An Anatomy of Thought: The Origins and Machinery of The Mind - Hardcover

Glynn, Prof Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0297820028 ISBN 13: 9780297820024

Publisher: W&N, 1999

Synopsis

One of the human brain¿s most remarkable achievements is that it is able to investigate its own working. In An Anatomy of Thought, Ian Glynn takes full advantage of this facility to explain why the nature of consciousness is now much more of a mystery to science than the nature of life.

Assuming no specialized knowledge, Glynn demonstrates how it is that nerve cells in our eyes and ears, on our tongues, and on our finger tips (as well as many other places) are able to interact with our nerve cells in our brains to analyse situations, make decisions and remember past events. Drawing deeply on a dazzlingly wide array of disciplines ¿ physiology, neurology, psychology, anthropology, linguistics and philosophy ¿ he explains the nature of seeing, of language and of thought, in the process often telling us not only what is known but also how we have come to know it, and where, precisely, the gaps remain in our knowledge. In his concluding chapters, Glynn provides an account of recent attempts by philosophers to explain the relationship between mind and body, and explains why we possess free will and ethical responsibilities.

In its scope and ambition, and in the extraordinary range of the sciences on which it draws, An Anatomy of Thought is indispensable for anyone seeking a truly comprehensive and state-of-the-art understanding of what is still the most complex object in the known universe.

About this title

Review

Where do our decisions come from? Are we merely reacting to some physical event, the way a lake ices over in the cold, or a tree hit by lightning bursts into flame? Or are our decisions independent of cause-and-effect--divine echoes of some First Cause?

Such questions, normally the preserve of philosophers, are illuminated at the climax of Ian Glynn's masterful and exhaustive anatomy of mind. Starting from first principles, Glynn explains how the origin of life can be explained through mathematics and chemistry, without recourse to a Creator. Logically, therefore, mind--a property of higher-order life-- should be similarly explicable. But the human brain is the known universe's most complex phenomenon, and to explain its workings without postulating any other agency is a daunting task. Glynn starts from the ground up, clearing misconceptions as he goes; he explains the evolution of nervous systems, then offers separate, illuminating accounts of the more significant functions of the human brain--seeing, speaking and remembering. When finally the brain is considered as a whole organ, Glynn cleverly and convincingly bridges the leap that currently exists between neuroanatomy and philosophy of mind.

A history, an anatomy and a bridge between disciplines, Ian Glynn's book is the best total explanation of mind since Daniel Dennett's Consciousness Explained, and a more generous and comprehensive introduction to all the issues. --Simon Ings

Review

"Glynn, a professor of physiology and head of the Physiological Laboratory at Cambridge, offers a comprehensive summary of what we know about the brain....Using the mechanisms involved in vision and speech as models, Glynn skillfully describes various neurological deficiencies that can lead to
'disordered seeing' and problems with the use of language. He carefully distinguishes what we know through experimental evidence from what we know through the observation of patients with neurological damage....An Anatomy of Thought is appropriate for most academic libraries."--Library Journal
"Glynn's monumental book is a kind of grand tour of the great jelly, beginning with the origins of life some four billion years ago and pursuing the evolution of homo sapiens."--he Observer
"If every other book on the mind were to vanish overnight and all that remained were this one remarkable compendium, the lucky reader could still soon become the best-educated layman there has ever been."--Nicholas Humphrey, author of A History of the Mind
"Reading it from beginning to end, as one should, one emerges with a clear understanding of the biological issues that must be addressed to offer any satisfactory description of the brain, its functions and functioning, its sources of knowledge and its role in the ever-continuing process of
evolution, not only physical but also social and intellectual.... Glynn's erudition is astonishing and it makes these pages a hugely enjoyable intellectual journey, full of illuminating anecdotes that shed light not only on the discoveries but also on the scientists themselves....a truly biological
book about the most perfect product of biological evolution: thehuman brain. It is this emphasis on biology that sets this book apart and makes it a gem that would have thrilled Kant and Schopenhauer. It should thrill modern readers even more."--Semir Zeki, Nature (British)
"Glynn, a professor of physiology and head of the Physiological Laboratory at Cambridge, offers a comprehensive summary of what we know about the brain....Using the mechanisms involved in vision and speech as models, Glynn skillfully describes various neurological deficiencies that can lead to
'disordered seeing' and problems with the use of language. He carefully distinguishes what we know through experimental evidence from what we know through the observation of patients with neurological damage....An Anatomy of Thought is appropriate for most academic libraries."--Library Journal
"Glynn's monumental book is a kind of grand tour of the great jelly, beginning with the origins of life some four billion years ago and pursuing the evolution of homo sapiens."--he Observer
"If every other book on the mind were to vanish overnight and all that remained were this one remarkable compendium, the lucky reader could still soon become the best-educated layman there has ever been."--Nicholas Humphrey, author of A History of the Mind
"Reading it from beginning to end, as one should, one emerges with a clear understanding of the biological issues that must be addressed to offer any satisfactory description of the brain, its functions and functioning, its sources of knowledge and its role in the ever-continuing process of
evolution, not only physical but also social and intellectual.... Glynn's erudition is astonishing and it makes these pages a hugely enjoyable intellectual journey, full of illuminating anecdotes that shed light not only on the discoveries but also on the scientists themselves....a truly biological
book about the mostperfect product of biological evolution: the human brain. It is this emphasis on biology that sets this book apart and makes it a gem that would have thrilled Kant and Schopenhauer. It should thrill modern readers even more."--Semir Zeki, Nature (British)
"Glynn, a professor of physiology and head of the Physiological Laboratory at Cambridge, offers a comprehensive summary of what we know about the brain....Using the mechanisms involved in vision and speech as models, Glynn skillfully describes various neurological deficiencies that can lead to 'disordered seeing' and problems with the use of language. He carefully distinguishes what we know through experimental evidence from what we know through the observation of patients with neurological damage....An Anatomy of Thought is appropriate for most academic libraries."--Library Journal
"Glynn's monumental book is a kind of grand tour of the great jelly, beginning with the origins of life some four billion years ago and pursuing the evolution of homo sapiens."--he Observer
"If every other book on the mind were to vanish overnight and all that remained were this one remarkable compendium, the lucky reader could still soon become the best-educated layman there has ever been."--Nicholas Humphrey, author of A History of the Mind
"Reading it from beginning to end, as one should, one emerges with a clear understanding of the biological issues that must be addressed to offer any satisfactory description of the brain, its functions and functioning, its sources of knowledge and its role in the ever-continuing process of evolution, not only physical but also social and intellectual.... Glynn's erudition is astonishing and it makes these pages a hugely enjoyable intellectual journey, full of illuminating anecdotes that shed light not only on the discoveries but also on the scientists themselves....a truly biological book about the most perfect product of biological evolution: thehuman brain. It is this emphasis on biology that sets this book apart and makes it a gem that would have thrilled Kant and Schopenhauer. It should thrill modern readers even more."--Semir Zeki, Nature (British)
"Glynn, a professor of physiology and head of the Physiological Laboratory at Cambridge, offers a comprehensive summary of what we know about the brain....Using the mechanisms involved in vision and speech as models, Glynn skillfully describes various neurological deficiencies that can lead to 'disordered seeing' and problems with the use of language. He carefully distinguishes what we know through experimental evidence from what we know through the observation of patients with neurological damage....An Anatomy of Thought is appropriate for most academic libraries."--Library Journal

