Soul made flesh : the discovery of the brain-- and how it changed the world / Carl Zimer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zimmer, Carl, 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Brain.

Brain--Miscellanea.

Brain--History.

History.

Genre:

Trivia and miscellanea.

Physical Description:

xii, 367 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Free Press, [2004]

Summary:

The untold story of a turning point in modern history - how the brain was discovered to be the seat of human consciousness - from an author The New York Times calls "as fine a science writer as we have, in the company of David Quammen and John McPhee."

Contents:

Introduction: A Bowl of Curds 3

Chapter 1 Hearts and Minds, Livers and Stomachs 9

Greeks explore the soul, puzzle over the brain, and embrace the heart

Christians build a soul from ancient parts

Natural philosophy is born and anatomy becomes a sacred art

Vesalius discovers monkeys where men once stood

The Greeks are transformed, the soul questioned

Chapter 2 World Without Soul 25

Anatomy of the cosmos

Galileo's new sky

Marin Mersenne makes the world a machine

Pierre Gassendi sanctifies the atom

Descartes's anatomy of clear ideas

The human body as earthen machine

The soul climbs into its cockpit

An arrest

The perfect argument

The ice queen makes Descartes an offer

The captive leaves its prison.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 325-348) and index.

ISBN:

0743230388

OCLC:

53223682