Book Description
A new edition of the controversial "deathbed manuscript" attributed to Eva Perón.
In 1987, a document that appeared to be the long-lost deathbed manuscript of Eva Perón was found in a government archive in Buenos Aires. Rumor had it that the manuscript, which is critical of the Argentine church and military, had been suppressed for thirty years after Evita's death by her husband, Argentine President Juan Perón.
First published in the United States by The New Press in 1996, the book remains a fascinating historical document and memoir at a time when Argentina is back in the headlines and trials of leading officials from the Perón era are underway. Leading Perón scholars disagree about whether Evita wrote every word herself, and Evita: In My Own Words includes an extensive introduction by Perón scholar Joseph A. Page, who weighs all the claims and counterclaims about the document's authenticity and provides an essential historical framework for Eva Perón's life.
Evita offers a firsthand glimpse of the woman who left an indelible if controversial mark on Argentina, and, at the time of her death at age thirty-three, was considered one of the most powerful women in the world. Originally published as In My Own Words.
Amazon.com
In My Own Words is extracted from a document, "My Message," purportedly written by Evita on her deathbed. The introduction by Joseph A. Page of Georgetown University argues for the authenticity of the document and provides a useful introduction to Evita's life and work. Evita rose from illegitimacy and poverty in rural Argentina to a stellar life as a celebrated beauty and consort of Juan Peron, president of Argentina. Evita as First Lady famously looked after the poor of her country and was beloved by ordinary people. She died tragically of uterine cancer at the age of 33 and became an icon for Argentina.
Customer Reviews:
Senora Eva Maria Duarte de Peron was Miss Understood.......2006-11-04
The words to a song in the famous musical based on her life says it all:
Eva beware your ambition
It's hungry and cold, can't be controlled, will run wild
This in a man is danger enough, but you are a woman
Not even a woman, not very much more than a child
And whatever you say, I'll not steal you away
The 15 year old Eva Duarte left for Buenos Aires and never came back, and her anger-driven ambition was uncontrolled, unyielding, and unquenchable in its thirst for power and fame and above all else ... revenge. She was more dangerous than her husband and more in charge of the country than he was. Juan Peron's political power depended on Eva and when she died he was exiled in a military coup. Santa Evita to the poor and a evil goddess to the upper classes. She flashed money to hide her shame and deep seated insecurity that never went away. From her humble beginnings in a dirt poor house, an illegitimate and unwanted youngest daughter, to the First Lady of Argentina ... it was her ambition that ultimately destroyed her. Eva worked herself to death at the young age of 33.
A 'must' for any who would understand Argentinean politics.......2005-09-05
In 1987 a document which appeared to be the deathbed manuscript of Eva Peron was found in a government archive: here it is in paperback, blending a memoir with controversial political insights into Argentina politics. It's not only controversial for its views, but leading scholars question whether Evita wrote this herself: a detailed introduction by Peron scholar Joseph A. Page presents pro and con arguments surrounding its authenticity. A 'must' for any who would understand Argentinean politics.
Excellent book.......2005-08-03
This book is an amazing peek into the complex woman that was Eva Peron. To read her words and thoughts almost feels sinful; as if I am reading the diary of an old friend. If you want the real story of the last weeks of Sra. Peron's life, read this book.
There's a message here for you from Evita........2003-06-25
Yes, THAT Evita. Eva Peron. From Argentina. Yes, it IS for you. Yes, she HAS been dead for fifty years. But in 1952 she wrote a book, "Mi Mensaje (My Message)." She knew her days were numbered, so she used those days for writing, and she left a message for the living. That's you.
It's a view from inside the head of a charismatic leader, the most powerful woman on earth. It's highly personal, highly political, and highly emotional. For reasons you can guess, in this, her last book, she saw no need to be politically correct--and it isn't. Without mentioning any names, she says exactly what she thinks about people, power, the Church, and the military. And precisely because she doesn't mention names, these views of hers are still relevant today.
This Message also requests a response: it is a call to action--yours.
