Ebook: Understanding Origins: Contemporary Views on the Origin of Life, Mind and Society

The main intention of this book is to bring together contributions from biology, cognitive science, and the humanities for a joint exploration of some of the main contemporary notions dealing with the understanding of origins in life,mind and society. The question of origin 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 to interpret the genesis of life, mind, and the social order, and these notions have all remained 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 theirown particular fields. As a consequence, this book should be of interest to a wide audi­ ence. In particular, for all those engaged in the social sciences and the philosophy of science, it is unique document, since bridges to the natural sciences in a mutually illuminating way are hard to find. Whether as a primary source or as inspirational reading, we feel this book has a place in every library. The material comes from an international meeting held in September 13-16, 1987 at Stanford University, organized by F. Varela and J.-P. Dupuy at the request of the Program of Interdisciplinary Research of Stanford University. We are grateful to Rene Girard, the Program Director, for making it possible with the help of the Mellon Foundation.

---

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 truly 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.

---

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 truly 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.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Understanding Origins: An Introduction....Pages 1-25
Origins: A View from the Literature....Pages 27-42
Front Matter....Pages 43-43
Supplement to Apocalypse: Girard and Derrida....Pages 45-76
A Morphogenetic Hypothesis on the Closure of Post-Structuralism....Pages 77-90
Girard and the Origin of Culture....Pages 91-110
Front Matter....Pages 111-111
The Origin of Money....Pages 113-143
Primitive Money, Modern Money....Pages 145-149
Front Matter....Pages 151-151
Origins of Order in Evolution: Self-Organization and Selection....Pages 153-181
Optimization in Question....Pages 183-190
Incorporating Origins into Evolutionary Theory....Pages 191-212
The Evolution of Generic Forms....Pages 213-226
Is Phylogeny Recapitulating Ontogeny?....Pages 227-232
Front Matter....Pages 233-233
Whence Perceptual Meaning? A Cartography of Current Ideas....Pages 235-263
Perception, Connectionism, and Cognitive Science....Pages 265-271
The Original and the Copy....Pages 273-303
Back Matter....Pages 305-329

---

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 truly 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.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-viii
Understanding Origins: An Introduction....Pages 1-25
Origins: A View from the Literature....Pages 27-42
Front Matter....Pages 43-43
Supplement to Apocalypse: Girard and Derrida....Pages 45-76
A Morphogenetic Hypothesis on the Closure of Post-Structuralism....Pages 77-90
Girard and the Origin of Culture....Pages 91-110
Front Matter....Pages 111-111
The Origin of Money....Pages 113-143
Primitive Money, Modern Money....Pages 145-149
Front Matter....Pages 151-151
Origins of Order in Evolution: Self-Organization and Selection....Pages 153-181
Optimization in Question....Pages 183-190
Incorporating Origins into Evolutionary Theory....Pages 191-212
The Evolution of Generic Forms....Pages 213-226
Is Phylogeny Recapitulating Ontogeny?....Pages 227-232
Front Matter....Pages 233-233
Whence Perceptual Meaning? A Cartography of Current Ideas....Pages 235-263
Perception, Connectionism, and Cognitive Science....Pages 265-271
The Original and the Copy....Pages 273-303
Back Matter....Pages 305-329
....