Synopses & Reviews
In this unprecedented history of a scientific revolution, award-winning author and journalist Carl Zimmer tells the definitive story of the dawn of the age of the brain and modern consciousness. Told here for the first time, the dramatic tale of how the secrets of the brain were discovered in seventeenth-century England unfolds against a turbulent backdrop of civil war, the Great Fire of London, and plague. At the beginning of that chaotic century, no one knew how the brain worked or even what it looked like intact. But by the century's close, even the most common conceptions and dominant philosophies had been completely overturned, supplanted by a radical new vision of man, God, and the universe. andlt;BRandgt; Presiding over the rise of this new scientific paradigm was the founder of modern neurology, Thomas Willis, a fascinating, sympathetic, even heroic figure at the center of an extraordinary group of scientists and philosophers known as the Oxford circle. Chronicled here in vivid detail are their groundbreaking revelations and the often gory experiments that first enshrined the brain as the physical seat of intelligence -- and the seat of the human soul. andlt;Iandgt;Soul Made Fleshandlt;/Iandgt; conveys a contagious appreciation for the brain, its structure, and its many marvelous functions, and the implications for human identity, mind, and morality.
Review
"Carl Zimmer's illuminating book charts a fascinating chapter in the soul's journey."andlt;BRandgt; -- andlt;Iandgt;The New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"Describes a kind of second Copernican revolution -- one inside the body. Thrilling."andlt;BRandgt; -- Ross King, andlt;Iandgt;Los Angeles Timesandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"This page-turner is a tribute to the heretical thinkers who decoded nature by relying on direct observation rather than received opinion."andlt;BRandgt; -- andlt;Iandgt;Wiredandlt;/Iandgt;
Review
"A thumping good read."andlt;BRandgt; -- Timothy Ferris, author of andlt;Iandgt;The Whole Shebangandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Coming of Age in the Milky Wayandlt;/Iandgt;
About the Author
Carl Zimmer's work appears regularly in The New York Times, National Geographic, Newsweek, Discover, Natural History, and Science. A John S. Guggenheim Fellow, he has also received the Pan-American Health Organization Award for Excellence in International Health Reporting and the American Institute of Biological Sciences Media Award. His previous books include Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea; Parasite Rex; and At the Water's Edge. He lives in Guilford, Connecticut.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Table of Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Introduction:andlt;/Iandgt; A Bowl of Curdsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter One:andlt;/Iandgt; Hearts and Minds, Livers and Stomachsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Greeks explore the soul, puzzle over the brain, and embrace the heartandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Christians build a soul from ancient partsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Natural philosophy is born and anatomy becomes a sacred artandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Vesalius discovers monkeys where men once stoodandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The Greeks are transformed, the soul questionedandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Two:andlt;/Iandgt; World Without Soulandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Anatomy of the cosmosandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Galileo's new skyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Marin Mersenne makes the world a machineandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Pierre Gassendi sanctifies the atomandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Descartes's anatomy of clear ideasandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The human body as earthen machineandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The soul climbs into its cockpitandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; An arrestandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The perfect argumentandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The ice queen makes Descartes an offerandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The captive leaves its prisonandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Three:andlt;/Iandgt; Make Motion Ceaseandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Thomas Willis with the beasts of the fieldandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Protestants and Puritansandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The divine right of kings and the complaints of Parliamentandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; God and Aristotle at Oxfordandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Servant and alchemistandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Mystical medicine comes to Englandandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Four:andlt;/Iandgt; The Broken Heart of the Republicandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Charles I stumbles toward warandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Fever swings its scytheandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Portrait of a physician as a young manandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Willis fights for his kingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Oxford dark and nastyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; William Harvey under siegeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Harvey at the school of Aristotleandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Harvey finds the soul in the blood and says little about the brainandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Harvey discovers the circle of bloodandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Oliver Cromwell tightens the nooseandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Surrender to madnessandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Five:andlt;/Iandgt; Pisse-Prophets Among the Puritansandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Thomas Willis returnsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Medicine in the marketplaceandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Ferments dissolve the four humorsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The Puritans demand an oathandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The Oxford Experimental Philosophy Clubandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; William Petty: From Thomas Hobbes's mouth to Thomas Willis's earandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Charles becomes a martyr to the peopleandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; England the republicandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The madness of defeatandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The Miraculous Case of Anne Greene, or A Clock Reset and#149; William Petty measures the soul of a nationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Willis hosts an illegal churchandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Six:andlt;/Iandgt; The Circle of Willisandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; William Harvey comes out of retirementandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Thomas Willis searches for the agents of feverandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The Experimental Philosophy Club fights for its life and for respectabilityandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Hobbes as politician and neurologistandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Robert Boyle gives shape to the New Science andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Seven:andlt;/Iandgt; Spirits of Blood, Spirits of Airandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Willis stirs up a ferment of atomsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; A crude dream of the brainandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Cromwell uprootedandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke pump away the soulandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Christopher Wren, surgeon and injectorandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The return of the kingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Eight:andlt;/Iandgt; A Curious Quilted Ball andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The Church of England meets its less than divine leaderandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Thomas Willis becomes hero of a nationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; "I addicted myself to the opening of heads"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Willis discovers a doctrine of the nervesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The Royal Societyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Nine:andlt;/Iandgt; Convulsionsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The lady with a migraineandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Convulsions in the year of plague and fireandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;Iandgt;Chapter Ten:andlt;/Iandgt; The Science of Brutesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; From Oxford to Londonandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Richard Lower transfuses blood into a madmanandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Lower and Hooke discover Willis's mistake in the lungs of dogsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Willis constructs a doctrine of the soulandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Madness explainedandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Thomas Willis avoids Hobbes's fateandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Eleven: The Neurologist Vanishesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; A final book by Thomas Willis and a ridiculously sumptuous funeralandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; How John Locke buried his teacherandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Robert Boyle sees the future before he dies and is not consoledandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Chapter Twelve: The Soul's Microscopeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; A long journey forwardandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The soul as informationandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Lightning in a nerveandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The wisdom of the reflexandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Neurologists read the brainandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; MRI and the moduleandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The networked mindandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The able animal soulandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Emotion with reason, not versusandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Steel syrup and Prozacandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The self anatomizedandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; The social brainandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Morals and neuronsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;and#149; Lady Conway and Dr. Willis meet againandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Dramatis Personaeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Notesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Referencesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgmentsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Index