The Soul in the Brain: The Cerebral Basis of Language, Art, and Belief - Brossura

Trimble, Michael R. R.

Brossura

ISBN 10: 142141189X ISBN 13: 9781421411897

Casa editrice: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013

Riassunto

In this provocative study, Michael R. Trimble, M.D., tackles the interrelationship between brain function, language, art—especially music and poetry—and religion. By examining the breakdown of language in several neuropsychiatric disorders, he identifies brain circuits that are involved with metaphor, poetry, music, and religious experiences. Drawing on this body of evidence, Trimble argues that religious experiences and beliefs are explicable biologically and relate to brain function, especially of the nondominant hemisphere.

Inspired by the writings and reflections of his patients—many of whom have epilepsy, psychosis, or affective disorders—Trimble asks how the human species, so enamored of its own logic and critical facilities, has held from the dawn of civilization strong religious beliefs and a reverence for the arts. He explores topics such as the phenomena of hypergraphia and hyper-religiosity, how religious experiences and poetic expression are neurologically linked with our capacity to respond to music, and how neuropsychiatric disorders influence behaviors related to artistic expression and religiosity by disturbing brain function.

With the sensitivity of a dedicated doctor and the curiosity of an accomplished scholar, Trimble offers an insightful analysis of how the study of people with paradigmatical neuropsychiatric conditions can be the cornerstone to unraveling some of the mysteries of the cerebral representations of our highest cultural experiences.

Su questo libro

Recensione

"This book exists... to explain matters of the heart using our knowledge of the mind... A host of professional students, clinicians, educators, and other well-read individuals will find this worthy of a close and careful read."

(Mark H. Fleisher JAMA)

"Perfect for either college-level collections strong in science, health, or social science and for public lending collections alike... An intriguing, lively survey."

(Midwest Book Review)

"A highly thought-provoking excursion through neuroscience, philosophy, and culture."

(Scientific American Mind)

"This scholarly, yet provocative, book from an insightful, observant neurologist... is rich with thought-provoking ideas."

(Chris McManus British Journal of Psychiatry)

"It is hard to imagine reading this book carefully without being enriched by the experience."

(Bruce L Miller Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry)

"This text considers crucial and significant questions about the relationship between creativity, belief and the brain. One does not need to agree with the arguments and conclusions to find much of value in this book. I suspect that it will receive a warm critical reception within scientific and medical contexts, and I have no doubt that many receptive readers will also be found amongst an informed general audience."

(Jay Johnston Journal of Religious History)

"Trimble’s book has elegantly accomplished its ambitious scope in highlighting the cerebral mechanisms that contribute to the most vital aspects of human experience, thus building solid intellectual bridges between different―and often noncommunicating―research fields."

(Andrea E. Cavanna Cognitive Neuropsychiatry)

"A final chapter integrates the book's core themes, using poetic examples as illustrations―resulting in an evocative meditation on art and biology."

(Choice)

"Trimble elegantly and expertly surveys the literature on the neurologic correlates of changes in religious, esthetic, and poetic expression and then synthesizes what he has garnered from his reviews into a balanced and reasonable theoretical framework with which to understand these central facets of the human experience."

(Patrick McNamara, Boston University School of Medicine)

"There have been a flurry of books recently on God and the brain, written either from the cold hard world of a neuroscientist or the more abstract but less brain-informed pulpit of a spiritual leader. Trimble tackles this most important topic with his unique knowledge and perspectives gained as a knowing and caring physician, a critical neuroscientist, a gifted historian, and a superb storyteller. He fuses these fields to address the simplest and most important questions: Why do we cry when we listen to music, or pay money to go and weep in the theater? This book is a remarkably new approach to understanding why we behave, think, and feel as we do."

(Mark S. George, Medical University of South Carolina)

L'autore

Michael R. Trimble, M.D., is a professor of behavioral neurology at the Institute of Neurology, University of London.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2013
• ISBN 10: 142141189X
• ISBN 13: 9781421411897
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 304