Exploring one of the greatest mysteries in science


 

Title: Introducing Mind & Brain

Author: Angus Gellatly & Oscar Zarate

Publisher: Icon Books, London

Year published: 2018

176 pages

This book is a graphic guide that explores the complex relationship between our physical biology and our subjective experience. 

It begins by tracing the historical shift from ancient philosophical ideas about the soul to the modern scientific understanding of the nervous system. 

The book examines how early thinkers like Descartes proposed a separation between mind and body, a concept known as dualism, and how subsequent discoveries in anatomy and psychology challenged this view.

The authors break down the physical structure of the brain, explaining the roles of different regions like the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, and the limbic system. 

They describe how neurons communicate through electrical impulses and chemical signals to process information. 

However, the core of the book focuses on the hard problem of consciousness: how physical matter gives rise to thoughts, feelings, and self-awareness.

Through the use of illustrations and concise text, the work covers various psychological theories and neurological disorders that reveal how the brain functions. 

For instance, it discusses how damage to specific areas can lead to profound changes in personality or the loss of specific abilities like facial recognition or language. 

This highlights the modular nature of the brain and suggests that our sense of a unified self might be an illusion constructed by various subsystems working together.

The book also touches on artificial intelligence and the question of whether machines can ever truly think or feel. 

It looks at the evolution of the brain and how our mental faculties have been shaped by survival needs over millions of years. 

By combining cognitive science, philosophy, and neuroscience, Gellatly and Zarate provide an accessible overview of why the human mind remains one of the greatest mysteries in science. 

They conclude that while we have mapped much of the brain's hardware, the software of the mind still holds many secrets.


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