"My Message" has been a long time coming. Too dangerous for the political climate of 1952, it has only recently seen the light of day--and even more recently translated into English, under the title "In My Own Words." It's a message for you from the real Evita.
evita saint or sinner ... saint.......2001-12-06
Eva Peron was a remarkable woman and had so many tallents and now we have just learned another one of those talents, wrighting. I think this book was remarkable and it sounds very personal. It makes me believe more that she cared for the poor people of her country. She may have made people believe that she was just a slut and married Juan Peron for the fame and welth but i don't believe that i believe Eva Peron was a saint "SANTA EVITA"
Book Description
This digital document is a journal article from Ecological Economics, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
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- Comparison With Guns, Germs, and Steel
- Interesting Theory
- A landmark (but dated) study on the ecological dimension of European expansion
- Book Review: "Ecological Imperialism"
- Triumph of the pig, the rat, the dandelion, the smallpox virus... and the European humans who gave them a ride across the ocean
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Ecological imperialism: The biological expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Studies in environment and history)
Alfred W Crosby
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
 General
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
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Book Description
People of European descent form the bulk of the population in most of the temperate zones of the world - North America, Australia and New Zealand. The military successes of European imperialism are easy to explain; in many cases they were a matter of firearms against spears. But as Alfred Crosby explains in his highly original and fascinating book, the Europeans’ displacement and replacement of the native peoples in the temperate zones was more a matter of biology than of military conquest.
Customer Reviews:
Comparison With Guns, Germs, and Steel.......2007-10-04
In the first sentence of the prologue, Alfred Crosby defines his thesis for this book. He says: "European emigrants and their descendants are all over the place, which requires explanation." It is an interesting statement to ponder and an even more interesting one to answer. Crosby does so in a very readable, sometimes humorous style and with convincing arguments. Originally published in 1986, this has become a classic for those studying or just interested in environmental history. He delves into the subjects of not only the migrations of people, but also their animals, domesticated plants and diseases. Does this sound at all familiar? Jared Diamond took up the same subject in his Pulitzer Prize winning book, Guns, Germs, and Steel. One can't but help but compare them.
The first question to ask is Diamond's book is so popular and Crosby's not so well known? After all, Ecological Imperialism also won an award, the 1987 Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize given by Phi Beta Kappa, and justifiably so. It is solid scholarship presented in a manner accessible to anyone interested enough to pick up the book. In fact, I found it much more readable than Diamond's book, which presents so much information, it is a little hard to take it all in. Diamond expands upon several of Crosby's assertions--that not only the people from Europe successfully invaded the New World, but so did their plants, animals and germs.
A part of the history of the European invasions (or Neo-Europes as Crosby defines them) which Diamond does not cover are the attempts to settle in a new land that failed. Chapter 3 entitled The Norse and the Crusaders takes an interesting look at why the initial Norse settlements in "Vinland" did not work, and why the attempt to conquer the Holy Land for Christianity failed. In the first instance, the Norsemen came to Vinland, or what is today Newfoundland by way of Greenland, not directly from Norway. Their boats were not seaworthy enough to have made the journey directly across the Atlantic Ocean. Thus when the settlement in Greenland withered and died, so did the connection with Vinland. Crosby points out that ironically, because of the viability of the land, Vinland could have supported the colony in Greenland, but it was not possible the other way around.
These failures helped set the stage for what was to become one of the most important changes in human and ecological history. Crosby tells this story with interest and ease. Why then, has Diamond's book been so popular as opposed to Crosby's? Diamond's contains a lot more detailed information, although in my opinion this makes it more difficult to read. Diamond may have been more well known, having won the MacArthur Foundation fellowship prior to the publication of his book. But it may have been a matter of timing--the public was more interested in the topic at the time of publication, but probably there was also just some amount of sheer luck. Whatever the reason, you won't regret the time you spend with Crosby. It is a thought provoking and interesting read.
Interesting Theory.......2007-01-22
"Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion Of Europe, 900-1900"
by Alfred W. Crosby. Cambridge University Press, 1986.
The implication of this book's theory is that the Europeans succeeded in the "New" World due to the imperialistic strength of European flora and fauna. European cattle and European horses conquered the plains of both North America and Argentina, making them "neo-Europes". When Columbus introduced the pig, (either inadvertently or consciously), he knew that that the porcine animal species would "conquer" their local environment. The author's excellent writing follows this theme throughout his book, but, in my opinion, he spends too much time on New Zealand ... pages 217 to 268.
Yet, if the author's thesis is correct, the book becomes a disparaging comment on human efforts. For example, compare the Pilgrims' landing in 1620 with the landing of Hernando De Cortez (1485-1547) at Vera Cruz in 1519. The Pilgrims snuck ashore, onto that Rock in Plymouth, on a cold winter's day. There was no one to meet them, as the locals (or "indigenes" as Crosby likes to call them) had all been killed off by strange and new diseases. The diseases were probably brought over by Englishmen; otherwise where did Squanto, the Indian chief, learn his rudimentary English? (Just as my aside, if the Scots, who first settled in Ulster, Ireland and then came to North America, are known as Scots-Irish, why weren't the Pilgrims known as "Anglo-Dutch"?)
