The Human Place in Nature

This book explores a new approach to understanding the evolution of mind and consciousness by examining the perceptual abilities of animals and the way they experience their world. It offers a science-based bottom-up approach to our own conscious worldview by seeing it through the eyes of others.

John Schooneveldt is a human ecologist with an academic background in psychology (BA 1972), linguistics (MA 1989) and applied ecology (PhD 2000). He worked as a senior government advisor for different governments, a green enterprise development consultant and farmer before returning to academia where he has been a visiting fellow and honorary lecturer at the Australian National University since 2010.

1. Introduction: rationale and justification. 2. What is Context?. 3. Privileging Properties. 4. Context Mapping. 5. The Evolutionary Thinking Frame. 6. The Evolution of Technology. 7. The Evolution Belief. 8. Interpretation and Sense-Making. 9. The ecology of economics. 10. Summary and its Implications for Ethics.