Based on the
text of the 1976 Reith Lectures, this book is an exploration into unchartered territory, into the labyrinths of the mind. While some regard the depths of outer space as “the last frontier”, others prefer to explore the space within of which we are equally ignorant. The author explains that the need for the Lectures, and therefore for this book, arose from a desire to communicate to the public at large the latest findings in the field of neuropsychology.
Part psychology, part physiology and part philosophy, the
study of the
human mind requires an inter-disciplinary approach.
The study of the mind began with the Greek philosophers and was invigorated by the pioneering work of Leonardo Da Vinci. But it has also had to endure its fair share of mystics and pseudo-scientists (such as the doctrine of phrenology, which proved to be without any basis).
The study of the mind is also the study of human consciousness. In recent years the mechanistic view that regards human
consciousness as arising from the activity of a mass of neurons (brain cells) has gained ground. But, somehow, it seems incomplete given the complexity of the human mind. The mysterious
nature of sleep, and of dreams, has been explored as also the difference between the dream state and the waking state. Memory, and the nature of memory, has been studied at some depth. Genetic
Memory or “race” memory has also been considered, leading up to the concept of the Collective Mind (a common Mind Space that is the receptacle for shared ideas, beliefs, dreams and desires).
What is man’s unique place upon this earth; what is it that separates man from beast?
Is it language, is it logic, is it the manipulation of objects or is it the use of fire? The author has described some experiments with animals to determine the boundary that demarcates man from the other beasts.
The study of the mind must, of necessity, involve the study of the brain’s physiology,
the “mapping” of the mind into its constituent parts (such as the fore brain, the mid
brain and the hind brain) and the assigning of functions to each part. However, this approach to studying the brain has often been criticized as unnecessarily mechanistic given the holistic nature of the human mind and of human consciousness.
Many illustrations have been used to supplement the text, and these greatly enhance the value of this book. The illustrations have been carefully researched, and sourced at the end of the book. If a criticism must be offered, it is only that the text is cluttered with too many historical examples and anecdotes. Though enjoyable at times, they do tend to break the flow of the narrative at other times.
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