In February 1519, more than a century before the Pilgrims, Hernando De Cortez landed at the Rich Villa of the Holy Cross, Vera Cruz, with some 500-600 men, to face not thousands, but hundreds of thousands. To instill courage in his men, Cortez burnt his boats. The Spanish had to go forward and they conquered an empire. On the other hand the Pilgrims occupied a dead village. In both cases, European diseases were the deciding factor, but the achievement of either group was entirely different. Crosby's book treats them as if they were equal.
I believe that Alfred W. Crosby has hit on something that bears further investigation. In the late summer of 2004, I attended a wedding in Slovenia. As we drove through Germany, I noticed goldenrod by the sides of the corn fields. I asked and I was told that goldenrod was introduced as a flowering plant but was not doing so well in Europe. I wonder if Crosby's thesis was borne out by the lack of success of goldenrod ...and other American plants? Don't get me wrong: since I am allergic to goldenrod, I am happy it was NOT successful in German farm fields, but why?
A landmark (but dated) study on the ecological dimension of European expansion.......2006-07-16
Alfred Crosby is widely credited for popularising the ecological dimension of the history of imperial expansion. For this reason, and perhaps this reason alone, his book is worth a read.
The book, first published in 1986, revolutionised the way we think about European imperial expansion into the New World. How a few hundred disoriented Europeans armed with spears and misfiring guns managed to overwhelm entire Inca and Aztec civilisations in the early sixteenth century, for example. Crosby convincingly casts aside traditional political or military explanations by attributing the astonishing Portuguese and Spanish victories to bacteriology: how diseases such as smallpox and measles that the Europeans unwittingly carried with them wiped out thousands of New World inhabitants, severely crippling their defences.
The larger point that Crosby drives across is a profound one. Historical events - in this case, European expansion and imperialism - can be explained predominantly by ecological factors. In the clash of `biotas' between the Old and the New World, the Old World won. Convincingly. Hence the presence not just of Europeans in the Americas, but also of pigs and dandelions. According to this thesis, ecology shaped European expansion; creating `Neo-Europes' in the New World that facilitated European migration, precipitating the `Caucasian wave' from the 1820s to the 1930s. Unlike in most other histories, in Crosby's ecological history, humans form the backdrop and inexorable ecological forces take centre-stage.
Refreshing as this perspective is, the way that Crosby has rendered it is problematic in on a number of accounts. By excluding humans from the picture; or at best relegating human developments to the sidelines, Crosby emerges with a dangerously reductive picture of historical development. Deterministic ecological explanations cannot alone account for European expansion - after all, we must not forget that the first European transoceanic voyages were motivated by curiosity rather than necessity. More problematic is the book's implicit assumption that ecological influence was unidirectional. In concentrating on explicating the Old World's ecological victory over the New, Crosby neglects to examine the influence that New World ecology had on the Old.
Nonetheless, Crosby's work remains a landmark study that deserves a read. Moreover, it packs a punch as a piece of writing - its lucid narratives and provocative assertions laid out with the bold and elegant strokes of a master-artist. Yet Crosby's work is also increasingly a dated study that has been qualified over and over by new works in the field, or in the related field of environmental history. Those interested in the subject should by no means stop at Crosby's book.
Book Review: "Ecological Imperialism" .......2006-04-10
Book Review: "Ecological Imperialism"
In his book, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900, Alfred W. Crosby investigates the roots of European domination over the western world. He calls the places where early Europeans settled "Neo-Europes" with special emphasis on North and South America , Australia , and New Zealand . In his prologue he ponders whether Europeans dominated their environment and other cultures because of their technology, or whether the consistent "success of European imperialism has a biological, [and] an ecological, component.". Crosby 's thesis is that Europeans were successful imperialists because wherever they went their agriculture and animals thrived; and the indigenous populations and local ecosystems collapsed under their biological advance.
Crosby begins at the beginning, discussing the one big continent, Pangaea, supposed to have existed in pre-history and the slow development of life forms other than reptilian, in particular Homo sapiens. The break up of Pangaea (this hypothetical super-continent) caused the "the decentralization of the process of evolution," that is, when the land cracked apart flora and fauna were spilt between the newly created continents. That continental split is the reason similar species are found in Europe and North America.
