- 296 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Jaques presents a totally new general theoretical foundation for understanding the individual and social behavior of all living organisms. In contrast to existing theories of behavior which are static, Jaques has succeeded in breaking through to a truly dynamic orientation. This breakthrough, resulted from his fundamental research into work organizations that led to the realization that the difference between inanimate processes and all living behavior, is that all living behavior is composed of intentional goal-directed work. This continuous work entails the use of judgment in choosing goals and in making the decisions necessary to get to these goals. This work process is the same in all living organisms, including humans. It is an ineffable process of the total organism, inaccessible to direct observation and experience. Intentionality is the dynamic of behavior. This discovery has led over the past 50 years to extensive discoveries--objective measures of work complexity, and of the level of complexity (capability) of individuals in all species; how human language differs from communication in other species; the need to distinguish between horizontal evolutionary mutations within a given level of capability, and vertical evolution to species with higher levels of complexity; the nature of freedom within mutual-trust inducing constraints. Set forth to radically change the nature of all behavioral and social sciences in the new millenium, Jaques' analysis is essential reading for all scholars, students, and researchers as well as the general public involved with the behavior of living organisms.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- The Life and Behavior of Living Organisms
- copyright
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Preface: Brief Biosketch and Acknowledgments
- Part I Introduction
- 1 What Is Life? Overview
- Part II A Half-Century of Findings on Work,Complexity, and Capability
- 2 Work as Goal-Directed Choice(Laboro Ergo Sum)
- 3 Complexity and Capability in Living Organisms
- Part III Laying the Groundwork
- 4 Awareness, Signaling, Language, and Other Basic Concepts
- 5 Minds, Bodies, Reductionism, and Systems Theory
- 6 Potential and Applied Capability Throughout the Living Kingdom
- Part IV Life in the Prelinguistic World
- 7 The Choice-Making Functions of All Living Organisms
- 8 The Whole Organism and Its Parts
- 9 The Organism in Action: Needs, Intentions, Goals, Attention, and Association Theory
- 10 Reality in the Sensible World as Cause-and-Effect Testing
- Part V The Language-Suffused World of Humans
- 11 The Evolutionary Emergence of Homo Sapiens, with Language and Consciousness
- 12 The Fruits of Evolution
- 13 The Spread of Homo Sapiens Across the World
- 14 The Language-Suffused World: Prometheus, Pandora, and the Unicorns
- 15 Modem Alchemy and the Disruption of Capitalist Democracy
- Part VI Time, Science, and Freedom
- 16 Toward a Science-Based Art of Social Ordering
- 17 Values for a Living World: Freedom and Constraint, and Mutual Trust and Morals
- 18 Some Retrospective Musings
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
- About the Author