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Mechanics of the mind
Behavioural Processes, 2 (1977) 393-397 o Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam - Printed in The Netherlands
393
Book Reviews STUDY OF THE MIND
Mechanics of the Mind. C. Blakemore. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1977, viii + 208 pp. 2 3.95 paperback, ISBN O-521-29185-2; $10.50 hard covers, O-521-21559-5. Science has a duty to communicate with society that supports it - but there are regrettably few scientists who volunteer to write popular science texts and do it well. Blakemore’s book, based on a series of educational BBC lectures, is a remarkable exception. In six chapters the author traces our present concept of the mind back to Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and Gall (chapter l), illustrates the problem of consciousness by describing the mechanism of sleep and dreams (chapter 2), shows how the relationship between the perceptual and real worlds is reflected in art (chapter 3), follows the development of individual memory into the Collective Mind of human culture (chapter 4), explains the origins of speech and thought (chapter 5), and discusses hemispheric specialization, mental illness and psychiatric treatment (chapter 6). His essayistic approach combines a profound understanding of contemporary brain sciences with the ability to present their highlights in a wide biological, historical and sociological context. The author does not attempt to stun the reader by technical miracles and a deluge of data, but succeeds in impressing him with carefully selected, vividly recounted and beau’ii*%lly illustrated examples. Not sidetracked by the wealth of fascinating discoveries in the neurosciences, he systematically builds up evidence to convince the reader that the study of the brain is of more immediate importance than research into the mysteries of space and the atom, because without a thorough knowledge of the brain, man can never hope to understand the forces which mould the behaviour of the individual and of society, can never arrive at a truly objective statement of the ethical principles of human conduct. Some inaccuracies should be corrected in future editions of the book. When discussing the experimental “transformation of pain into pleasure” in Pavlov’s laboratory, the author describes the electric shock incorrectly as the “unconditioned” signal for food (p.38). The illustration of the honey bee dance (p.133) misses an important point: the dance takes place in the dim bee-hive without the sun being directly visible. The bees interpret the vertical surface of the honey comb as a map, the upper edge of which corresponds to the direction to the sun. Chapters on perception (3) and/or speech (5) would benefit by the inclusion of accounts of experiments demonstrating how environmental factors mould the structure and function of the developing brain. An important contribution to this research was made by Dr. Blakemore himself - but
394
this is certainly not a reason to ignore, for instance, the striking discovery that the orientation of line detectors in the visual cortex of cats raised in uniformly patterned environments (vertical or horizontal edges) is not random but corresponds to the orientation of the environmental contours. The book can be recommended as a rich source of information, ideas and arguments to all brain scientists who feel compelled to explain the purpose of their research to the public. OLGA BURESOVA
(Prague, Czechoslovakia)
USE AND ABUSE
OF BIOLOGY
The Use and Abuse
of Biology.
An Anthropological
Critique
of Sociobiology.
M. Sahlins. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1976, 120 pp., US$ 3.95, ISBN o-472-76600-7. The concept of individual selection which Hamilton, Trivers, Wilson and Dawkins set against Wynne Edward’s concept of group selection certainly made way for some challenging new ideas. It allows the development of mathematical formulations and predictions which can be experimentally checked. The general application. of the thesis of individual selection, particularly as applied to man, however, should be considered with caution. Sahlins rightly points out that the kinship systems of man are culturally defined and do not necessarily reflect close genetic affinities: “No system of human kinship relation is organized in accord with the genetic coefficients of relationship as known to the Sociobiologists”. I would moderate this statement a bit, since in most cases a genetic closer relationship is reflected, but the fact remains that it is often not so. Kinship often is defined in ways which do not reflect close genetic relationships: and since kindness is extended to those who by definition belong to our “kind”, the sociobiological concept could not work in the way suggested. To this I agree, and I would add that there are other reasons for accepting the thesis of group selection. If we look at human populations in their original state, we learn that these populations range in size from several hundreds in hunters and gatherers to several thousands at most in neolithic horticulturists. It is to be expected that members of such ethnic groups, though not necessarily forming inbred strains, nonetheless are fairly closely related, which means that they share a substantial number of genes. Therefore, altruism extended to any group member should pay off. I would not dismiss for the moment the concept of individual selection in a complete way. It may operate in particular cases, although I doubt its general application even for nonhuman vertebrates. The case of the langure where males kill the babies when they take over a new harem “in order to” get their own genome deposited in the females seems to be exception-