Eventually Crosby brings the reader up to the end of the Ice Age. Ten thousand years ago humans were exploring the islands of the Eastern Atlantic including Australia . Once on these islands humans domesticated plants, piled up mounds of garbage, spread disease, and hunted animals into extinction. Normally the despoilment of indigenous flora and fauna occurs over tens of thousands of years. In locations where humans arrived with mature hunting skills a sudden extinction of local plant and animal life occurred. These sudden prehistoric, or Pleistocene, overkills were the first concentrated impact humans had on virgin ecosystems.
The virgin ecosystem of Porto Santo Island was the destination of Portuguese settlers during the 1400s. Porto Santo Island was completely uninhabited and filled with untouched flora and fauna. One Portuguese ship captain brought a mother rabbit and her babies to the island. The rabbits loved Porto Santo and thrived in the island environment. So much so that soon the settlers were blasting away at the rabbits in an attempt to exterminate the entire local rabbit population. It seems the rabbits could not determine the difference between the crops meant for human consumption and the crops meant for bunny consumption. The rabbits won in this instance and for a time the settlers moved elsewhere, "defeated by their own ecological ignorance."
The experience of Spanish invaders in the Canaries showed them that no matter where they went, even if they could not out-fight their opponents, Europeans could dominate their enemies anyway. "In all these [new] places, the newcomers would conquer the human populations and Europeanize entire ecosystems." The Spanish learned from their experiences in the Canaries that their livestock and crops would succeed in these new environments; they also learned they could easily defeat the local natives without traditional warfare. The various "plagues" and "sleeping sicknesses," which the Spanish called peste and modorra, killed off and weakened natives who had no natural immunity to ailments common to the Spanish. In essence, sore throats and colds were the winning weapons of the conquerors; it was the flu that subjugated the Canaries.
The unfortunate natives of the Canary Islands , the Guanches, did not survive their meeting with the Spanish sailors. These previously isolated people died rapidly from dysentery, pneumonia, and venereal disease. According to Crosby "few experiences are as dangerous to a people's survival as the passage from isolation to membership in the worldwide community that included European sailors, soldiers, and settlers." When the Spanish conquered the Canaries the Guanches lost their land and therefore their livelihood. Some Guanches joined the Spanish army and went to fight in the Americas ; the Spanish sold others into slavery. The majority of Guanches however died of disease and the entire population became extinct.
Unlike the Guanches of the Canaries, the Maoris of New Zealand did survive despite great odds. When invaded by Europeans the Maoris assumed they would become extinct. European rats annihilated the Maori rat, an animal that was a food staple for the natives. The Maori fly might have help ward off the incursion of sheep that quickly destroyed the local flora, but invading European houseflies wiped out the local flies. Clover took over where ferns had been, and the Maori waited for their own extinction. The Maori population hit bottom in 1890 but then began a mysterious recovery and 280,000 people claim to be Maori by 1981.
In the 1500s Europeans arrived in the Americas with horses, technology (weapons), domesticated plants (crops), farm animals, germs, insects, diseases, weeds, and varmints. The garbage piled up by farmers encouraged varmint populations (mainly mice and rats) which spread disease and attacked human food supplies. Crosby devoted an entire chapter to the spread of weeds around the world. Weeds are not specific plants. "Weed" is a general term applied to a plant that spreads rapidly and encroaches on other plants. The study of where specific weeds appeared and when, aids in tracking population movements. The weeds brought by Europeans were actually another unintentional imperial victory. Weeds repaired damaged top soils and provided feed for livestock. " Rye and oats were once weeds." "Weeds are the Red Cross of the plant world; they deal with ecological emergencies." "Weeds thrive on radical change, not stability. That, in the abstract, is the reason for the triumph of European weeds in the Neo-Europes..." Weeds were resilient and thrived in soils laid bare by European plows, and damaged by drastically altered ecosystems.
European populations exploded in the Americas and Australia . What distinguished these Neo-Europes were the large food surpluses they generated. Neo-Europes led the world in food production "relative to the amount locally consumed." Other cultures actually produced more food per capita and per hectare, but the Neo-Europes exported more food than any other society. Especially successful exports from Neo-Europes were wheat, soybeans, pig products, and beef. Europeans consistently chose to settle in temperate climates where their animals and crops thrived. This was prudent and logical, it would have made no sense for Europeans to settle in torrid climates where their livestock would have suffered, and their favorite crops could not be grown.
