For ages the events of human experience were explained by recourse to
supernatural agents and forces. Given the rudimentary intellectual tools
then available to the human race, no better explanations were possible.
Over the ensuing centuries, the ideas and methods of empirical science
came into being and were applied to all aspects of human experience.
Conceptions of life, the world, the universe, and even of God were
modified, with naturalistic interpretations challenging and supplanting
supernaturalistic ones. Today the viewpoint of science is gaining
ever-greater acceptance. In his eloquent new book, The Evolution of the
Human Mind, Robert Carneiro traces the history of this development-from
the Paleolithic to the present-vividly describing the major events that
have marked this great transition in human thought. From the reviews
"This book traces the development of human thought from a time when the
only way of explaining things was to attribute them to the will of
supernatural beings to the present day when...we can explain things
without recourse to ideas lying outside the world of nature." Fiona
Coward, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (N.S.) 19 "An
enormous achievement. Wherever I landed, whether it was the origin of
'emergence, ' Einstein's religion, the death of Platonic views of
nature, or the strangely self-contradictory worldview of Julian Huxley,
I learned something new. Wise, authoritative, and entertaining!" Richard
Milner, Author of Darwin's Universe: Evolution from A to Z "I think the
book is excellent. Easy to read-both because of its writing style and
the layout in relatively brief sections. This makes it a pleasure to
read-and the subject is so exhilarating! . . . A book to read and then
keep for reference" Ken Perrott in Open Parachute "Carneiro traces the
notion of 'a thoroughgoing belief in unalloyed supernaturalism toward an
attitude in which naturalism played an increasingly greater role' . . .
. The great debate today is between sociobiologists and cultural
anthropologists to determine how much of human behavior and thought is
genetically programmed and how much is culturally determined. Carneiro
is firmly in the cultural camp, and longs for the day when humankind
simply pursues truth and no longer seeks religious solace." G. M. Smith
in Choice "[I]nteresting and informative. . . . [A] nicely written
contribution to understanding the evolution of competing ideas." Kenneth
M. Weiss in Journal of Anthropological Research "[A] fine example of
how pure anthropology can not only be relevant but powerful! . . . The
Evolution of the Human Mind is a skillfully written book that you won't
regret buying. It is destined to be a classic. Carneiro makes direct
statements that writers love to cite (and readers love to read)." Ira R.
Wishoff in The Dirt Brothers Prepublication praise "This insightful
overview by a distinguished cultural anthropologist of how humans moved
from animistic and supernatural views of the universe, spawned in the
infancy of the species, to a naturalistic perspective based on science,
is truly inspiring." Paul Kurtz, State University of New York at Buffalo
"Does God exist? What is clear is that theistic beliefs exist, and their
origin and development are brilliantly illuminated here. Carneiro's
subtle but enlightening treatment will be a breath of fresh air for all
who find answerable questions more interesting than unanswerable ones."
Robert Bates Graber, Truman State University "Carneiro's erudition is
breathtaking as he explores the concept of the soul, the nature of
animate supernatural creatures, the emergence of polytheism, and the
rise of monotheism. The evolution of the human mind is handled
magnificently in this compelling and original book." Joyce Marcus,
University of Michigan
