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Academic & Professional Books  History & Other Humanities  Philosophy, Ethics & Religion

The Machines of Evolution and the Scope of Meaning

By: Gary Tomlinson(Author)
328 pages
Publisher: Zone Books
The Machines of Evolution and the Scope of Meaning
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  • The Machines of Evolution and the Scope of Meaning ISBN: 9781942130796 Hardback Mar 2023 Not in stock: Usually dispatched within 6 days
    £24.99
    #261381
Price: £24.99
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About this book

A groundbreaking account of the origin and place of meaning in the earthly biosphere.

What is meaning? How does it arise? Where is it found in the world? In recent years, philosophers and scientists have answered these questions in different ways. Some see meaning as a uniquely human achievement, others extend it to trees, microbes, and even to the bonding of DNA and RNA molecules. In this groundbreaking book, Gary Tomlinson defines a middle path. Combining emergent thinking about evolution, new research on animal behaviours, and theories of information and signs, he tracks meaning far out into the animal world. At the same time, he discerns limits to its scope and identifies innumerable life forms, including many animals and all other organisms, that make no meanings at all.

Tomlinson's map of meaning starts from signs, the fundamental units of reference or aboutness. Where signs are at work they shape meaning-laden lifeways, offering possibilities for distinctive organism/niche interactions and sometimes leading to technology and culture. The emergence of meaning does not, however, monopolize complexity in the living world. Countless organisms generate awe-inspiring behavioral intricacies without meaning. The Machines of Evolution and the Scope of Meaning offers a revaluation of both meaning and meaninglessness, uncovering a foundational difference in animal solutions to the hard problem of life.

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Biography

Gary Tomlinson is Sterling Professor of Music and Humanities at Yale University and the author of books on music, culture, and evolution, including A Million Years of Music: The Emergence of Human Modernity.

By: Gary Tomlinson(Author)
328 pages
Publisher: Zone Books
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