"Glynn's monumental book is a kind of grand tour of the great jelly, beginning with the origins of life some four billion years ago and pursuing the evolution of homo sapiens."--he Observer

"If every other book on the mind were to vanish overnight and all that remained were this one remarkable compendium, the lucky reader could still soon become the best-educated layman there has ever been."--Nicholas Humphrey, author of A History of the Mind

"Reading it from beginning to end, as one should, one emerges with a clear understanding of the biological issues that must be addressed to offer any satisfactory description of the brain, its functions and functioning, its sources of knowledge and its role in the ever-continuing process of evolution, not only physical but also social and intellectual.... Glynn's erudition is astonishing and it makes these pages a hugely enjoyable intellectual journey, full of illuminating anecdotes that shed light not only on the discoveries but also on the scientists themselves....a truly biological book about the most perfect product of biological evolution: the human brain. It is this emphasis on biology that sets this book apart and makes it a gem that would have thrilled Kant and Schopenhauer. It should thrill modern readers even more."--Semir Zeki, Nature (British)

"Glynn, a professor of physiology and head of the Physiological Laboratory at Cambridge, offers a comprehensive summary of what we know about the brain....Using the mechanisms involved in vision and speech as models, Glynn skillfully describes various neurological deficiencies that can lead to 'disordered seeing' and problems with the use of language. He carefully distinguishes what we know through experimental evidence from what we know through the observation of patients with neurological damage....An Anatomy of Thought is appropriate for most academic libraries."--Library Journal

"Glynn's monumental book is a kind of grand tour of the great jelly, beginning with the origins of life some four billion years ago and pursuing the evolution of homo sapiens."--he Observer

"If every other book on the mind were to vanish overnight and all that remained were this one remarkable compendium, the lucky reader could still soon become the best-educated layman there has ever been."--Nicholas Humphrey, author of A History of the Mind

"Reading it from beginning to end, as one should, one emerges with a clear understanding of the biological issues that must be addressed to offer any satisfactory description of the brain, its functions and functioning, its sources of knowledge and its role in the ever-continuing process of evolution, not only physical but also social and intellectual.... Glynn's erudition is astonishing and it makes these pages a hugely enjoyable intellectual journey, full of illuminating anecdotes that shed light not only on the discoveries but also on the scientists themselves....a truly biological book about the most perfect product of biological evolution: the human brain. It is this emphasis on biology that sets this book apart and makes it a gem that would have thrilled Kant and Schopenhauer. It should thrill modern readers even more."--Semir Zeki, Nature (British)

About this edition

• Publisher: W&N
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0297820028
• ISBN 13: 9780297820024
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 400