Surprising Science — January 10, 2011

What Brain Science Knows

Researchers have made strides in understanding the human mind, filling the hole left by the atrophy of theology and philosophy, says David Brooks at The New Yorker.

bigthinkeditor

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Over the past few decades, geneticists, neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists, economists, and others have made great strides in understanding the inner working of the human mind. Far from being dryly materialistic, their work illuminates the rich underwater world where character is formed and wisdom grows. They are giving us a better grasp of emotions, intuitions, biases, longings, predispositions, character traits, and social bonding, precisely those things about which our culture has least to say. Brain science helps fill the hole left by the atrophy of theology and philosophy.

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

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