Henry Plotkin is Professor of Psychobiology and Head of the Department of Psychology at the University College in London.
Plotkin is a psychologist and his book places most emphasis on
learning or the acquisition of knowledge and the cultural
transmission of that knowledge. It is an extended essay on
'evolutionary epistemology,' a phrase coined by D. T. Campbell and
rightly seen by Plotkin as a barrier to understanding. Indeed, one
of this book's great virtues is that Plotkin writes incomparably
more clearly than most others who have ventured into these fields.
His exposition, even of complex issues, is beautifully lucid, his
arguments well thought through and his illustrations apt. * Nature
*
Plotkin makes evolutionary epistemology accessible to
nonspecialists, developing a model in which sense-based knowledge
anchors mind-based knowledge, coupling more tightly to individual
intelligence than to the 'knowledge' constructs of cultures.
Plotkin offers an extremely readable account and defense of
evolutionary epistemology, a prominent, if controversial, position
in contemporary philosophy of science. * Science, Technology &
Society *
Plotkin ties together philosophy, evolutionary biology, and
psychology to provide a new examination of the science of
knowledge. The nature of learning and intelligence are seen as the
extension of instincts that are deeply rooted in our biology...
Plotkin is excellent at describing difficult and convoluted issues.
* Choice *
In his Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge, Plotkin
does for evolutionary epistemology what Richard Dawkins did for
gene selectionism in The Selfish Gene. As in the case of gene
selectionist versions of evolutionary theory, most of the work in
evolutionary epistemology is highly esoteric and extremely hard to
follow. Plotkin decided that it was time to summarize the advances
in ways that more general readers can comprehend and appreciate. He
has simplified this large literature without distorting it. I read
the book with enjoyment.
An outstanding example of a bold and thought-provoking struggle for
a unified viewpoint on the nature of knowledge. Plotkin's intention
is not just to show connections between various accounts of
knowledge from evolutionary biologists, psychologists, and
philosophers-he is going for more. He attempts to develop a unified
point of view based on Darwin and twentieth-century evolutionary
epistemology. This book is extremely lucid, clear, and
well-written.
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