Lousy sex : creating self in an infectious world / Gerald N. Callahan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Callahan, Gerald N., 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Self.

Identity (Psychology).

Biological psychiatry.

Psychoanalysis.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (192 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Boulder : University Press of Colorado, 2013.

Language Note:

English

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 90 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. The general reader with an interest in science will find Lousy Sex fascinating"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Contents""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""Prologue: Leonardo's Dream""; ""Origins: Where Comes From""; ""1. First Self""; ""2. Layers of Self""; ""3. Self in the Soil""; ""4. Gathering Our Selves""; ""Middles: Childhood's End""; ""5. The Opposite of Sex""; ""6. Lousy Sex""; ""7. The Wizards of ?""; ""8. Dreams of the Blind""; ""This Is Not the End: Facing Up to Our Immortality""; ""9. The Mysterious Visions of Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de Lamarck""; ""10. The Rock Collector""; ""11. On the Lip of Immortality""; ""Epilogue""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781457181368

1457181363

9781607322337

1607322331

OCLC:

849928871