The Big Questions: Mind
Published on 25. October 2012
Book
Hardback
208 pages
978-1-78087-035-9 (ISBN)
Description
'The Big Questions' series is designed to let renowned experts confront the 20 most fundamental and frequently asked questions of a major branch of science or philosophy. In 'The Big Questions: Mind' the explanations behind the 'mysteries' of our unique minds - including how they differ from our brains and how they create our awareness - are explored. Among the questions discussed are: How do brains come to exist? Is the mind more than the brain? What does it mean to be conscious? What is knowledge? Does the mind play tricks? What is the 'I' in our brain?
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 217 mm
Width: 149 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
442 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78087-035-9 (9781780870359)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2012
1st Edition
Greenfinch
€3.99
Available for download
Person
Dr Restak is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine. His post-graduate training included a rotating internship at St Vincent's Hospital in New York, psychiatric residencies at Mount Sinai Hospital and Georgetown University Hospital, and a residency in neurology at George Washington Hospital in Washington, DC. Concurrently, he is Clinical Professor of Neurology at George Washington Hospital University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He has written numerous books on the human brain.
Content
Introduction. Can We Have a Mind Without a Body? - Are we creatures of pure thought? How Do Brains Come to Exist? - The development of the human brain. Can We Build a Super-Brain? - Achieving the highest levels of brain performance. How Do We Make Sense of Sensation? - Seeing things as we are. What Does it Mean to be Conscious? - Problems of identity and awareness. What Makes the Human Brain Special? - Looking under the hood. Can Brains Communicate Without Words? - The secrets of body language. What is the 'I' in Our Brain? - The quintessential identity problem. Is Free Will an Illusion? - Does our brain already know what we're going to do? What is Thinking? - Putting our minds to work. What Does a Brain Do When it is Doing Nothing? - The pleasures and perils of mind wandering. Is it Possible to Think of Two Things at Once? - The dangers of multitasking and thought suppression. What is Knowledge? - What do we know and how do we know that we know it? How Do We Step Out of the Here and Now? - Processing the past and the future. Where Do Empathy and Altruism Come From? - Seeing ourselves in others. What is this Thing Called Love? - Addiction, pure sex, evolutionary necessity or a beautiful relationship? What Happens When We Get Angry? - Fury and the frontal lobes. Do Dreams Have Meaning? - Random noise or vital insight in to the unconscious? Does the Mind Play Tricks? - Illusion, reality and the mind. Are Machines Scrambling our Brains? - Thinking in new and different ways. Glossary. Index.