Are our actions determined solely by physical processes, or is the mind its own master? This age-old philosophical conundrum gets a terrific, if ultimately indecisive, analysis in this engrossing study of the mechanics of thought. Gazzaniga (Human: The Science Behind What Makes Your Brain Unique), a leading cognitive neuroscientist, draws on cutting-edge research, including his fascinating experiments with “split-brain” patients, to diagram the Rube Goldberg apparatus inside our skulls. Beneath our illusion of an in-control self, he contends, thousands of chaotically interacting neural modules governing motion, senses, and language unconsciously make decisions long before we consciously register them; the closest thing to a self is a brain module called “the interpreter,” which spins a retrospective story line to rationalize whatever the nonconscious brain did. (Brain injuries can make the interpreter tragicomically muddled, leading patients to claim that their hand doesn’t belong to them or that their relatives are imposters.) The author’s reconciliation of that deterministic model with the idea of free will is less successful, requiring “a unique language, which has yet to be developed”; until then, we can only invoke muzzy notions from complexity theory. Though he doesn’t quite capture the ghost, Gazzaniga does give a lucid, stimulating primer on the machine that generates it. B&w illus. (Nov.)
A powerful orthodoxy in the study of the brain has taken hold in
recent years: Since physical laws govern the physical world and our own brains are part of that world, physical laws therefore govern our
behavior and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes
the mantra; we live in a "determined" world.
Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga in this thoughtful, provocative book based on his Gifford Lectures-one of the foremost lecture series in the world dealing with religion, science, and
philosophy. Who's in Charge? proposes that the mind, which is
somehow generated by the physical processes of the brain, "constrains" the brain just as cars are constrained by the traffic they create.
Writing with what Steven Pinker has called "his trademark wit and lack
of pretension," Gazzaniga shows how determinism immeasurably weakens our views of human responsibility; it allows a murderer to argue, in effect, "It wasn't me who did it-it was my brain." Gazzaniga convincingly argues that even given the latest insights into the physical mechanisms of the mind, there is an undeniable human reality: We are responsible agents who should be held accountable for our actions,
because responsibility is found in how people interact, not in brains.
An extraordinary book that ranges across neuroscience, psychology,
ethics, and the law with a light touch but profound implications, Who's in Charge? is a lasting contribution from one of the leading thinkers of our time.
1100718450
recent years: Since physical laws govern the physical world and our own brains are part of that world, physical laws therefore govern our
behavior and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes
the mantra; we live in a "determined" world.
Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga in this thoughtful, provocative book based on his Gifford Lectures-one of the foremost lecture series in the world dealing with religion, science, and
philosophy. Who's in Charge? proposes that the mind, which is
somehow generated by the physical processes of the brain, "constrains" the brain just as cars are constrained by the traffic they create.
Writing with what Steven Pinker has called "his trademark wit and lack
of pretension," Gazzaniga shows how determinism immeasurably weakens our views of human responsibility; it allows a murderer to argue, in effect, "It wasn't me who did it-it was my brain." Gazzaniga convincingly argues that even given the latest insights into the physical mechanisms of the mind, there is an undeniable human reality: We are responsible agents who should be held accountable for our actions,
because responsibility is found in how people interact, not in brains.
An extraordinary book that ranges across neuroscience, psychology,
ethics, and the law with a light touch but profound implications, Who's in Charge? is a lasting contribution from one of the leading thinkers of our time.
Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain
A powerful orthodoxy in the study of the brain has taken hold in
recent years: Since physical laws govern the physical world and our own brains are part of that world, physical laws therefore govern our
behavior and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes
the mantra; we live in a "determined" world.
Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga in this thoughtful, provocative book based on his Gifford Lectures-one of the foremost lecture series in the world dealing with religion, science, and
philosophy. Who's in Charge? proposes that the mind, which is
somehow generated by the physical processes of the brain, "constrains" the brain just as cars are constrained by the traffic they create.
Writing with what Steven Pinker has called "his trademark wit and lack
of pretension," Gazzaniga shows how determinism immeasurably weakens our views of human responsibility; it allows a murderer to argue, in effect, "It wasn't me who did it-it was my brain." Gazzaniga convincingly argues that even given the latest insights into the physical mechanisms of the mind, there is an undeniable human reality: We are responsible agents who should be held accountable for our actions,
because responsibility is found in how people interact, not in brains.
An extraordinary book that ranges across neuroscience, psychology,
ethics, and the law with a light touch but profound implications, Who's in Charge? is a lasting contribution from one of the leading thinkers of our time.
recent years: Since physical laws govern the physical world and our own brains are part of that world, physical laws therefore govern our
behavior and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes
the mantra; we live in a "determined" world.
Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga in this thoughtful, provocative book based on his Gifford Lectures-one of the foremost lecture series in the world dealing with religion, science, and
philosophy. Who's in Charge? proposes that the mind, which is
somehow generated by the physical processes of the brain, "constrains" the brain just as cars are constrained by the traffic they create.
Writing with what Steven Pinker has called "his trademark wit and lack
of pretension," Gazzaniga shows how determinism immeasurably weakens our views of human responsibility; it allows a murderer to argue, in effect, "It wasn't me who did it-it was my brain." Gazzaniga convincingly argues that even given the latest insights into the physical mechanisms of the mind, there is an undeniable human reality: We are responsible agents who should be held accountable for our actions,
because responsibility is found in how people interact, not in brains.
An extraordinary book that ranges across neuroscience, psychology,
ethics, and the law with a light touch but profound implications, Who's in Charge? is a lasting contribution from one of the leading thinkers of our time.
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Product Details
BN ID: | 2940171038090 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Tantor Audio |
Publication date: | 12/19/2011 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
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