THE EVOLUTION OF INTELLIGENCE by James H. Fetzer, Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, Duluth, advances a new paradigm for understanding the influence of evolution upon mentality, intelligence, rationality, morality and society. Evolutionary theory and philosophy of mind come together in this exciting yet carefully reasoned explanation of what is now known about mankind's place in nature. According to the author, any scientific account of the evolution of mind must be based upon a theoretically defensible conception of mind that clarifies the influence of mental states upon behavior and applies to human beings, other animals, and inanimate machines, if such a thing is possible. Fetzer disputes the computational conception, according to which minds are to bodies as software is to hardware, currently the most fashionable view within cognitive science, and elaborates an alternative based upon Charles S. Peirce's theory of signs. Using gene-culture co-evolutionary theory, Fetzer identifies intelligence with epigenetic rules involving the use of signs, where different species utilize signs of different kinds. Emphasizing cognitive versatility and behavioral plasticity, Fetzer suggests some machines are "intelligent" even though they do not possess mentality. His wide-ranging discussion sheds light on many controversial issues, including the scientific status of sociobiology, variability in intelligence among human populations, and the links between biological evolution and moral imperatives. Along the way, this book directly challenges the foundations of what passes for "evolutionary psychology" today.