The New Brain Sciences

The last 20 years have seen an explosion of research and development in the neurosciences. Indeed, some have called this first decade of the 21st century 'the decade of the mind'. An all-encompassing term, the neurosciences cover such fields as biology, psychology, neurology, psychiatry and philosophy and include anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, genetics and behaviour. It is now a major industry with billions of dollars of funding invested from both public and private sectors. Huge progress has been made in our understanding of the brain and its functions. However, with progress comes controversy, responsibility and dilemma. The New Brain Sciences: Perils and Prospects examines the implications of recent discoveries in terms of our sense of individual responsibility and personhood. With contributing chapters from respected and influential names in neuroscience, law, psychology, philosophy and sociology, The New Brain Sciences should kick-start a discussion of where neuroscience is headed.

ISBN 0521537142   Pages 316 ISBN13 9780521537148 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher Cambridge University Press   Weight (grammes) 430 Imprint Cambridge University Press   Published in Cambridge Format Paperback   Height (mm) 228 Publication date 21 Oct 2004   Width (mm) 152 Library of Congress RC341.N53   Spine width (mm) 17 DEWEY 612.801   Academic level Professional / Scholarly, General, Tertiary education DEWEY edition DC22

		Introduction : the new brain sciences by Steven Rose		3
1		Do we ever really act? by Mary Midgley		17
2		The definition of human nature by Merlin W. Donald		34
3		Consciousness and the limits of neurobiology by Hilary Rose		59
4		Mind metaphors, neurosciences and ethics by Regine Kollek		71
5		Genetic and generic determinism : a new threat to free will? by Peter Lipton		88
6		Human action, neuroscience and the law by Alexander McCall Smith		103
7		Responsibility and the law by Stephen Sedley		123
8		Programmed or licensed to kill? : the new biology of femicide by Lorraine Radford		131
9		Genes, responsibility and the law by Patrick Bateson		149
10		The neurosciences : the danger that we will think that we have understood it all by Yadin Dudai		167
11		On dissecting the genetic basis of behaviour and intelligence by Angus Clarke		181
12		Prospects and perils of stem cell repair of the central nervous system : a brief guide to current science by Helen Hodges and Iris Reuter and Helen Pilcher		195
13		The use of human embryonic stem cells for research : an ethical evaluation by Guido de Wert		213
14		The Prozac story by John Cornwell		223
15		Psychopharmacology at the interface between the market and the new biology by David Healy		232
16		Education in the age of Ritalin by Paul Cooper		249
		Conclusion by Dai Rees and Barbro Westerholm		265

'One valuable message of The New Brain Sciences is that in trying to understand the neurosciences, it is unwise to ignore the social forces propelling them.' Financial Times Magazine '... anyone interested in psychology, biology or neuroscience should take the time to read it, as it's one of the best overviews around.' Focus '... beautifully presented and very well edited. Every chapter is clear and accessible to a general readership ... The coverage of topics is broad with no obvious omissions ... Every reader will come away from reading this book with questions of their own. A strength of this title is the insistence, shared by all the contributors, that the social sciences and the neurosciences need to learn from each other, and that each ethical question needs to be considered in its social context. It is a simply wonderful book, and deserves to be the paradigm for work in neuroethics over the next decade.' The Lancet '... this book is rather reassuring. Overall, this volume does much to combat various kinds of bad reductionist thinking.' Nature 'The New Brain Sciences is a stimulating book for anyone interested in how neuroscience may change our view of ourselves and affect our free will. It is controversial but thoughtful and packed with interesting detail.' Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry

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