The Selfcreating Mind

(Paperback)

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In this ambitious and imaginative work, noted social and biological theorist Graeme Donald Snooks explores the origin, development, and role of the self-conscious mind. He does so by employing a realist general dynamic theoryhis celebrated "dynamic-strategy" theorybased on a large-scale systematic observation of the broad patterns of life and human society. The outcome of this exploration is the discovery of the "selfcreating mind" the "mind that created itself" through the response of countless organisms to the ever-changing demands of their dynamic societies. They are driven to do so by the need to survive and prosper, which Snooks calls "strategic desire," the shaping force of all animal instincts. The Selfcreating Mindwhich displaces the mind hypothesized by psychoanalytic, Darwinian, and complexity theoristsprovides a new perspective on human nature; the origin, nature, and purpose of the self-conscious mind; the reasons for its continuing breakdown in a significant minority of the population; and on the surest road to mental recovery. It also explores questions about the future of brain genetics, artificial intelligence, and the possible elimination of mental disorders.

Read about Graeme Snooks' The Collapse of Darwinism: Or The Rise of a Realist Theory of Life, available from Lexington Books.

Reviews

At the forefront of the recent efflorescence of research on 'big theory' and 'big history' is Graeme Snooks[His] corpus of work is an impressive achievementthat is beginning to gain notice across a variety of disciplinesThis is as bold a project as could be conceived: 'big theory writ large.' -- Gary Magee * Social Evolution and History *
The Selfcreating Mind is a highly original and bold examination of the emergence, role, function, and malfunction of the human mind. Professor Snooks achieves this by employing his critically acclaimed 'dynamic-strategy theory,' which has transformed the way we view the dynamics of life and human society. This book's novel perspective is likely to stimulate a new research program in the cognitive sciences. -- Akop Nazaretyan, Psychology Faculty, Moscow State University

Author Bio

Graeme Donald Snooks is the Coghlan Research Professor in Australian National University's Institute of Advanced Studies. Dr. Snooks is an accomplished author at the cutting-edge of research on social and biological dynamics. His many published works include, The Collapse of Darwinism or the Rise of a Realist Theory of Life from Lexington Books, The Dynamic Society: Exploring the Sources of Global Change, The Ephemeral Civilization: Exploding the Myth of Social Evolution, and The Laws of History.