The wind also aided European imperialists. When faced with strong winds the Portuguese marinheiros, true sailors, did not turn around and go home or sit sail-less in the water until the winds changed. Marinheiros would "sail around the wind." Sailors would tack close enough to the contrary wind to keep moving and then find a wind that they could use to continue their course. The Portuguese who perfected this "crabwise slide" called it the volta do mar, literally "going back to the sea." This understanding of winds allowed marinheiros to sail out on trade winds and back home on the westerlies.
Smallpox was the big killer of the Aztecs and the Incas in Peru ; the Huron and Iroquois in Mexico ; and the Amerindians of the United States . Crosby claims the victories of the Conquistadors over the Amerindians were "in large part the triumphs of the virus of smallpox." Besides smallpox Europeans brought dysentery and influenza; those epidemics killed almost the whole indigenous population of North America . In effect, the domination over ecology and culture by European invaders was more of a biological accident, than a well-executed military takeover.
Virgin soil epidemics spread through populations who had no prior contact with European diseases. These populations had no immunity to protect them. Virgin soil epidemics had many dramatic consequences. First, the epidemics effectively committed genocide, killing entire populations of native people around the world. Second, certain diseases (measles, influenza, tuberculosis) effected people fifteen to forty years of age more than others. These young adults were responsible for most of the labor involved in supplying food, procreation, raising children, and defending the society. The third and fourth effects of virgin soil epidemics were cultural optimism on the part of the conquerors, and cultural fatalism on the part of the conquered. When Europeans arrived and slew their rivals without raising a sword they believed that God must be on their side and this belief affirmed the rightness of their imperialistic actions. When the indigenous people died by the hoard from mysterious ailments they developed a fatalistic view of their own destiny and supposed the white man's Gods were the more powerful.
Ecological Imperialism is interesting, occasionally humorous, and easy to read. Crosby accomplishes his goal of writing a big book. This author presents a convincing and encompassing explanation for the incredible success of European imperialists. The book leaves the reader with more questions. How aggressively imperialistic were the original conquerors if all they had to do was show up and their opponents fell to the wayside? Crosby argues convincingly that Europeans were triumphant because the places they chose to conquer had ecosystems and indigenous populations that surrendered to the biology of the invaders.
Triumph of the pig, the rat, the dandelion, the smallpox virus... and the European humans who gave them a ride across the ocean.......2006-02-26
The most impressive and pleasant aspect of this new approach to world history is the non-anthropocentric perspective Crosby adopts. He tells the story of the expansion of a tightly connected group of European organisms, which includes humans alongside with other domesticated animals, crops, weeds, viruses and bacteria.
The book shows that humans were the leading elements in this great expansion beyond Europe and across the oceans - but they would not have managed to successfully invade, occupy and dominate vast areas of the planet such as America, Australia and New Zealand if they had not been supported by a powerful combination of fauna, flora and germs. In fact, often enough these supporting organisms even took the lead in making the "new-found" territories hospitable for Europeans. Once they had arrived to faraway lands with similar climatic conditions as Europe - but with much less people, germs, domesticated animals and plants - the horses, pigs, cows, sheep, bees, rats, weeds and endemic diseases carried by European vessels began spreading quickly in these totally unexposed areas, and thrived mainly by destroying the native organisms.
Another important point developed by Crosby is that this apparently aggressive invasion and occupation of other continents was actually the consequence of a long process started many thousands of generations before, and of which Europeans were totally unaware. They were simply the ones most prepared and willing to cross unknown oceans (in fact, for centuries they had to painfully learn all about winds and currents - for which many a vessel with all its human and non-human crew had to be sacrificed) and settle down many 1000 of kilometres away from their original home, because the "old continent" had become overpopulated, deforested and overgrazed. Their "ecological imperialism" was in the end part of their struggle to survive and reproduce (to the disadvantage of other human and non-human organisms).
Thus, Crosby urges his readers to think of this propagation of certain humans and their accompanying flora, fauna and germs in detriment of others as a natural phenomenon. In fact, he often compares the European ecological expansion with an "avalanche" or a "bursting dam", i.e., something that had to inevitably happen given the circumstances. In this scenario, it becomes clear that these organisms were vehicles for a great "biological revolution" (in the words of the author), where humans were the spearhead of the movement - but hardly the all-knowing, dominant, free agents they mostly imagine(d) themselves to be.
