci n, el autor nos ofrece una asombrosa visi n del curso de la vida en la Tierra y de c mo podr amos afrontar los retos de nuestro tiempo. Los humanos pertenecemos a un sistema infinitamente complejo y nuestra mente es producto de ese sistema, pero tambi n somos una fuerza capaz de modificar el mundo en el que vivimos. Somo criaturas de la Tierra, tenemos el futuro de la Tierra en nuestras manos. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION The author of Other Minds returns with a fascinating and revealing essay about what unites all the inhabitants of Earth. If the history of Earth were reduced to a single year, our species would emerge in the last thirty minutes. Yet life has existed for 3.7 billion years--most of our planet's history and more than a quarter of the age of the universe. What were those organisms doing all that time? Driven by this question, philosopher and diver Peter Godfrey-Smith asks in his new book how life was shaped by the Earth and how it, in turn, shaped the planet. He invites us on a fascinating journey through its history. We will visit Rwandan gorillas and Australian birds, dive into coral reefs and octopus dens, consider the impact of language and writing on the planet, and weigh the responsibilities that come with our unique powers in relation to industrial agriculture, habitat conservation, climate change, and the use of animals in experiments. From the seas to the forests, from the first emergence of living matter to its possible future extinction, the author offers us a stunning vision of the course of life on Earth and how we might face the challenges of our time. Humans belong to an infinitely complex system, and our minds are products of that system--but we are also a force capable of altering the world we live in. We are creatures of the Earth, and the future of the Earth lies in our hands.

Vuelve el autor de Otras mentes con un ensayo fascinante y revelador sobre lo que une a todos los habitantes de la Tierra. Si la historia de la Tierra se redujera a un a o, nuestra especie surgir a en los ltimos treinta minutos. Pero la vida ha existido durante 3.700 millones de a os, la mayor parte de la historia de nuestro planeta y m s de una cuarta parte de la edad del universo. Qu hicieron esos organismos durante todo este tiempo? Impulsado por esta cuesti n, el fil sofo y submarinista Peter Godfrey-Smith se pregunta en su nuevo libro c mo la vida fue moldeada y molde la Tierra, y nos invita a un fascinante recorrido por su historia. Visitaremos a gorilas ruandeses y p jaros australianos, bucearemos arrecifes de coral y guaridas de pulpos, consideraremos el impacto del lenguaje y la escritura para el planeta, y sopesaremos las responsabilidades que conllevan nuestros poderes nicos, en relaci n con la agricultura industrial, la conservaci n del h bitat, el cambio clim tico y el uso de animales en experimentos. Desde los mares hasta los bosques, desde la primera aparici n de la materia animada hasta su futura extinci n, el autor nos ofrece una asombrosa visi n del curso de la vida en la Tierra y de c mo podr amos afrontar los retos de nuestro tiempo. Los humanos pertenecemos a un sistema infinitamente complejo y nuestra mente es producto de ese sistema, pero tambi n somos una fuerza capaz de modificar el mundo en el que vivimos. Somo criaturas de la Tierra, tenemos el futuro de la Tierra en nuestras manos. ENGLISH DESCRIPTION One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024The bestselling author of Other Minds shows how we and our ancestors have reinvented our planet. If the history of the Earth were compressed down to a year, our species would arise in the last thirty minutes or so of the final hour. But life itself is not such a late arrival: It has existed on Earth for something like 3.7 billion years―most of our planet's history and over a quarter of the age of the universe (as far as we can tell). What have these organisms―bacteria, animals, plants, and the rest―done in all this time? In Living on Earth, the philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith proposes a new way of understanding how the actions of living beings have shaped our planet. Where his acclaimed books Other Minds and Metazoa explored the riddle of how conscious minds came to exist on Earth, Living on Earth turns to what happens when we look at the mind from another side―when we come to see organisms as active causes, not merely as results of the evolutionary process. The planet we inhabit is significantly the work of other living beings, who shaped the environments that we ourselves later transformed. To that end, Godfrey-Smith takes us on a grand tour of the history of life on earth. He visits Rwandan gorillas and Australian bowerbirds, returns to coral reefs and octopus dens, considers the impact of language and writing, and weighs the responsibilities our unique powers bring with them, as they relate to factory farming, habitat preservation, climate change, and the use of animals in experiments. Ranging from the seas to the forests, and from animate matter's first appearance to its future extinction, Godfrey-Smith offers a novel picture of the course of life on Earth and how we might meet the challenges of our time, the Anthropocene.

