Lousy sex / Gerald N. Callahan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Callahan, Gerald N., 1946-

Contributor:

JSTOR (Organization)

Kenneth H. and Thelma F. Cisney Memorial Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Self.

Identity (Psychology).

Biological psychiatry.

Psychoanalysis.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Boulder : University Press of Colorado, [2013]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

In Lousy Sex Gerald Callahan explores the science of self, illustrating the immune system's role in forming individual identity. Blending the scientific essay with deeply personal narratives, these poignant and enlightening stories use microbiology and immunology to explore a new way to answer the question, who am I? "Self" has many definitions. Science has demonstrated that ninety percent of the cells in our bodies are bacteria-we are in many respects more non-self than self. In Lousy Sex, Callahan considers this microbio-neuro perspective on human identity together with the soulful, social perception of self, drawing on both art and science to fully illuminate this relationship. In his stories about where we came from and who we are, Callahan uses autobiographical episodes to illustrate his scientific points. Through stories about the sex lives of wood lice, the biological advantages of eating dirt, the question of immortality, the relationship between syphilis and the musical genius of Beethoven, and more, this book creates another way, a chimeric way, of seeing ourselves. Book jacket.

Contents:

Origins: Where "I" Comes From 1

1 First Self 5

2 Layers of Self 19

3 Self in the Soil 33

4 Gathering Our Selves 45

Middles: Childhood's End 57

5 The Opposite of Sex 61

6 Lousy Sex 73

7 The Wizards of "I" 87

8 Dreams of the Blind 105

This is not the End: Facing Up to Our Immortality 127

9 The Mysterious Visions of Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck 131

10 The Rock Collector 145

11 On the Lip of Immortality 161

12 Epilogue 173.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Electronic reproduction. New York Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Kenneth H. and Thelma F. Cisney Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

1607322331

9781607322337

Publisher Number:

99963502796

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.