The Undiscovered Mind: How the Brain Defies Explanation (Maps of the Mind) - Tapa dura

What is the mind? The question has always fascinated writers and philosophers, but only recently has it become a fashionable line of scientific enquiry. Even more recently, the pursuit of 'final theories' and 'theories of everything' - that would rationally explain all human behaviour - have become a reigning human obsession. In The Undiscovered Mind, John Horgan takes us inside laboratories, hospitals and universities to meet the presumed experts on how the brain works - the 'psientists' as Horgan calls them. Building on these exciting encounters, he demonstrates that we cannot absolutely understand what is happening inside our heads; that science has achieved virtually nothing in explaining the mind, despite the recent remarkable progress in our understanding of the brain and its function, at all levels, from the molecular to the systemic; and that what makes us human is as impervious to science as ever. In doing so, Horgan boldly contradicts all standard views in the area, including those of eminent researchers such as Steven Pinker and E. O. Wilson. Ultimately, Horgan turns his study into a gripping, funny, shocking and uplifting story of human nature trying to understand itself. Drawing on his outstanding investigative skills as well as his accessible writing style, he guides readers through a complex world only to return them to the fundamentals of human nature - hope and belief.

John Horgan, author of The End of Science, was senior writer at Scientific American. He has also contributed to The New York Times, The New Republic, The Washington Post, The Times (London) and Discover, among other publications.