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As scientists continue to explore how the brain works, using ever more sophisticated technology, it seems likely that new findings will radically alter the traditional understanding of human nature. One aspect of human nature that is already being questioned by recent developments in neuroscience is free will. Do our decisions arise from purely mechanistic processes? Is our feeling of self-control merely an illusion created by our brains? If so, what will become of free will and moral responsibility? These thorny questions and many more are examined with great clarity and insight in this engaging exploration of neuroscience's potential impact on moral responsibility. The author delves into a host of fascinating topics, including:-the parts of the brain that scientists believe are involved in the exercise of will-what Parkinson's, Tourette's, and schizophrenia reveal about our ability to control our actions-whether criminal behavior is determined by brain chemistry-how self-reflective consciousness may have evolved from a largely deterministic brainUsing illustrative examples from philosophy, mythology, history, and criminology, and with thorough discussions of actual scientific experiments, the author explores the threat of neuroscience to moral responsibility as he attempts to answer the question: Are we truly in control of our actions?

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Foreword(p. 9)
• Acknowledgments(p. 15)
• Introduction(p. 17)
• 1 The Nefarious Neuron(p. 21)
• 2 The Shadow of Determinism(p. 27)
• 3 The Essential Freedom(p. 35)
• 4 A Tempest in the Brain(p. 43)
• 5 Neurological Disturbance(p. 53)
• 6 The Seat of the Will(p. 61)
• 7 The Somatic-Marker Hypothesis(p. 67)
• 8 The Readiness Potential(p. 77)
• 9 The Grand Illusion(p. 87)
• 10 Neuronal Destiny(p. 99)
• 11 The Revolution of the Brain(p. 111)
• 12 Seeds of Corruption(p. 121)
• 13 Morality's End(p. 135)
• 14 The Depths of Consciousness(p. 143)
• 15 A Challenge for Experience(p. 155)
• 16 The Boundlessness of Reason(p. 169)
• 17 Rise of the Moral Agent(p. 185)
• 18 The Palace of the Mind(p. 191)
• Further Readings(p. 201)
• Notes(p. 211)
• Bibliography(p. 227)
• Index(p. 239)

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CHOICE Review

With a background in both neuroscience and philosophy, Sternberg (Tufts Univ.) struggles in this book with the apparent deterministic implications of some recent work in neuroscience. He considers an array of research, some arising out of medical work with damaged brains and some arising out of research done on whole and healthy brains. All, in one way or another, put pressure on people's ordinary understanding of themselves as free conscious agents bearing responsibility for their decisions. Sternberg resists this pressure, pointing out flaws in some of the arguments for determinism based on this research, and arguing in general that the case for determinism is far weaker than its scientific and philosophical proponents would have one believe. Sternberg also presents an argument of his own against deterministic accounts of consciousness. While those who have struggled with the philosophical problem of determinism are not likely to find compelling this argument based on the idea that unlike consciousness, "a deterministic system is a rule-bound system," they will find much of interest in the neuroscientific research that Sternberg considers and comments on. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers; general readers. R. Hudelson University of Wisconsin--Superior

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Eliezer J. Sternberg is the author of Are You a Machine? The Brain, the Mind, and What It Means to Be Human. A recent graduate of Brandeis University, where he majored in neuroscience and philosophy, Sternberg is now at Tufts University School of Medicine.