Who's in Charge: Free Will and the Science of the Brain

(Paperback)

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Description

The prevailing orthodoxy in brain science is that since physical laws govern our physical brains, physical laws therefore govern our behaviour and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes the mantra; we live in a 'determined' world.

Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga as he explains how the mind, 'constrains' the brain just as cars are constrained by the traffic they create. Writing with what Steven Pinker has called 'his trademark wit and lack of pretension,' Gazzaniga ranges across neuroscience, psychology and ethics to show how incorrect it is to blame our brains for our behaviour. Even given the latest insights into the physical mechanisms of the mind, he explains, we are responsible agents who should be held accountable for our actions, because responsibility is found in how people interact, not in brains.

An extraordinary book, combining a light touch with profound implications, WHO'S IN CHARGE is a lasting contribution from one of the leading thinkers of our time.

Reviews

Gazzaniga is one of the most brilliant experimental neuroscientists in the world

. . . a wide-ranging and enjoyable exploration of how science interrogates the mind - The Economist

Gazzaniga is a towering figure in contemporary neurobiology. . . . Who's in Charge is a joy to read - Wall Street Journal

Written by one of the broadest thinkers in psychology, Who's in Charge is an intellectual feast

This exciting, stimulating, and sometimes even funny book challenges us to think in new ways about that most mysterious part of us-the part that makes us think we're us

Gazzaniga stands as a giant among neuroscientists, for both the quality of his research and his ability to communicate it to a general public with infectious enthusiasm

Big questions are Gazzaniga's stock in trade. - New York Times

From one of the world's leading thinkers comes a thought-provoking book on how we think and how we act. . . . An exciting, stimulating, and at times even funny read that helps us further understand ourselves, our actions, and our world - CNBC.com, Best Books for the Holidays

Author Bio

Michael Gazzaniga, one of the world's leading neuroscientists, is a Professor of Psychology and Director for the SAGE Center for the Study of Mind at UC Santa Barbara. He is also the Director of the Summer Institute in Cognitive Neuroscience, President of the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, and is a member of the President's Council on Bioethics.