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| View Larger Image | Intelligence in Nature
by Jeremy Narby
| | List Price: | $23.95 |  | | 6 New starting at: | $9.05 | | 8 Used starting at: | $9.01 | | | | | Sales Rank: | 704170 | | | Binding: | Hardcover | | Number Of Pages: | 267 | | Publication Date: | March 03, 2005 |
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
Continuing the journey begun in his acclaimed book The Cosmic Serpent, the noted anthropologist ventures firsthand into both traditional cultures and the most up-todate discoveries of contemporary science to determine nature's secret ways of knowing.
Anthropologist Jeremy Narby has altered how we understand the Shamanic cultures and traditions that have undergone a worldwide revival in recent years. Now, in one of his most extraordinary journeys, Narby travels the globe-from the Amazon Basin to the Far East-to probe what traditional healers and pioneering researchers understand about the intelligence present in all forms of life.
Intelligence in Nature presents overwhelming illustrative evidence that independent intelligence is not unique to humanity alone. Indeed, bacteria, plants, animals, and other forms of nonhuman life display an uncanny penchant for self-deterministic decisions, patterns, and actions.
Narby presents the first in-depth anthropological study of this concept in the West. He not only uncovers a mysterious thread of intelligent behavior within the natural world but also probes the question of what humanity can learn from nature's economy and knowingness in its own search for a saner and more sustainable way of life. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 10 reviews)
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An Addition To My Respect For The Nature 
In his search for the answer to the intelligence in nature and in an attempt to disprove Descartes' dictum ("I think, therefore I am"), an anthropologist Jeremy Narby wrote this intriguing and an easy-to-read book, which outlined his journey. And, he also included endnotes, which do indeed make an interesting read.
Throughout the book, the two subjects that most intrigues me are the plant communications and transformation in butterflies. An interesting thing about plants is the fact from this book that they have "spirits" and those who were able to see them. And, with a cited research, it is an understanding that plants do communicate with one another. Yes, everyone have some thoughts or two about this phenomena but a scientific research showed this to be true is interesting. Also, the transformations of butterflies are quite a fascinating read.
It is not the journey of Narby that is just important here, but his cited research, evidences, and his conversations with noted individuals to discover this "communication" and "intelligence" in nature as well as between the living beings. This book brings an addition to my respect for the nature and for all beings and a new perspective of how nature works.
November 04, 2007 | |
Fascinating as far as it goes
This book opens up some fascinating non-theological questions about the nature of life and how it evolves. The point of view is of an anthropologist who has studied shamanism in the Amazon and who seeks to find parallels in scientific inquiry. In doing so, he is moving from a subjective, experiential point of view of the shaman, who claims to communicate with animal spirits, to an objective observer's view of one working under the discipline of the scientific method. The first few chapters concern field trips he has taken to the Amazon basin, and the remainder deals mainly with discussions with scientists in different parts of the world who are pursuing studies that are directly concerned with intelligence in nature.
The main part of the book ponders the question of how certain brainless organisms apprehend their environments in a way that suggests that they know or can compute efficient ways to adapt. How does a slime mold solve a maze? How does ground ivy know not to sink its roots in non-nutritous ground? In order to survive and extend itself, all of life cannot afford to make poor choices on how to use its energy. But how does life, especially the simplest forms without brains, make the correct decisions? Somehow, they know how to proceed in an efficient manner despite complexity. A Japanese scientist, Toshiyuki Nakagaki, notes that most information processing in humans takes place in the unconscious, as in calculating balance in riding a bicycle.
I have not yet read the author's first book THE COSMIC SERPENT. So, perhaps I am missing something; but I thought the author left the trail he was following a bit too abruptly and lost some momentum in the last two chapters, which were mainly a recapitulation. I was looking forward to more examples from science or perhaps more about shamanism. But clearly the author is on to something here, and I enjoyed the clear, conversational writing style.
June 24, 2007 | |
Thought Provoking 
In "Intelligence in Nature" Jeremy Narby shares his journeys as he attempts to answer the question regarding whether or not there is truly intelligence in nature - Do animals have intelligence, or do they act purly on instincts alone? How about plant life, is there intelligence there?
Mr. Narby travels all over the world, to places like the Amazon, Japan, Tokyo, Great Britain, etc..., speaking with scientists & shamans alike - learning about, and sharing with us, the evidence & experiences related to this question about intelligence. What he finds is truly amazing! In the last decade or so, it appears that science is beginning to find out what shamans have said all along - that naure is intelligent, including animals, insects, plant life, and even uni-cellular organisms.
The author also discusses the benefits of science & shamanism coming together to learn from one another, as well as some of the problems encountered when attempting to answer questions dealing with intelligence, including the problem with using the word "intelligence", as it has become a "loaded word" in many countries, and the current scientific view that all things not human must by machine-like (although he also shows that this view is starting to change, with the abundance of research being contrary to this mechanistic view of nature).
Overall, I found this to be a thought provoking, interesting read. As such, I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in the possibilities concerning intelligence in nature.
December 26, 2006 | |
The intelligence: a valuated tool within the evolution!
It sounds quite pretentious to believe we are the only owners of this prodigious gift, as the intelligence is, just because we are the are the most advanced link of the chain or we have the faculty to articulate words, ideas and thoughts and to be conscious about the idea of our own death. The intelligence is a most extensive and dynamic concept.
Moreover, if you pay special attention around the paradigmatic essence of many invents, you will realize the human being has simply conveyed the paradigmatic model into the process of investigation and eventual development.
The inner mechanism of the bats and the radar; the magic of the flight of birds and the future airplanes, the nocturnal vision and the improved visual devices for troops at night. As a matter of fact, the camouflage in chameleons and other species, not only agrees with Darwin's theory but it props and affiances with major strength this statement.
On the other hand, the intelligence in the nature is just a matter of surviving, preservation and evolution of the specie; so under this perspective to deny forehand the existence of a primordial intelligence in many animal species, as soon to understand the different levels of development according the case, is just a sample of lack of perception and supine intellectual arrogance.
This book is a pleasant reading around this interesting issue, that recreates without those formal hindrances, relevant examples about this fact.
July 09, 2006 | |
Intelligence in nature- Narby
highly recommended. this is an easy read which makes several striking points. It is quite different than his previous book, the Cosmic Serpent which is a little more academic. But Narby captures the same essence here with objective examples from the most recent research on a variety of topics. very good, the only reason it is not a 5 is because it is fairly brief. I found the footnotes to be a regirgitation of the text. I was eager to read this book because his previous one was great. But Intelligence in Nature is more of a one-two punch than a 10 round bout. But it is a potent one-two, I'd say Tyson just a little bit after his prime.
June 05, 2006 | |
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