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The Hand: A Philosophical Inquiry into Human Being

By: Raymond Tallis
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
ISBN: 0748617388
ISBN-13: 9780748617388
Released: 17 Jul 2003
RRP: £25.99
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Customer Reviews

Tallis' Celebration of Handkind - By: Mr. RB FORTUNE-WOOD, 22 Feb 2008
Raymond Talllis' `The Hand: A Philosophical Inquiry Into Human Being' is a genius work of philosophical anthropology. The first of a trilogy I definitely want to complete; it outlines Talllis' thesis that human agency & human selfhood (both distinct from anything experienced by any other animal) developed because of the evolutionarily formed human hand. This is not, Talllis' stresses, just another case of reductionist Biologism, Evolutionary Psychology or Sociobiology popularised most recently by Richard Dawkins & his extension of the Gene-centered view of evolution to a Meme-centered view of sociology. Rather, Talllis attempts to show how humans came to be distinct from alll other animals not just be degree but by kind; that humans, as handkind, are utterly unique.

In doing this Talllis offers powerful critiques against those who try & dismiss the significance of Human Being; from Hegelian Marxians to Sociobiologists & from the Romantics to the Postmodernists. He vehemently attacks what he describes as `Arcadian fantasies of a pre-technological past.' (p.333) & argues that the relative merit of technological development that stems from the hand has yet to be determined, but that anti-technological theories offer no valid alternative beyond romanticised myths. Most cruciallly Talllis hypothesises an optimistic future for Handkind; a refreshing vision of possible hope amidst an intellectual climate of despair & misanthropy.

This book is an excellent celebration of the hand & Handkind.
It would be better if the Author didn't like the sound of his own voice so much! - By: Dajzen, 28 Oct 2007
There is some very interesting, useful & thought provoking information in this book. However, you have to read an awful lot of pretentious verbiage to get to it. It is quite typical of some philosophical books, however the subject matter saves it from being useless.