 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Carl Sagan |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Don Davis |
| Language | English |
| Subjects | Human evolution Intelligence |
| Publisher | Random House |
Publication date | 1977 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover andPaperback) |
| Pages | 263 (first edition) |
| ISBN | 0-394-41045-9 |
| OCLC | 2922889 |
| 153 | |
| LC Class | BF431 .S2 |
| Followed by | Broca's Brain |
The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence is a 1977 book byCarl Sagan, in which the author combines the fields ofanthropology,evolutionarybiology,psychology, andcomputer science to give a perspective on how humanintelligence may have evolved.
Sagan discusses the search for a quantitative means of measuring intelligence. He argues that thebrain to body mass ratio is an extremely good correlative indicator for intelligence, withhumans having the highest ratio anddolphins the second highest,[1] though he views the trend as breaking down at smaller scales, with some small animals (ants in particular) placing disproportionately high on the list. Other topics mentioned include the evolution of thebrain (with emphasis on the function of theneocortex in humans), the evolutionary purpose ofsleep anddreams,demonstration of sign language abilities bychimps and the purpose of mankind's innate fears andmyths. The title "The Dragons of Eden" is borrowed from the notion that man's early struggle for survival in the face of predators, and in particular a fear of reptiles, may have led to cultural beliefs and myths aboutdragons.
The Dragons of Eden won a Pulitzer Prize.[2] In 2002,John Skoyles andDorion Sagan published a follow-up entitledUp from Dragons.[3]
The book is an expansion of theJacob BronowskiMemorial Lecture in Natural Philosophy which Sagan gave at theUniversity of Toronto. In the introduction Sagan presents his thesis – that "the mind ... [is] a consequence of its anatomy and physiology and nothing more" – in reference to the works ofCharles Darwin andAlfred Russel Wallace.[citation needed]
In chapter 2, Sagan briefly summarizes the entire evolution of species starting from theBig Bang to the beginning of the human civilization with the help of a "Cosmic Calendar", an analogy where one year in the calendar corresponds to the time since the Big Bang. Sagan used thesame analogy in the more-widely known television seriesCosmos.
It is disconcerting to find that in such a cosmic year the Earth does not condense out of interstellar matter until early September, dinosaurs emerge onChristmas Eve; flowers arise on December 28; and men and women originate at 10:30 P.M. on New Year's Eve. All of recorded history occupies the last 10 seconds of December 31; and the time from the waning of the Middle Ages to the present occupies little more than one second.
Writing for theNew York Times,John Leonard called the book "a delight" and described Sagan as "a scientificRobert Redford, handsome and articulate and all business." The book was awarded aPulitzer Prize in 1978.[4]
In 2008, an album calledThe Dragons of Eden was released by keyboard player and producerTravis Dickerson along with guitar virtuosoBuckethead and drummerBryan "Brain" Mantia. The album derives its track titles from the book's chapters.
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