Touching a Nerve: Our Brains, Our Selves

Author: Patricia Churchland
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393240630
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 345

Book Description
A trailblazing philosopher’s exploration of the latest brain science—and its ethical and practical implications. What happens when we accept that everything we feel and think stems not from an immaterial spirit but from electrical and chemical activity in our brains? In this thought-provoking narrative—drawn from professional expertise as well as personal life experiences—trailblazing neurophilosopher Patricia S. Churchland grounds the philosophy of mind in the essential ingredients of biology. She reflects with humor on how she came to harmonize science and philosophy, the mind and the brain, abstract ideals and daily life. Offering lucid explanations of the neural workings that underlie identity, she reveals how the latest research into consciousness, memory, and free will can help us reexamine enduring philosophical, ethical, and spiritual questions: What shapes our personalities? How do we account for near-death experiences? How do we make decisions? And why do we feel empathy for others? Recent scientific discoveries also provide insights into a fascinating range of real-world dilemmas—for example, whether an adolescent can be held responsible for his actions and whether a patient in a coma can be considered a self. Churchland appreciates that the brain-based understanding of the mind can unnerve even our greatest thinkers. At a conference she attended, a prominent philosopher cried out, “I hate the brain; I hate the brain!” But as Churchland shows, he need not feel this way. Accepting that our brains are the basis of who we are liberates us from the shackles of superstition. It allows us to take ourselves seriously as a product of evolved mechanisms, past experiences, and social influences. And it gives us hope that we can fix some grievous conditions, and when we cannot, we can at least understand them with compassion.

Touching a Nerve

Author: Patricia Churchland
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393058328
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Describes the latest research in human brain function, consciousness, sensory experience, and memory, and discusses the ethical and philosophical dilemmas that can result from these new insights.

Neurophilosophy

Author: Patricia Smith Churchland
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262530859
Category : Brain
Languages : en
Pages : 566

Book Description
"A Bradford book." Bibliography: p. [491]-523. Includes index.

Braintrust

Author: Patricia S. Churchland
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180970
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
A provocative new account of how morality evolved What is morality? Where does it come from? And why do most of us heed its call most of the time? In Braintrust, neurophilosophy pioneer Patricia Churchland argues that morality originates in the biology of the brain. She describes the "neurobiological platform of bonding" that, modified by evolutionary pressures and cultural values, has led to human styles of moral behavior. The result is a provocative genealogy of morals that asks us to reevaluate the priority given to religion, absolute rules, and pure reason in accounting for the basis of morality. Moral values, Churchland argues, are rooted in a behavior common to all mammals—the caring for offspring. The evolved structure, processes, and chemistry of the brain incline humans to strive not only for self-preservation but for the well-being of allied selves—first offspring, then mates, kin, and so on, in wider and wider "caring" circles. Separation and exclusion cause pain, and the company of loved ones causes pleasure; responding to feelings of social pain and pleasure, brains adjust their circuitry to local customs. In this way, caring is apportioned, conscience molded, and moral intuitions instilled. A key part of the story is oxytocin, an ancient body-and-brain molecule that, by decreasing the stress response, allows humans to develop the trust in one another necessary for the development of close-knit ties, social institutions, and morality. A major new account of what really makes us moral, Braintrust challenges us to reconsider the origins of some of our most cherished values.

Some Nerve

Author: Patty Chang Anker
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 110163216X
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 342

Book Description
“A compelling story of everyday courage” (Elizabeth Gilbert). Patty Chang Anker grew up eager to please and afraid to fail. But after thirty-nine years, she decided it was time to stop being a chicken. Motivated initially to become a better role model for her two kids, she vowed to master the fears that were choking the fun and spontaneity out of life. She learned to dive into a swimming pool, ride a bike, do a handstand, and surf. As she shared her experiences, she discovered that most people suffer from their own secret terrors—of flying, driving, heights, public speaking, and more. It became her mission to help others do what they thought they couldn’t and to experience the joy and aliveness that is the true reward of becoming brave. Inspired and inspiring, this book draws on Anker’s interviews with teachers, therapists, coaches, and clergy to convey both practical advice and profound wisdom. Through her own journey and the stories of others, she conveys with grace and infectious exhilaration the most vital lesson of all: Fear isn’t the end point to life, but the point of entry.