393
Book Reviews STUDY OF THE MIND
Mechanics of the Mind. C. Blakemore. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1977, viii + 208 pp. 2 3.95 paperback, ISBN O-521-29185-2; $10.50 hard covers, O-521-21559-5. Science has a duty to communicate with society that supports it - but there are regrettably few scientists who volunteer to write popular science texts and do it well. Blakemore’s book, based on a series of educational BBC lectures, is a remarkable exception. In six chapters the author traces our present concept of the mind back to Plato, Aristotle, Descartes and Gall (chapter l), illustrates the problem of consciousness by describing the mechanism of sleep and dreams (chapter 2), shows how the relationship between the perceptual and real worlds is reflected in art (chapter 3), follows the development of individual memory into the Collective Mind of human culture (chapter 4), explains the origins of speech and thought (chapter 5), and discusses hemispheric specialization, mental illness and psychiatric treatment (chapter 6). His essayistic approach combines a profound understanding of contemporary brain sciences with the ability to present their highlights in a wide biological, historical and sociological context. The author does not attempt to stun the reader by technical miracles and a deluge of data, but succeeds in impressing him with carefully selected, vividly recounted and beau’ii*%lly illustrated examples. Not sidetracked by the wealth of fascinating discoveries in the neurosciences, he systematically builds up evidence to convince the reader that the study of the brain is of more immediate importance than research into the mysteries of space and the atom, because without a thorough knowledge of the brain, man can never hope to understand the forces which mould the behaviour of the individual and of society, can never arrive at a truly objective statement of the ethical principles of human conduct. Some inaccuracies should be corrected in future editions of the book. When discussing the experimental “transformation of pain into pleasure” in Pavlov’s laboratory, the author describes the electric shock incorrectly as the “unconditioned” signal for food (p.38). The illustration of the honey bee dance (p.133) misses an important point: the dance takes place in the dim bee-hive without the sun being directly visible. The bees interpret the vertical surface of the honey comb as a map, the upper edge of which corresponds to the direction to the sun. Chapters on perception (3) and/or speech (5) would benefit by the inclusion of accounts of experiments demonstrating how environmental factors mould the structure and function of the developing brain. An important contribution to this research was made by Dr. Blakemore himself - but
394
this is certainly not a reason to ignore, for instance, the striking discovery that the orientation of line detectors in the visual cortex of cats raised in uniformly patterned environments (vertical or horizontal edges) is not random but corresponds to the orientation of the environmental contours. The book can be recommended as a rich source of information, ideas and arguments to all brain scientists who feel compelled to explain the purpose of their research to the public. OLGA BURESOVA
(Prague, Czechoslovakia)
USE AND ABUSE
OF BIOLOGY
The Use and Abuse
of Biology.
An Anthropological
Critique
of Sociobiology.
M. Sahlins. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Mich., 1976, 120 pp., US$ 3.95, ISBN o-472-76600-7. The concept of individual selection which Hamilton, Trivers, Wilson and Dawkins set against Wynne Edward’s concept of group selection certainly made way for some challenging new ideas. It allows the development of mathematical formulations and predictions which can be experimentally checked. The general application. of the thesis of individual selection, particularly as applied to man, however, should be considered with caution. Sahlins rightly points out that the kinship systems of man are culturally defined and do not necessarily reflect close genetic affinities: “No system of human kinship relation is organized in accord with the genetic coefficients of relationship as known to the Sociobiologists”. I would moderate this statement a bit, since in most cases a genetic closer relationship is reflected, but the fact remains that it is often not so. Kinship often is defined in ways which do not reflect close genetic relationships: and since kindness is extended to those who by definition belong to our “kind”, the sociobiological concept could not work in the way suggested. To this I agree, and I would add that there are other reasons for accepting the thesis of group selection. If we look at human populations in their original state, we learn that these populations range in size from several hundreds in hunters and gatherers to several thousands at most in neolithic horticulturists. It is to be expected that members of such ethnic groups, though not necessarily forming inbred strains, nonetheless are fairly closely related, which means that they share a substantial number of genes. Therefore, altruism extended to any group member should pay off. I would not dismiss for the moment the concept of individual selection in a complete way. It may operate in particular cases, although I doubt its general application even for nonhuman vertebrates. The case of the langure where males kill the babies when they take over a new harem “in order to” get their own genome deposited in the females seems to be exception-