The Tool Instinct

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.

About the Author

François 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.