Touch

Author: David J. Linden
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 0143128442
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
The "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Compass of Pleasure" examines how our sense of touch is interconnected with our emotions Dual-function receptors in our skin make mint feel cool and chili peppers hot.

The Book of Touch

Author: Constance Classen
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000323595
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 391

Book Description
This book puts a finger on the nerve of culture by delving into the social life of touch, our most elusive yet most vital sense. From the tortures of the Inquisition to the corporeal comforts of modernity, and from the tactile therapies of Asian medicine to the virtual tactility of cyberspace, The Book of Touch offers excursions into a sensory territory both foreign and familiar. How are masculine and feminine identities shaped by touch? What are the tactile experiences of the blind, or the autistic? How is touch developed differently across cultures? What are the boundaries of pain and pleasure? Is there a politics of touch? Bringing together classic writings and new work, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in the body, the senses and the experiential world.

Optic Nerve

Author: Maria Gainza
Publisher: Catapult
ISBN: 1948226170
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
"In this delightful autofiction―the first book by Gainza, an Argentine art critic, to appear in English―a woman delivers pithy assessments of world–class painters along with glimpses of her life, braiding the two into an illuminating whole." ―The New York Times Book Review, Notable Book of the Year and Editors' Choice The narrator of Optic Nerve is an Argentinian woman whose obsession is art. The story of her life is the story of the paintings, and painters, who matter to her. Her intimate, digressive voice guides us through a gallery of moments that have touched her. In these pages, El Greco visits the Sistine Chapel and is appalled by Michelangelo’s bodies. The mystery of Rothko’s refusal to finish murals for the Seagram Building in New York is blended with the story of a hospital in which a prostitute walks the halls while the narrator’s husband receives chemotherapy. Alfred de Dreux visits Géricault’s workshop; Gustave Courbet’s devilish seascapes incite viewers “to have sex, or to eat an apple”; Picasso organizes a cruel banquet in Rousseau’s honor . . . All of these fascinating episodes in art history interact with the narrator’s life in Buenos Aires―her family and work; her loves and losses; her infatuations and disappointments. The effect is of a character refracted by environment, composed by the canvases she studies. Seductive and capricious, Optic Nerve marks the English–language debut of a major Argentinian writer. It is a book that captures, like no other, the mysterious connections between a work of art and the person who perceives it.

Touching the Light

Author: Meg Blackburn Losey
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 1609256166
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 314

Book Description
Psychic and master healer Meg Losey shares her alternative healing techniques for mind, body, and spirit in Touching The Light. Losey shows how channeled systems of healing stem from our perception, energy, and participation in our own journeys. She shares the techniques that she has learned from her human and etheric teachers that readers can use on themselves and others. How is it that miracles happen? Is spontaneous healing really possible? Why is it that some illnesses don’t show up in standard or even specialized medical testing, yet are very real in their effects? Can someone be “cosmically sick” with no apparent physical cause? How do the people and places around us affect us in our everyday lives? Can we intentionally and effectively create miracles of healing to change lives, or to effect positive outcomes even when situations seem hopeless? How can symbols of light be used to instantly attune someone’s entire energy system? Meg Blackburn Losey answers these questions and many others in this ground-breaking book. Touching the Light brings the reader into previously unknown worlds of healing and explains not only how energy healing is possible but how it works. It is the quintessential instruction manual for holistic healing in the third dimension and beyond!

The War of the Soups and the Sparks

Author: Elliot S. Valenstein
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231135882
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
The question of how nerves communicate with one another was the subject of a heated & protracted dispute between pharmacologists & neurophysiologists. This book recalls the debate & how the theory of chemical transmission was eventually confirmed by the discovery of neurotransmitters.