Book Description
In this highly original work, one of the world's most distinguished child psychiatrists together with a philosopher at the forefront of ape and child language research present a startling hypothesis-that the development of our higher-level symbolic thinking, language, and social skills cannot be explained by genes and natural selection, but depend on cultural practices learned anew by each generation over millions of years, dating back to primate and pre-human cultures. Furthermore, for the first time, they present their remarkable research revealing the steps leading to symbolic thinking in the life of each new human infant and show that contrary to now-prevailing theories of Pinker, Chomsky, and others, there is no biological explanation that can account for these distinctly human abilities.
Drawing from their own original work with human infants and apes, and meticulous examination of the fossil record, Greenspan and Shanker trace how each new species of non-human primates, pre-humans, and early humans mastered and taught to their offspring in successively greater degrees the steps leading to symbolic thinking. Their revolutionary theory and compelling evidence reveal the true origins of our most advanced human qualities and set a radical new direction for evolutionary theory, psychology, and philosophy.
Customer Reviews:
Emotions plus a desire to interact plus evolution = language.......2007-02-11
When asked to cite what he believed but couldn't prove, Dan Dennett responded by saying that language was required for consciousness.
Interestingly Dennett's view easily harmonizes with strong trends in contemporary wisdom. The larger view is that there is something particular and special about humans and their capacity for language that is materially different than what evolutionarily has preceded them.
This book is a breath of fresh air for its helpful insight that humans are not materially different from what preceded them just more articulated in their thought processes and means of communicating them.
In seriatim the book traces infant development for the capacity of spoken language and compares that developing capacity with different species of animals within the animal kingdom. In a way, it's kind of reminiscent of the old medical school "ontogeny recapitulates philogeny." For those lucky enough not to have experienced medical school, the famous saying refers to the similarity between developmental stages of an unborn fetus and the various lifeforms in the animal kingdom. For example, the fertilized zygote resembles a one celled organism. The early developing fetus resembles a fishlike creature and so on.
In this book, needless to say, the more articulated the comparison being made between the infant's developing speech capacity, the more the authors will be inclined to use a more evolutionarily complicated life form.
Significantly the authors use the similarities between humans and other animals to highlight their basic likenesses which according to the authors subsist in their mutual emotive acquisition of knowledge. In this sense, this book is like Read Montague's Why Choose this Book wherein Montague merged Alan Turing mechanistic reasoning with emotive values to create an up to date model of cognition.
Again, these features are all welcome.
Where I think the authors falter is later in the book when they try to apply their theories to group dynamics. But even so the book remains healthy food for thought and welcome insight if only for the knowledge that when we visit the zoo, the animals looking back at us are really not that much different at all but certainly not lacking consciousness just because they don't speak out language.
Seminal Book Connects Speech, Cognition, and Autism.......2005-10-18
Since the research that supports the theory proposed by these authors is so thoroughly documented, it may prove too technical for the average reader. Still, the insights are stupendous and easily verifiable by anyone with good parenting skills. The fact that, when applied to people with autism, the results are outstanding and highly unusual, tends to validate their theory.
I found the book easy to skim and love the diverse perspectives of each author and contributor.
Now I wish someone would put all this together with another book, somewhat related: Nicholas Ostler's _Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World_. In this book, the author summarizes how various languages spread, supercede others, dominate, or suppress other languages, how they are learned, how creole and pidin languages develop, the structure of various languages, etc.
Perhaps if all these authors got together with someone else, they could explain how various languages shape cognition and even, perhaps, perception, framing the world as each person sees it, and maybe how various cultures tend to see it, based on the language in which they think.
In some languages, the verb comes first and in others, last. In some languages, adjectives come before nouns and in others, after. In some languages, nouns can be feminine, masculine, or neuter. In others, there is no neuter. All of this must shape how humans see things and think--at least as much as emotions do, if the theory these authors propose is accurate.
I heard a report on public radio about how, when people who speak Japanese view a picture of a tiger in a jungle, the parts of their brains that get stimulated are the parts that are viewing the jungle. When English speakers view the same picture, the parts of their brains that get stimulated are the the parts that are viewing the tiger. I don't know how they measured this and I don't know if language has anything to do with it, but it certainly seems to be a nurture, not nature thing.
The world is evolving and there is so much more to be understood about where we came from that may have implications about where we're going.
This book helps move us forward on that journey.
