Mind and Variability: Mental Darwinism, Memory, and Self

(Hardback)

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Mental Darwinism, a new approach to the study of mental phenomena,applies selectionist ideas to problems of mind and behavior. McNamara challenges the instructivist view that memories occur when information from the environment is transferred into the mind. Current experimental evidence confirms the insights of two turn-of-the-century philosophers, William James and Henri Bergson, who originally proposed applying Darwinian principles to mental processes. The view of the mind that emerges from this approach helps us understand why memory evolves as it does and is not always accurate or veridical, how memory is related to personal identity, and how a large number of neuropsychological disorders develop.

Reviews

"McNamara's book is a unique and extremely creative integration of philospohical and scientific themes."-Seymour W. Itzkoff Professor Smith College
The book is worthwhile for bringing to light the turly fascinating ideas of Bergson and for the attempt to tie them with contemporary research.-Philosophy in Review
"The book is worthwhile for bringing to light the turly fascinating ideas of Bergson and for the attempt to tie them with contemporary research."-Philosophy in Review

Author Bio

PATRICK MCNAMARA is Assistant Professor of Behavioral Neurosciences at Boston University School of Medicine, and Research Director at the Partnership for Organ Donation in Boston./e He has a background in behavioral neuroscience, and his research interests include memory, language, and frontal lobe disorders. He has published several scholarly articles and book chapters.