At the heart of
Touching a Nerve is the question of what happens when we accept that everything we feel, think and experience stems not from an immaterial soul but from electrical and chemical activity in our brains. Patricia Churchland, one of the pioneers of neurophilosophy, explains what the latest brain research into consciousness, sensory experience, memory and free will can tell us about the enduring philosophical and ethical questions about what the self is, how our personalities are created and what determines our decisions and behaviour. As Churchland reveals, once we accept that our brains determine everything about who we are and how we experience the world, neuroscience offers new, critical insights into a fascinating range of ethical and philosophical dilemmas.
About the AuthorPatricia Churchland is the author of Touching a Nerve: Our Brains, Our Selves. She is professor emerita of philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, and the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship.
Reviews"...accurate and commendably up to date." -- Nature
"...the philosopher Patricia Churchland defies her neuro-fundamentalist reputation to present a supremely measured, sensible and readable account of the brain's role in making us who we are." -- Julian Baggani, Books of the Year 2013 - The Observer
Book InformationISBN 9780393349443
Author Patricia ChurchlandFormat Paperback
Page Count 306
Imprint WW Norton & CoPublisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 315g
Dimensions(mm) 211mm * 140mm * 20mm