The antidote to rationalism & genetic determinism!.......2005-04-04
At last, a worthy antidote to the noxious trend that explains all human consciousness and behaviour by the evolution and activities of the brain alone! Cognitive science, evolutionary psychology, and neurophilosophy, while adding complexity, have embraced the assumption that basically posit life unfolding entirely as evolving, interacting genes. This book reminds us that opposition to such genetic programming need not imply mysticism, idealism, or anything "spooky". Greenspan and Shanker stand for the predominance of cultural learning passed on generation to generation, its content always changing and never complete.
A second theme of this book is that it supplies strong evidence that rationality and cognition are not opposed to emotion but are in fact the fulfillment of the emotional education hopefully received by every healthy child. To think is to emote, but it is refined emotion that functions in a controlled manner. This is an antidote to the Cartesians, Freudians, and perhaps even Piagetians who have insisted that, developmentally, the rise of reason in maturity overcomes primitive or childish emotional drives.
It should be noted that such emotional learning is assumed to have culturally evolved over millions of years, with reversals here and deadends there. Each generation passes on its cultural truths primarily through the interactions between infant and mother or other primary caregivers, but each generation also may contribute in subtle ways to this body of learning or, on occasion, subtract from it. Each child is thought to recapitulate in its developmental process in a matter of years or months the learning it took culture millions of years to learn the first time. Language is the primary example here.
The authors find little evidence that such central things like language or personal memory are innate to the human brain. The nature-nurture debate becomes appropriately complexified. The big difference here - the antidote to genetic imperialism - is that it is shown that experience more determines genetics than genetics determine experience.
Greenspan and Shanker list 16 stages of individual f/e (functional/emotional) development, plus a timeline of 12 steps for the f/e evolution of human cognition. The neologism "meme" is thankfully not used, though they see human behaviour and the quality of conscious experience arising from culturally transmitted learning. They cite Terrence Deacon approvingly, so it must be guessed that the authors accept structural brain adaptations occurring along with the slow invention of formal language structures. They don't deny the brain's influence, but it is only part of the dance duo with learning, and in this book it clearly is not leading.
However, the authors seem more comfortable in their specialties - Greenspan with studies of infant care and autism, Shanker with Wittgensteinian pretense speaking for the symbolic activities of certain bonobo. They spend less time on the slow discovery of speech, symbolism, and thought in the human species than they do on its rapid appearance in individual upbringing. They seem to accept too early and gradual an origin for formal human language, not being critical enough of nonhuman communication or of early paleoanthropological finds. As a result, all prehistoric discoveries are treated as proof of the presence of abstract ideation. It is not noted that the islands of discovery that seem to indicate a very early emergence of symbolic interaction are just that, islands. There is (as yet) no indication that such activities were carried on anywhere else in the succeeding millennia. Nor do authors deal with early humanity's immersion in the sacred; language is accepted as being invented to meet functional needs and for the pleasure of communicating.
Another hesitation is that the first two parts of the book have all the juice. Greenspan and Shanker lay out their case in the first 184 pages, leaving the rest for sometimes excruciating exegesis or jumps into global recommendations. Indeed, they emphasize so strongly "the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" that they have added a hopeful final chapter to guide us all toward Global Interdependency through the education of emotional response in every child's first year. Alas, we have many hurdles to overcome before every child on the planet can receive the loving interactive attention that will lead it to the authors' highest stage of development in old age: "...true wisdom free from the self-centered and practical worries of earlier stages" (p. 91) and a peaceful world in general.
Optimistic? Sure, but this tome is still highly recommended for its important defense of culture and learning.
One last thing: There's 504 pages in the book, not 320 like Amazon.ca states.
Emotion plus evolution has produced language.......2005-03-04
The 'First Idea' is long and tedious. I suspect 300 of the 450 pages are unnecessary. Despite this, some of the insights are well worth the effort one must invest to push through the book. The first 100 pages have all the meat. The next 200 are optional. The last 150 are counter productive.
The book proposes a theory by which language emerges from the innate human catalog of emotional states instead of 'logic'. Rather than argue language was 'built' as a 'logical' solution to a dangerous world, they argue that language is a technique for managing or 'avoiding' catastrophic emotional reactions. According to the authors, the caregiver - infant pair who can 'dance' their way through unexpected and frightening events without panic, survive and thrive. They do this by developing a shared set of gestural/auditory icons representing past, present and future emotional states. By shifting rising catastropic emotions like fight and flight out of the 'present state' and into 'icons of the dance', the pair can modulate emotional extremes.
Think about it. Could 'emotion' be the bedrock of logic?