A colourful visual journey from the shoreline to the ocean’s depths to celebrate the sheer diversity of life beneath the waves. Three quarters of the ocean has never been seen by humans. Drawing on the recent success of Trees, this companion book explores our oceans, taking readers on a deep dive through the different depth zones – from the shoreline and surface, via the sunlight zone, the twilight and midnight zones and into the great abyss – to chart the richness and diversity of life found in our seas. Each chapter, centred on a different depth zone, begins with a comprehensive introduction, before exploring 15–25 visual themes, from the smallest living things to the largest and the familiar to the little-known. A final chapter on the oceans and us reveals the visual history of human interaction with the deep blue, from discovery and mapping to current issues of the environment and preservation. Stunning photographic content – from microscopic images of tiny individual critters to corals of every hue and the abstract patterns of fish scales – is shown along with a wide range of stunning archival illustrations and specially commissioned infographics that convey complex data in a simple and elegant way. With frequent news stories about the threat to marine life posed by climate change and human behaviours, the oceans are an important subject, and the preservation of biodiversity is crucial for the future of our planet. This book draws attention to the importance of life in our oceans to provide a positive message about the need to preserve it.

One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024The bestselling author of Other Minds shows how we and our ancestors have reinvented our planet. If the history of the Earth were compressed down to a year, our species would arise in the last thirty minutes or so of the final hour. But life itself is not such a late arrival: It has existed on Earth for something like 3.7 billion years--most of our planet's history and over a quarter of the age of the universe (as far as we can tell). What have these organisms--bacteria, animals, plants, and the rest--done in all this time? In Living on Earth, the philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith proposes a new way of understanding how the actions of living beings have shaped our planet. Where his acclaimed books Other Minds and Metazoa explored the riddle of how conscious minds came to exist on Earth, Living on Earth turns to what happens when we look at the mind from another side--when we come to see organisms as active causes, not merely as results of the evolutionary process. The planet we inhabit is significantly the work of other living beings, who shaped the environments that we ourselves later transformed. To that end, Godfrey-Smith takes us on a grand tour of the history of life on earth. He visits Rwandan gorillas and Australian bowerbirds, returns to coral reefs and octopus dens, considers the impact of language and writing, and weighs the responsibilities our unique powers bring with them, as they relate to factory farming, habitat preservation, climate change, and the use of animals in experiments. Ranging from the seas to the forests, and from animate matter's first appearance to its future extinction, Godfrey-Smith offers a novel picture of the course of life on Earth and how we might meet the challenges of our time, the Anthropocene.

One of the Washington Post's 50 Best Nonfiction Books of 2024The bestselling author of Other Minds shows how we and our ancestors have reinvented our planet. If the history of the Earth were compressed down to a year, our species would arise in the last thirty minutes or so of the final hour. But life itself is not such a late arrival: It has existed on Earth for something like 3.7 billion years--most of our planet's history and over a quarter of the age of the universe (as far as we can tell). What have these organisms--bacteria, animals, plants, and the rest--done in all this time? In Living on Earth, the philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith proposes a new way of understanding how the actions of living beings have shaped our planet. Where his acclaimed books Other Minds and Metazoa explored the riddle of how conscious minds came to exist on Earth, Living on Earth turns to what happens when we look at the mind from another side--when we come to see organisms as active causes, not merely as results of the evolutionary process. The planet we inhabit is significantly the work of other living beings, who shaped the environments that we ourselves later transformed. To that end, Godfrey-Smith takes us on a grand tour of the history of life on earth. He visits Rwandan gorillas and Australian bowerbirds, returns to coral reefs and octopus dens, considers the impact of language and writing, and weighs the responsibilities our unique powers bring with them, as they relate to factory farming, habitat preservation, climate change, and the use of animals in experiments. Ranging from the seas to the forests, and from animate matter's first appearance to its future extinction, Godfrey-Smith offers a novel picture of the course of life on Earth and how we might meet the challenges of our time, the Anthropocene.

