Perhaps the first thing that should be said about this book is that
it does not make for light reading. All nineteen essays composing Brain
Evolution and Cognition address cutting-edge issues in the evolution
of brains and cognitive functions, and as one might easily expect the discussion
is pitched at a high level. This is not to say that the book won’t be accessible
to non-specialists. For the most part, authors have been careful to explain
less common technical jargon and all essays stand out for the clarity of
argument. Still, the curious reader should be warned that the ‘obvious’
target-audience of this book falls more naturally among post-graduates
and researchers in subjects like Evolutionary Biology, Neuroanatomy, Neurology,
Zoology, and Cognitive Sciences. Lay readers should thus come to it with
their science-encyclopedias refreshed in their minds (or close at hand).

Warning made, Brain Evolution and Cognition is one of the best
testimonies to the liveliness and richness of the debate on brain evolution
and cognition as it stands today. Some of the essays provide up-to-date
reviews of what is currently known – and debated – on developmental and
adult brain evolution (e.g., Demski and Beaver’s), others present case
studies of vertebrate brain evolution (Macphail’s chapter is highly recommended),
while the opening essays go through the hot topic of how-much-is-in-the-genes
in connection to brain design. Considerable attention is given to comparisons
between the avian and the mammalian brains, more specifically to whether
there are comparable structures and functions, and what their common origin
might be (see, for example, Delius and al.) Mention should also be made
to the two essays specifically dedicated to the cognition in insects, both
for the illuminating insights they bring into the discussion on the evolution
of brains and the beautifully presented studies of insect cognitive architecture.
For those more interested on the evolutionary details of particular cognitive
systems, there are chapters dealing with motor systems (Donkelaar) and
sensory systems in vertebrates. The last chapter by one of the editors
– Gerhard Roth – on the evolution of consciousness provides a fine ending
to this collection. It both reminds us of how the study of brain evolution
has so often been tempted by convictions about the superiority of
the human brain, and brings out the many difficulties (theoretical and
practical) that attend research on this topic. In particular, Roth’s chapter
should be recommended for it’s balanced analysis of the empirical data
on what-may-count-as-awareness in animals, and his acute sense of where
the arguments may run. In a subject (consciousness) where people so often
speculate
from thought-experiments and intuition, it’s particularly gratifying to
read such rigorously grounded thinking.

All in all, this book offers a state-of-the-art view of a subject-field
that is beginning to break through the many myths that still infect contemporary
thinking about brain evolution and cognition. As most authors point out,
the idea of a scala naturale (i.e., that nature aimed at perfection
by successively adding to the brains of the lower up to the higher vertebrates)
has been amply disproved by evidence of widespread commonalties in general
brain organization and behavior of vertebrates. Likewise, the all too popular
belief that human abilities and capacities are unique or far superior to
those of other animals has received a heavy blow by the discovery that
the human brain is a fairly ‘typical’ primate brain. As a last example,
studies on insect cognition give clear indication that (sometimes) ‘smaller
is better’. What will replace such myths is yet too early to tell. What
this book leaves us with is the impression that a lot is being learned
about brain evolution and cognition, and all we know for sure at this stage
is that the results are surprising. As the debate goes on about what to
make of these discoveries, this book is certainly a welcome contribution
and a valuable read to all of those puzzled by that most amazing of organs
– the brain. Difficult, but worth the effort.

© 2001 Isabel Gois

 

Isabel Gois is a
PhD student at King’s College London working on Consciousness. Her research
interests include Philosophy of Mind, Neuropsychology and Mental Disorder.
She has articles published on emotions, computationalism, and consciousness.

Categories: Genetics, Philosophical

Tags: Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences