De La Mettrie's Ghost
The Story Of Decisions
by Chris Nunn
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Reviews
“very enjoyable — an important contribution to the dialogues on free will” PsycCRITIQUES, American Psychological Association
"This is an amazingly clear book about free will that points us in some interesting directions." Mary Midgley in Times Higher Educational Supplement
"Meaty is one word for this dense little book. Rich and savory are others." Booklist
"4/5: an accessible and well-written book...I urge you to read it and decide on these critical issues for yourself" Dr Susan Blackmore author of Conciousness, A Very Short Introduction(OUP) writing in BBC Focus Magazine
Description
This book is about how we make choices. Drawing together evidence from 21st century chemistry to Victorian politics, enlightenment philosophy, Roman drama and beyond, it is a compelling hunt for the nature of free
will. Psychiatrist Chris Nunn elegantly explores the revolutions in medicine, genetics, bioethics and neuroscience spurred by Julien de la Mettrie's 300-year-old tract Man the Machine. He finds that though formerly fruitful, this mechanistic view of human experience has now brought neuroscientists and philosophers to an impasse. He therefore proposes a powerful replacement metaphor for the workings of the human brain - 'man the story' - and demonstrates how this original approach could reconcile the results of cutting-edge brain-imaging with our intuitive understanding of decision making, responsibility and determinism.
Author Biographies
CHRIS NUNN is Associate Editor of the Journal of Consciousness Studies. He has written numerous papers, articles and book reviews. His first book, Awareness, an examination of current scientific thinking about the nature of consciousness, was published by Routledge in 1996. He has spent 30 years as a consultant psychiatrist and researcher specializing in manic-depression and the senses, latterly at Southampton University in the UK.