"CHUZHOJ RAZUM" GODFRI-SMIT PITERPiter Godfri-Smit (r. 1965) - avstralijskij morskoj biolog i filosof nauki, professor Sidnejskogo universiteta. Ego bestseller "Drugie umy" proizvel nastojaschuju revoljutsiju v nashem ponimanii golovonogikh molljuskov: po mneniju avtora, eti zhivotnye predstavljajut soboj "alternativnyj eksperiment evoljutsii po sozdaniju vysokorazvitogo intellekta". Avtor, opytnyj akvalangist, postojanno nabljudajuschij osminogov i karakatits v ikh estestvennoj srede obitanija, ubezhden, chto eti beskonechno dalekie ot nas organizmy demonstrirujut vydajuschiesja kognitivnye sposobnosti i udivitelno vysokij uroven psikhicheskoj slozhnosti." MORALNOE ZHIVOTNOE" RAJT ROBERTChelovek est zhivotnoe, nadelennoe razumom, - s etim faktom trudno posporit. V to zhe vremja prinjato schitat, chto v tsivilizovannom obschestve razumnoe nachalo prevaliruet nad zhivotnym. No tak li eto v dejstvitelnosti? Chto predstavljaet soboj chelovecheskaja moral, preterpevshaja za mnogo vekov radikalnye izmenenija? Kak svjazany mezhdu soboj altruizm i borba za vyzhivanie, seksualnaja revoljutsija i teorija evoljutsii Darvina? Chest, sovest, druzhba, blagorodstvo - neuzheli vse eto tolko slova, za kotorymi skryvaetsja golyj instinkt? Analiziruja eti voprosy i ostroumno ispolzuja v kachestve primera biografiju samogo Charlza Darvina i ego "Proiskhozhdenie vidov" i znamenituju rabotu Fransa de Valja "Politika u shimpanze", Robert Rajt prikhodit k vesma ljubopytnym vyvodam..." GENETIKA GENIALNOSTI" EFROIMSON VLADIMIR PAVLOVICHVysokaja umstvennaja aktivnost, osobenno v naibolee jarkom ee projavlenii - genialnosti, tysjacheletijami privlekala vnimanie ljudej. Neischislimy trudy i biograficheskie issledovanija, posvjaschennye genialnosti i genijam, no pochti vse oni rassmatrivajut genialnost kak nechto irratsionalnoe, ne poddajuscheesja analizu i objasneniju. Proshtudirovav i obobschiv ogromnoe kolichestvo biograficheskikh dannykh i issledovanij v oblasti istorii, psikhologii i meditsiny, Vladimir Efroimson popytalsja vyjavit mekhanizmy stimuljatsii intellekta, istochniki

Stoit akvalangistu pogruzitsja v more, kak on stalkivaetsja s formami zhizni, kotorye kazhutsja zapredelno chuzhdymi: zdes i morskie gubki, i mjagkie korally, i chervi-serpulidy, chi prichudlivye tela, zamyslovatoe stroenie i pokhozhie na tsvety otrostki napominajut skoree rastenija ili dazhe arkhitekturnye formy, nezheli chto to zhivotnoe. I tem ne menee vse eti sozdanija - nashi rodstvenniki. Kak ravnopravnye predstaviteli tsarstva zhivotnykh - metazoa, oni mogut nemalo rasskazat ob evoljutsionnom proiskhozhdenii ne tolko tela cheloveka, no i ego soznanija. Pytajas vzhitsja v ikh opyt i ponjat, kakovo eto - vosprinimat mir i vzaimodejstvovat s nim tak, kak eto delajut drugie zhivye suschestva, Piter Godfri-Smit pokazyvaet, chto kharakternoe dlja zhivotnykh telo, pojavivsheesja bolee polumilliarda let nazad, stalo tem samym novovvedeniem, kotoroe napravilo zhizn po printsipialno inomu puti. Proslezhivaja vozniknovenie v khode estestvennogo otbora gubok, korallov, krevetok, osminogov i ryb, a zatem i peremeschajas na sushu, v mir nasekomykh, ptits i primatov, "Metazoa" preodolevaet razryv mezhdu razumom i materiej, priblizhaja nas k razresheniju odnoj iz samykh glubokikh filosofskikh problem - problemy soznanija. Pytajas vzhitsja v ikh opyt i ponjat, kakovo eto - vosprinimat mir i vzaimodejstvovat s nim tak, kak eto delajut drugie zhivye suschestva, Piter Godfri-Smit pokazyvaet, chto kharakternoe dlja zhivotnykh telo, pojavivsheesja bolee polumilliarda let nazad, stalo tem samym novovvedeniem, kotoroe napravilo zhizn po printsipialno inomu puti. Proslezhivaja vozniknovenie v khode estestvennogo otbora gubok, korallov, krevetok, osminogov i ryb, a zatem i peremeschajas na sushu, v mir nasekomykh, ptits i primatov, "Metazoa" preodolevaet razryv mezhdu razumom i materiej, priblizhaja nas k razresheniju odnoj iz samykh glubokikh filosofskikh problem - problemy soznanija.

