The Perils of Polymathy Review of Nicholas Humphrey's 'The Mind Made Flesh'

Most readers will be acquainted with the principal interest of the evolutionary psychologist Nicholas Humphrey via his modestly titled essay 'How to solve the mind-body problem', reprinted in this collection. The article was originally published in JCS (Humphrey, 2000), with peer commentary (not included in this reprint). But, in addition to his popular science books, Humphrey has also written scholarly essays on the more technical aspects of evolutionary theory along with journalistic articles on religion, politics, history, folk psychology and the supernatural. The book under review attempts the difficult task of bringing these differing topics and styles together in one volume. It would be folly to attempt to cover such a broad collection comprehensively, so I will attempt to focus on those aspects most relevant to the aims and scope of this journal. Nicholas Humphrey, The Mind Made Flesh: Essays from the Frontiers of Psychology and Evolution, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, £11.99, ISBN 0-19-280227-5 (pbk.).