Thinking about this, I was immediately struck by my inability to clearly describe 'emotions'. Are there 2 emotions? 4 emotions? 8 emotions? The shortest list of 'emotions' is binary: fear and anger. A slightly longer list includes 6 emotions: happy, angry, surprise, disgust, fear, sad. Once you get in the mood, the list can get pretty long: Acceptance, Anger, Anticipation, Boredom, Disgust, Envy, Fear, Guilt, Hate, Joy, Jealousy, Love, Remorse, Sorrow, Surprise, Curiosity, Fascination, Confusion, Anxiety, Bewilderment, Frustration, Chagrin, Despair, Hope, Satisfaction, and Confidence. And, there are a variety of emotions which are hard to encapsulate in a single term: 'it is finished', 'I know that', 'I understand'.
If this long list were not confusing enough, there is the common distinction between 'feeling' and 'emotion'. Many use the term 'emotion' to describe 'that which is remembered about a feeling'. Others reverse this, calling 'emotion' the precursor to 'feeling'. Personally, I prefer calling 'emotion' primordial or instinctive, something that emerges from the deepest aspects of our souls. In my view, 'feelings' are the memories of 'emotion'. It is just my vocabulary, and many may use an entirely difference scheme for describing what they experience.
Thus, the assertion that 'language is rooted in emotion' is hardly helpful unless there is a detailed treatment of what the authors mean by 'emotion'. Such a discussion will not be found anywhere in the book's 450 pages.
As I understand it, the authors are arguing that language emerges from the 'dance' infant and caregiver join. The 'dance' is composed of rhythmic 'action' and 'absorb reaction' states which both infant and caregiver cooperatively alternate between. This dance is initiated by the baby when he instinctively seeks to capture the attention of the caregiver by offering a 'stimulus' (crying, smiling, etc.). If the action (a smile) captures the attention of the caregiver, a 'happy' exchange can ensue (the dance). If the baby cannot capture the attention of the caregiver, it will often increase the energy of the stimulus (smile becomes vocalization, becomes crying, etc.) until exhausted or entirely frustrated. The authors suggest this pattern is inate to all human infants (and most mammals). Further, if the infant demonstrates limited interest or capacity for this dance, there is probably going to be an IQ or psychological problem exhibited in later years.
Given this 'dance' which infant and caregiver engage in, language is seen as a refinement which allows greater control of both external 'reality' and internal emotions. Just as ballroom dancers will learn specific 'moves' and then sequences of moves, there will naturally emerge collaborative patterns which represent or symbolize emotional states. Sequences of these states can elicit predictable 'new' emotional states. Memorizing 'moves in the dance' involves defining boundaries and key signals. The process forms the foundation for memorizing words. The pattern of the dance becomes the 'sentence'.
In terms of the caretaker's interactions with babies, the dance is memorized and eventually develops the pair's ability to negotiate undesired or unexpected experiences in life without catastrophic emotion (fear, anger, despair, etc.). The catastropic emotions close out an opportunity for cooperation. The non-catastrophic emotions include joy, curiosity, acceptance, anticipation, etc. If cooperation is essential for the survival of one or both partners, the management of emotional states are all important.
All this is outlined within the first 50 pages, and it represents an interesting proposal for the evolution of human language. Unfortunately, the following 350 pages of supporting arguments are tedious. In particular, the authors repeatedly refer to a table of `functional emotional developmental levels':
1. Shared attention and regulation (from birth)
2. Engagement and relating (2 to 4 months)
3. Two way intentional emotional signaling and communication (4 to 8 months)
4. Long chains of coregulated emotional signaling, social problem solving and formation of presymbolic self
5. Creating representations, symbols or ideas (18 months on)
6. Building bridges between ideas, logical thinking (2.5 years on)
7. etc.
This developmental pattern (the Affect Diathesis Hypothesis) is then the scaffold from which `an explanation of everything' is constructed. We wander through a recap of 2 million years of human evolution, the evolution of societies, and the necessary admonitions for saving humanity from itself. None of these were particularly interesting.
A new theory of human development.......2005-01-03
How did symbols, language and information evolve from primates to modern humans? In The First Idea: How Symbols, Language, And Intelligence Evolved From Our Primate Ancestors To Modern Humans, collaborative co-authors Stanley I. Greenspan and Stuart G. Shanker move beyond the nature/nurture debate to provide a new theory of human development: that the critical step in symbol formation, language and thinking isn't genetic, but a learned capacity dependent on nurturing interactions and cultural practices passed down between generations. Evidence from their own research and collaborations with others provide the backbone of a fascinating discourse.
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