Soul Made Flesh: How The Secrets of the Brain were uncovered in Seventeenth Century England - Softcover

Zimmer, Carl

3.99

635 ratings by Goodreads

9780099441656: Soul Made Flesh: How The Secrets of the Brain were uncovered in Seventeenth Century England

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099441659 ISBN 13: 9780099441656

Publisher: Arrow, 2005

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At the beginning of the Europe's turbulent seventeenth century, no one knew how the brain worked. By the century's close, the science of the brain had taken root, helping to overturn many common misconceptions about the human body as well as to unseat centuries-old philosophies of man and God. Presiding over this evolution was the founder of modern neurology, Thomas Willis, a fascinating, sympathetic, even heroic figure who stands at the centre of an extraordinary group of scientists and philosophers known as the 'Oxford circle'. Chronicled here in vivid detail are their groundbreaking revelations and often gory experiments that first enshrined the brain as the chemical engine of reason, emotion, and madness - indeed as the very seat of the human soul.

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Review:

"Carl Zimmer's illuminating book charts a fascinating chapter in the soul's journey."
-- The New York Times Book Review

"Describes a kind of second Copernican revolution -- one inside the body. Thrilling."
-- Ross King, Los Angeles Times

"This page-turner is a tribute to the heretical thinkers who decoded nature by relying on direct observation rather than received opinion."
-- Wired

"A thumping good read."
-- Timothy Ferris, author of The Whole Shebang and Coming of Age in the Milky Way

From the Publisher:

Praised by historians (Lisa Jardine, Judith Flanders, Ross King), novelists (Neal Stephenson) and scientists (Oliver Sacks, Steven Pinker), this is an acclaimed work of historical biography in the tradition of The Lunar Men.

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