Kuigi maakera targimateks olenditeks peetakse imetajaid ja linde, on kõrgem teadvus võrsunud ka ühel elupuu kaugemal oksaharul - peajalgseil, kelle hulka kuuluvad kalmaarid, seepiad ja ennekõike kaheksajalad. Vangistuses kaheksajalg suudab ära tunda kindlaid inimesi, käia toiduotsingul, kustutada veejoaga elektripirni, sulgeda vajadusel äravoolutoru ja plehku pista. Kuidas on võimalik, et selliste annetega olend arenes meist nii kauget evolutsiooniharu pidi? Mida see tähendab, et mõistus sündis mitte üks, vaid vähemalt kaks korda? Väljapaistev teadusfilosoof ja osav sukelduja Peter Godfrey-Smith jutustab uue üllatava loo teadvuse tekkest. Autor rõhutab, et see toimub põhiliselt ookeanis, kus elu esmalt sündis. Tuginedes uusimatele teadusuuringutele ja oma sukeldumisseiklustele, uurib Godfrey-Smith peajalgsete saladusi. Kuidas kaheksajalg - üksildane, vähese seltsieluga olend - nii targaks sai? Mis tunne on omada kaheksat kombitsat, mis on nii neuroneid täis, et need praktiliselt mõtlevad ise? Mis juhtub, kui kaheksajalad hülgavad eraku eluviisi ja kokku kogunevad? Uurides elu päritolu ja võrreldes inimesi meie tähelepanuväärseimate sugulastega, heidab Godfrey-Smith kaheksajala mõistusele - ja meile endale - üliolulist uut valgust. Toomas Tiivel, bioloogiadoktor: "Autor arutleb võluvalt ja rohkete näidetega selle üle, kuidas taoline teadvus ja mõistuslik käitumine võisid tekkida ja areneda. Kooselus ehk sümbioosis omataoliste ja teiste organismidega arenesid võimed maailma paremini ja täpsemalt tajuda, reageerida muutustele ning neid ka mäletada. Kõige selle tulemuseks on erakordselt mitmekesine ja rikas elusloodus." Raamat on rikkalikult illustreeritud mustvalgete ja värvifotodega ja ilmub sarjas "Postimehe raamat". Peter Godfrey-Smith on väljapaistev CUNY Graduate Centeri ning Sydney ülikooli ajaloo- ja filosoofiaprofessor. Ta on kirjutanud neli raamatut, nende seas "Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science and Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection", mis võitis 2010. aastal Lakato auhinna silmapaistva töö eest teadusfilosoofia vallas. Tema allveevideoid kaheksajalgadest on kajastatud ajakirjades National Geographic ja New Scientist ning ta on neist rääkinud USA riigiraadios ja paljudes telekanalites.

"Under läsningen av denna djupt fascinerande bok om bläckfiskar får man också intrycket av att de kommer från en helt annan värld. De har inte bara ett, utan tre hjärtan." Fokus”Djupsinneär en både lärorik och fängslande bok om evolutionsbiologi, interfolierad med fridykning i kognitionsforskningens djupa vatten. Godfrey-Smith har gjort en grundlig research." SvDHur känns det att vara bläckfisk? Djupsinne tar oss med under havsytan till den egensinniga och synnerligen smarta bläckfiskens boplatser. Här får vi möta dessa fascinerande djur som är det närmaste vi kan komma en intelligent utomjording. Genom att följa författaren på sina dykningar utanför Australiens kust får vi följa dessa märkliga djur och samtidigt ta del av sökandet efter livets och medvetandets uppkomst." De överraskande böckerna är bäst. De som återväcker den ursprungliga läslusten, nyfikenheten som slukar sidor och söker svaren. En bok som handlar bläckfiskars intelligens och omvärldsuppfattning hamnar just i den kategorien, osannolik och ytterst intelligent." Norrbottens-Kuriren"En tänkvärd bok, utmärkt populärvetenskap." BTJ”Hänförande och djupsinnig.” Financial Times”En oerhört insiktsfull och njutbar bok.” Los Angeles Times”Välskriven, tankeväckande och djärv.” The Atlantic”Lysande … Skönheten i Godfrey-Smiths bok ligger i textens klarhet.” The Guardian”En suverän, skimrande bok.” Literary Review”Fascinerande och ofta förtjusande”The Times

"Enthralling . . . breathtaking . . . Metazoa brings an extraordinary and astute look at our own mind's essential link to the animal world." --The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) "A great book . . . Godfrey-Smith is] brilliant at describing just what he sees, the patterns of behaviour of the animals he observes." --Nigel Warburton, Five BooksThe scuba-diving philosopher who wrote Other Minds explores the origins of animal consciousness Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom--the Metazoa--they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds, the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus--the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments--eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment--shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness. Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophical reflections and the latest news from biology, Metazoa reveals that even in our high-tech, AI-driven times, there is no understanding our minds without understanding nerves, muscles, and active bodies. The story that results is as rich and vibrant as life itself.

