Joseph E. LeDoux
Altered Egos combines philosophy and psychology with case histories of neurological and psychiatric patients to paint a novel picture of how the brain makes the self. It's fascinating reading, start to finish.
(Joseph E. LeDoux, Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science, New York University, and author of The Emotional Brain
Martha J. Farah
This is an ambitious work, tackling no less than the mind-body problem. Amazingly, it is successful in that it offers a new way of thinking about problems of self, subjectivity and meaning . . . I am extremely enthusiastic about this book.
(Martha J. Farah, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania)
John Horgan
Anyone perplexed by the riddle of consciousnessand who is not these days?should read Todd Feinberg's bold, energetic account of how a brain makes a mind.
(John Horgan, author of The Undiscovered Mind)
Gus Van Sant
A fascinating book. I was astonished to find out that one of my favorite film characters, Dr. Strangelove, is actually displaying signs of "alien hand," a medical syndrome. There are many real-life case studies in this book used to explain the way the human mind invents and reinvents itself. A must read!
(Gus Van Sant, film director)
Laurence Miller
In the tradition of Jackson, Critchley, and Sacks, Todd Feinberg melds clinical wisdom, impressive scholarship, and profound philosophical insight to produce a lucid and enchanting account of what determines our daily actions and experiences. Far beyond the tired genre of "neurostories," Altered Egos examines the souls behind the symptoms to give the reader a stunning appreciation of how all the aspects of our lives that we take for grantedour perceptions, memories, feelings, and beliefsare actually sculpted and crafted from myriad experiential elements that can only be dissected and examined under the harsh lens of injury or disease. Above all, Altered Egos shows us how intentionalitythe purposeful seeking of meaning is what distinguishes us from both beast and computer, and this warm and thoughtful book provides a blueprint of what it truly means to be a human being.
(Laurence Miller, Ph.D., author of Inner Natures and Freud's Brain)