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The Brain: The Last Frontier
Used fiction novel.
317 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published May 1, 1979
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77 people want to read
About the author
Richard Restak
45 books82 followersRichard M. Restak M.D. is an award-winning neuroscientist, neuropsychiatrist and writer. The best-selling author of nineteen acclaimed books about the brain, he has also penned dozens of articles for a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. A fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Academy of Neurology, and the American Neuropsychiatric Association, he lives and practices in Washington, D.C.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 14, 2024
IS THE BRAIN THE SAME AS THE "MIND"? A NEUROLOGIST WONDERS...
Richard Restak (born 1942) is an American neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, professor, and author of many other books such as 'Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential,' 'The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love,' 'The Secret Life of the Brain,' etc. [NOTE: page numbers refer to the 418-page 1979 hardcover edition.]
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1979 book, "In the last several years, a new field has emerged which may offer us a better means of understanding and controlling some of our internal and external threats. Known as psychobiology, this new discipline is a combination of the behavioral sciences and the brain sciences... Basically, psychobiology is concerned with the mind's attempt to know itself through the study of the brain. Today we accept as a truism that the brain is the physical basis of the mind, although this is not quite the same thing as stating that the brain IS the mind." (Pg. 5)
He adds, "Is the brain the mind? ... Some now feel that the answer is obvious: The mind is nothing but the action of the brain and is a meaningless concept without reference to a brain. As a neurologist, I felt for the longest time that this view was correct. But the question is actually a trick... the proper response is to focus on the question itself... the brain can be dissected, electrically stimulated, or even placed in a blender ... The mind, however, remains as elusive ... Category mistakes result from our equating the brain and mind as THINGS when they are actually PROCESSES." (Pg. 8-10)
He suggests, "We experience difficulties whenever we attempt to translate one perception into another or, alternately, try to prove one aspect of ambiguity true and the other false. The mind and the brain are two aspects of a deeper, rather mysterious structure of human personality. When we apply psychological methods, we encounter 'mind'; when we opt for measuring neuronal activity with microelectrodes, we deal with the 'brain.'" (Pg. 220)
He concludes, "Since the brain is unlike any other structure in the known universe, it seems reasonable to expect that our understanding of its functioning---if it can ever be achieved---will require approaches that are drastically different from the way we understand other physical systems. This is not a call for nihilism, but humility... Is there, therefore, any more reasonable response to such considerations than humility? After all, are not our brains a part of the same physical universe whose essential nature remains... essentially mysterious?" (Pg. 389-390)
More than thirty years old, the research in this book is a bit out-of-date; but Restak's observations and opinions make this book of continuing interest to anyone who wants to know more about the mind AND the brain.
Richard Restak (born 1942) is an American neurologist, neuropsychiatrist, professor, and author of many other books such as 'Mozart's Brain and the Fighter Pilot: Unleashing Your Brain's Potential,' 'The Naked Brain: How the Emerging Neurosociety is Changing How We Live, Work, and Love,' 'The Secret Life of the Brain,' etc. [NOTE: page numbers refer to the 418-page 1979 hardcover edition.]
He wrote in the first chapter of this 1979 book, "In the last several years, a new field has emerged which may offer us a better means of understanding and controlling some of our internal and external threats. Known as psychobiology, this new discipline is a combination of the behavioral sciences and the brain sciences... Basically, psychobiology is concerned with the mind's attempt to know itself through the study of the brain. Today we accept as a truism that the brain is the physical basis of the mind, although this is not quite the same thing as stating that the brain IS the mind." (Pg. 5)
He adds, "Is the brain the mind? ... Some now feel that the answer is obvious: The mind is nothing but the action of the brain and is a meaningless concept without reference to a brain. As a neurologist, I felt for the longest time that this view was correct. But the question is actually a trick... the proper response is to focus on the question itself... the brain can be dissected, electrically stimulated, or even placed in a blender ... The mind, however, remains as elusive ... Category mistakes result from our equating the brain and mind as THINGS when they are actually PROCESSES." (Pg. 8-10)
He suggests, "We experience difficulties whenever we attempt to translate one perception into another or, alternately, try to prove one aspect of ambiguity true and the other false. The mind and the brain are two aspects of a deeper, rather mysterious structure of human personality. When we apply psychological methods, we encounter 'mind'; when we opt for measuring neuronal activity with microelectrodes, we deal with the 'brain.'" (Pg. 220)
He concludes, "Since the brain is unlike any other structure in the known universe, it seems reasonable to expect that our understanding of its functioning---if it can ever be achieved---will require approaches that are drastically different from the way we understand other physical systems. This is not a call for nihilism, but humility... Is there, therefore, any more reasonable response to such considerations than humility? After all, are not our brains a part of the same physical universe whose essential nature remains... essentially mysterious?" (Pg. 389-390)
More than thirty years old, the research in this book is a bit out-of-date; but Restak's observations and opinions make this book of continuing interest to anyone who wants to know more about the mind AND the brain.
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July 29, 2019Un ouvrage exhaustif et facile d'accès sur la science du cerveau.
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March 8, 2021Good book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2010
Explains the brain as a process not an organ. Interesting interpretation of the evolution of human vs ape brains.
September 9, 2011
Awesome book! Full of diagrams and factial evidence regarding the most comlex part in the human body and "The Universe!"
November 20, 2012
Richard Restak, MD makes the science understandable.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews