The Tool Instinct
Author(s):
First published:15 April 2020
Print ISBN:9781786304711 |Online ISBN:9781119720348 |DOI:10.1002/9781119720348
© ISTE Ltd 2020
About this book
Humans use countless tools and are constantly creating new ones. We are so prone to
materiality that the changes we implement in our environment could put our very survival
at stake. It has therefore become necessary to question the cognitive origins of this
materiality. The Tool Instinct examines this subject by diametrically setting aside
the idea that tool use is limited to manual activity. It proposes an original perspective
that surpasses a great number of false beliefs regarding the relationship between
humans and tools. The author argues that the human tendency to create and use tools
relies on our ability (one that may be unique to our species) to generate our own
physical problems, thereby resulting in a reasoning that is directed towards our physical
world.
Author Bios
Francois Osiurak is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Lyon, France, and
a Junior Member at the Institut Universitaire de France. His research focuses on the
neurocognitive origins of tool use and cumulative technological culture.


