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new book – ‘The Trickster Brain: Neuroscience, Evolution, and Narrative’

June 3, 2012

The Trickster Brain

The Trickster Brain: Neuroscience, Evolution, and Narrative by David Williams (Lexington Books)

(amazon.co.uk – 1 Aug 2012)

Book description from the publisher:

Until recently, scientific and literary cultures have existed side-by-side but most often in parallel universes, without connection. The Trickster Brain: Neuroscience, Evolution, and Nature by David Williams addresses the premise that humans are a biological species stemming from the long process of evolution, and that we do exhibit a universal human nature, given to us through our genes. From this perspective, literature is shown to be a product of our biological selves. By exploring central ideas in neuroscience, evolutionary biology, linguistics, music, philosophy, ethics, religion, and history, Williams shows that it is the circuitry of the brain’s hard-wired dispositions that continually create similar tales around the world: “archetypal” stories reflecting ancient tensions that arose from our evolutionary past and the very construction of our brains. The book asserts that to truly understand literature, one must look at the biological creature creating it. By using the lens of science to examine literature, we can see how stories reveal universal aspects of the biological mind. The Trickster character is particularly instructive as an archetypal character who embodies a raft of human traits and concerns, for Trickster is often god, devil, musical, sexual, silver tongued, animal, and human at once, treading upon the moral dictates of culture.

Williams brings together science and the humanities, demonstrating a critical way of approaching literature that incorporates scientific thought.

See also: Excerpt at author’s website

Comments (0) - culture,human evolution,mind,psychology

new book – ‘The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity’ by Paul J. Zak

May 10, 2012

The Moral Molecule

The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity by Paul J. Zak (Dutton Adult, 2012)

(kindle ed.)

(amazon.co.uk – 24 May)

Book description from the publisher:

A Revolution in the Science of Good and Evil

Why do some people give freely while others are cold hearted?

Why do some people cheat and steal while others you can trust with your life?

Why are some husbands more faithful than others—and why do women tend to be more generous than men?

Could they key to moral behavior lie with a single molecule?

From the bucolic English countryside to the highlands of Papua New Guinea, from labs in Switzerland to his campus in Southern California, Dr. Paul Zak recounts his extraordinary stories and sets out, for the first time, his revolutionary theory of moral behavior. Accessible and electrifying, The Moral Molecule reveals nothing less than the origins of our most human qualities—empathy, happiness, and the kindness of strangers.

Google books preview:

See also: Book website

Comments (0) - cognitive science,new books

new book – ‘A Tour of the Senses: How Your Brain Interprets the World’

January 30, 2012

Tour of the Senses

A Tour of the Senses: How Your Brain Interprets the World by John M. Henshaw (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012)

(amazon.co.uk – 9 Feb 2012)

Product description from the publisher:

Ever wonder why some people have difficulty recognizing faces or why food found delicious in one culture is reviled in another? John M. Henshaw ponders these and other surprising facts in this fascinating and fast-paced tour of the senses.

From when stimuli first excite our senses to the near-miraculous sense organs themselves to the mystery of how our brain interprets senses, Henshaw explains the complex phenomena of how we see, feel, taste, touch, and smell. He takes us through the rich history of sensory perception, dating back to Aristotle’s classification of the five main senses, and helps us understand the science and technology behind sensory research today.

A Tour of the Senses travels beyond our human senses. Henshaw describes artificial sensing technologies and instruments, unusual sensory abilities of the animal kingdom, and techniques for improving, rehabilitating, and even replacing sense organs.

This entertaining introduction to sensory science is a clever mix of research findings and real-world stories that helps us understand the complex processes that turn sensory stimuli into sophisticated brain responses.

Google books preview:

Comments (0) - cognitive science,new books

new book – ‘The Bodhisattva’s Brain: Buddhism Naturalized’ by Owen Flanagan

August 18, 2011

The Bodhisattva's Brain

The Bodhisattva’s Brain: Buddhism Naturalized by Owen Flanagan (MIT Press)

(amazon.co.uk – 21 Oct)

Product description from the publisher:

If we are material beings living in a material world–and all the scientific evidence suggests that we are–then we must find existential meaning, if there is such a thing, in this physical world. We must cast our lot with the natural rather than the supernatural. Many Westerners with spiritual (but not religious) inclinations are attracted to Buddhism–almost as a kind of moral-mental hygiene. But, as Owen Flanagan points out in The Bodhisattva’s Brain, Buddhism is hardly naturalistic. Atheistic when it comes to a creator god, Buddhism is otherwise opulently polytheistic, with spirits, protector deities, ghosts, and evil spirits. Its beliefs include karma, rebirth, nirvana, and nonphysical states of mind. What is a nonreligious, materially grounded spiritual seeker to do? In The Bodhisattva’s Brain, Flanagan argues that it is possible to subtract the “hocus pocus” from Buddhism and discover a rich, empirically responsible philosophy that could point us to one path of human flourishing. “Buddhism naturalized,” as Flanagan constructs it, contains a metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics; it is a fully naturalistic and comprehensive philosophy, compatible with the rest of knowledge. Some claim that neuroscience is in the process of validating Buddhism empirically, but Flanagan’s naturalized Buddhism does not reduce itself to a brain scan showing happiness patterns. Buddhism naturalized offers instead a tool for achieving happiness and human flourishing–a way of conceiving of the human predicament, of thinking about meaning for finite material beings living in a material world.

See also: Author’s website, “Bodhisattva’s Brain” podcast

Comments (0) - happiness,new books,psychology

‘Brain Cuttings’ by Carl Zimmer, one of over 900 kindle books on sale

July 22, 2011

“The Big Deal” in kindle books – over 900 books on sale through July 27, including

Archimedes to Hawking : Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them by Clifford Pickover ($1.99)

Brain Cuttings by Carl Zimmer ($3.99)

Evil Genes: Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend by Barbara Oakley ($1.99)

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner ($1.99)

Timeless Reality: Symmetry, Simplicity, and Multiple Universes (Great Books in Philosophy) by Victor J. Stenger ($0.99)

(Note: Prices subject to change — sale ends July 27.)

PS: Amazon.co.uk also has a “Kindle Summer Sale” with “hundreds of books priced at just £2.99 or less.” Here’s the “Science & Nature” category.

Comments (0) - cognitive science,happiness,reality