How does science work? Does it tell us what the world is “really” like? What makes it different from other ways of understanding the universe? In Theory and Reality, Peter Godfrey-Smith addresses these questions by taking the reader on a grand tour of more than a hundred years of debate about science. The result is a completely accessible introduction to the main themes of the philosophy of science. Examples and asides engage the beginning student, a glossary of terms explains key concepts, and suggestions for further reading are included at the end of each chapter. Like no other text in this field, Theory and Reality combines a survey of recent history of the philosophy of science with current key debates that any beginning scholar or critical reader can follow. The second edition is thoroughly updated and expanded by the author with a new chapter on truth, simplicity, and models in science.

The follow-up to the BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week Other Minds A Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year A Waterstones Best Book of 2020 The scuba-diving philosopher explores the origins of animal consciousness. Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom – the Metazoa – they can teach us about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed book, Other Minds, Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus – the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, he expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of experience with the assistance of far-flung species. Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the first animal body form well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. He charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments – eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment – shaped the lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers these stories together to bridge the gap between matter and mind and address one of the most important philosophical questions: what is the origin of consciousness? Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophy and biology, Metazoa reveals the impossibility of separating the evolution of our minds from the evolution of animals themselves.

Introducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience – classics which will endure for generations to come. What if intelligent life on earth not only evolved on land, but also in the sea? Other Minds is a bold new story of how nature became aware of itself – a story that largely occurs in the ocean, where animals first appeared. Tracking the mind’s fitful development over millennia, Other Minds explores the incredible evolutionary journey of the cephalopods. What kind of intelligence do they possess? And how did the octopus, a solitary creature with little social life, become so smart? Heralded as the ‘scuba-diving philosopher’ when Other Minds first published, Peter Godfrey-Smith explores the underwater world and the concept of sentience to trace the question of inner life back to its roots. By comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives, Other Minds casts crucial new light on the octopus mind – and on our own.

Piter Godfri-Smit (r. 1965) - avstralijskij morskoj biolog i filosof nauki, professor Sidnejskogo universiteta. Ego bestseller "Drugie umy" proizvel nastojaschuju revoljutsiju v nashem ponimanii golovonogikh molljuskov: po mneniju avtora, eti zhivotnye predstavljajut soboj "alternativnyj eksperiment evoljutsii po sozdaniju vysokorazvitogo intellekta". Avtor, opytnyj akvalangist, postojanno nabljudajuschij osminogov i karakatits v ikh estestvennoj srede obitanija, ubezhden, chto eti beskonechno dalekie ot nas organizmy demonstrirujut vydajuschiesja kognitivnye sposobnosti i udivitelno vysokij uroven psikhicheskoj slozhnosti.

"Enthralling . . . breathtaking . . . Metazoa brings an extraordinary and astute look at our own mind's essential link to the animal world." --The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice) "A great book . . . Godfrey-Smith is] brilliant at describing just what he sees, the patterns of behaviour of the animals he observes." --Nigel Warburton, Five BooksThe scuba-diving philosopher who wrote Other Minds explores the origins of animal consciousness Dip below the ocean's surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals, and serpulid worms, whose rooted bodies, intricate geometry, and flower-like appendages are more reminiscent of plant life or even architecture than anything recognizably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins. As fellow members of the animal kingdom--the Metazoa--they can teach us much about the evolutionary origins of not only our bodies, but also our minds. In his acclaimed 2016 book, Other Minds, the philosopher and scuba diver Peter Godfrey-Smith explored the mind of the octopus--the closest thing to an intelligent alien on Earth. In Metazoa, Godfrey-Smith expands his inquiry to animals at large, investigating the evolution of subjective experience with the assistance of far-flung species. As he delves into what it feels like to perceive and interact with the world as other life-forms do, Godfrey-Smith shows that the appearance of the animal body well over half a billion years ago was a profound innovation that set life upon a new path. In accessible, riveting prose, he charts the ways that subsequent evolutionary developments--eyes that track, for example, and bodies that move through and manipulate the environment--shaped the subjective lives of animals. Following the evolutionary paths of a glass sponge, soft coral, banded shrimp, octopus, and fish, then moving onto land and the world of insects, birds, and primates like ourselves, Metazoa gathers their stories together in a way that bridges the gap between mind and matter, addressing one of the most vexing philosophical problems: that of consciousness. Combining vivid animal encounters with philosophical reflections and the latest news from biology, Metazoa reveals that even in our high-tech, AI-driven times, there is no understanding our minds without understanding nerves, muscles, and active bodies. The story that results is as rich and vibrant as life itself.