Glynne Ian Jones Libros

One of the human brain's most remarkable achievements is that it is able to investigate its own working. In An Anatomy of Thought, Ian Glynn takes full advantage of this facility to explain why the nature of consciousness is now much more of a mystery to science than the nature of life.Assuming no specialized knowledge, Glynn demonstrates how it is that nerve cells in our eyes and ears, on our tongues, and on our finger tips (as well as many other places) are able to interact with our nerve cells in our brains to analyse situations, make decisions and remember past events. Drawing deeply on a dazzlingly wide array of disciplines - physiology, neurology, psychology, anthropology, linguistics and philosophy - he explains the nature of seeing, of language and of thought, in the process often telling us not only what is known but also how we have come to know it, and where, precisely, the gaps remain in our knowledge. In his concluding chapters, Glynn provides an account of recent attempts by philosophers to explain the relationship between mind and body, and explains why we possess free will and ethical responsibilities.In its scope and ambition, and in the extraordinary range of the sciences on which it draws, An Anatomy of Thought is indispensable for anyone seeking a truly comprehensive and state-of-the-art understanding of what is still the most complex object in the known universe.

The idea of elegance in science is not necessarily a familiar one, but it is an important one. The use of the term is perhaps most clear-cut in mathematics - the elegant proof - and this is where Ian Glynn begins his exploration. Scientists often share a sense of admiration and excitement on hearing of an elegant solution to a problem, an elegant theory, or an elegant experiment. The idea of elegance may seem strange in a field of endeavour that prides itself in its objectivity, but only if science is regarded as a dull, dry activity of counting and measuring. It is, of course, far more than that, and elegance is a fundamental aspect of the beauty and imagination involved in scientific activity. Ian Glynn, a distinguished scientist, selects historical examples from a range of sciences to draw out the principles of science, including Kepler's Laws, the experiments that demonstrated the nature of heat, and the action of nerves, and of course the several extraordinary episodes that led to Watson and Crick's discovery of the structure of DNA. With a highly readable selection of inspiring episodes highlighting the role of beauty and simplicity in the sciences, the book also relates to important philosophical issues of inference, and Glynn ends by warning us not to rely on beauty and simplicity alone - even the most elegant explanation can be wrong.