Abstract

OLIVA, Angela Donato et al. Reason, emotion and action in scene: human mind from an evolutionary perspective. Psic.: Teor. e Pesq. [online]. 2006, vol.22, n.1, pp. 53-61. ISSN 0102-3772.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-37722006000100007.

Biological and cultural aspects, psychological and neurological aspects, emotional and rational aspects were privileged separately in different times and perspectives - the vision of mind was sometimes focused and sometimes relegated to the black box of the psychological science. Presently, integration between mind and human behavior is sought. Mind is seen as an object of science and a product of the natural selection in the evolution of Homo sapiens. Our essay presents a brief history of the main transformations in the conception of mind and of evolutionary models of mind which contemplate reason, emotion and human actions. An effort is made to integrate and discuss the research evidence from various disciplines (anthropology, ethology, primatology, and psychology), offering an evolutionary comprehension of the human mind, of its phylogeny and ontogeny. Cooperative and competitive behavior are discussed within such framework.

Keywords : evolutionary psychology; cognition; emotion; action.