The brain sciences are influencing our
understanding of human behavior as never before, from
neuropsychiatry and neuroeconomics to neurotheology and
neuroaesthetics. Many now believe that the brain is what
makes us human, and it seems that neuroscientists are
poised to become the new experts in the management of
human conduct. Neuro describes the key
developments--theoretical, technological, economic, and
biopolitical--that have enabled the neurosciences to
gain such traction outside the laboratory. It explores
the ways neurobiological conceptions of personhood are
influencing everything from child rearing to criminal
justice, and are transforming the ways we "know
ourselves" as human beings. In this emerging
neuro-ontology, we are not "determined" by our
neurobiology: on the contrary, it appears that we can
and should seek to improve ourselves by understanding
and acting on our brains. Neuro examines the
implications of this emerging trend, weighing the
promises against the perils, and evaluating some widely
held concerns about a neurobiological "colonization" of
the social and human sciences. Despite identifying many
exaggerated claims and premature promises, Neuro
argues that the openness provided by the new styles of
thought taking shape in neuroscience, with its
contemporary conceptions of the neuromolecular, plastic,
and social brain, could make possible a new and
productive engagement between the social and brain
sciences. Copyright note: Reproduction,
including downloading of Joan Miro works is prohibited
by copyright laws and international conventions without
the express written permission of Artists Rights Society
(ARS), New York.
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