"If it were possible for this book to have been written a couple of thousand years ago, we might have avoided a lot of misery. What an important question it raises: what is known about the brain that can guide us in forming a set of rational ethical principles? The great frontier before us is the question of how we will deal with one another, and this fascinating book gets us on our way. "—Alan Alda
(Alan Alda 2005-01-04)
"Michael Gazzaniga is one of the country''s preeminent brain scientists and a keen observer of much about human behavior. Not content merely to serve on the President''s Council on Bioethics, he took the opportunity to formulate a new understanding of how the emerging field of neuroscience might actually allow us to solve what seem to be so many intractable ethical issues raised by modern medicine. This is a witty, well written, highly informed account of how our brain forms our beliefs and how we can determine what beliefs serve us best."—Robert Bazell, chief health and science correspondent, NBC News
(Robert Bazell 2005-01-03)
"Wonderfully nourishing food for thought. Gazzinaga tackles some of the toughest ethical issues of our time with vigor, intelligence, and insight."—Diane Ackermann, author of An Alchemy of Mind
(Diane Ackerman 2005-01-03)
"When does life begin? When does it end? Is there a universal morality? Michael Gazzaniga gives us the scientific data behind these fundamental questions. His exciting book provides new insights for researchers and for all of us on brain research and ethical issues."—Michael I Posner, University of Oregon
(Michael I. Posner 2004-10-01)
"Michael Gazzaniga, a pioneer of cognitive neuroscience, has written a compelling, accessible, and opinionated book that illuminates the profound issues that arise when modern neuroscience intersects with the concerns of ethics, religion, and public policy."—Steven Hyman, provost, Harvard University
(Steven Hyman 2005-02-01)
"The study of the brain is the 21st century''s hottest subject not only in science but also in philosophy. If, as science now tells us, we are nothing more than robots controlled by a chemical analog computer called the brain, where does that leave such quaint notions as ethical behavior? Who better to say than one of the two most brilliant experimental neuroscientists in the world, Michael Gazzaniga? This is a provocative and highly readable book."—Tom Wolfe
(Tom Wolfe 2005-02-09)
"The Ethical Brain is an extraordinary book. Michael Gazzaniga asks profound questions about life, ethics, the brain, reason, and irrationality. His discussion of these issues—ones that perplex ethicists, philosophers, and psychologists—is lucid, provocative, and deeply interesting. This is an important and fascinating book.”—Kay Redfield Jamison, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
(Kay Redfield Jamison 2005-03-30)
"A thoughtful and accessible introduction to an entirely new domain of moral concern. Gazzaniga writes with verve and expertise about the fascinating issues that will confront us as our knowledge of the brain expands."—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Blank Slate and How the Mind Works
(Steven Pinker 2005-04-01)
"An eminent neuroscientist carefully and yet provocatively explores how neuroscience can shape an ethical discussion about brain science in our society . . . a very readable book."—Fred Gage, Adler Professor, Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
(Fred Gage 2005-04-05)
"He calls on both sides of his brain to write a book that''s part science and part philosophy, making a convincing plea for an ethical code informed by scientific understanding."—Psychology Today
(
Psychology Today 2005-05-01)
"Stimulating, very readable and at its most edifying when it sticks to science . . . a cultural contribution in itself."—New York Times Book Review
(Sally Satel
New York Times Book Review 2005-06-19)
"A readable, well-informed, and provocative book . . . A refreshingly accessible source of relevant and insightful information about neuroscientific issues of timely import."—The Lancet
(
Lancet 2005-06-20)
"It matters to me what Michael Gazzaniga thinks about the brain and, if you live in the United States, it should matter to you, too. In 2002, Gazzaniga was appointed to the President''s Council on Bioethics and so his views on cloning, euthanasia, neurological enhancement and embryonic stem cell research will help shape US law and policy. Gazzaniga is an admirably clear writer who assumes no expertise on the part of his reader. . . . This [treatment] shows ethical reasoning at its best--rooted in common sense but also informed by a sharp, inquisitive mind and a deep appreciation of the facts."--Nature
(Paul Bloom
Nature)
"A book that''s part science and part philosophy, making a convincing plea for an ethical code informed by scientific understanding."
(
Psychology Today 2005-09-09)
"The Ethical Brain delivers its message with . . . wit, and there is much to learn from its discourses on such topics as increased longevity and how aging works in the brain, the prospects for enhancing natural intelligence through genetics or drugs, and the reliability of lie detectors and other ''mind-reading'' devices."--Lynn Yarris, Mercury News
(Lynn Yarris
Mercury News 2005-08-28)
" If it is the case . . . that all of our thoughts, feelings, and actions are reducible to the level of brain physiology and biochemistry, what becomes of ethics? This is the central question that Michael Gazzaniga addresses in this readable, well-informed, and provocative book."--Stephan L. Chorover, The Lancet
(Stephan L. Chorover
Lancet 2005-06-18)
"Interesting and enjoyable . . . the strength of the book is the author''s perspective as a neuroscientist, which will introduce the reader to complex aspects of neuroscience in relation to behavior in society. . . . The problems highlighted and illuminated by this highly readable book are worth considering."--Richard Camicioli, MD, Journal of the American Medical Association
(Richard Camicioli
Journal of the American Medical Association)
"Michael Gazzaniga, a leading neuroscientist and member of President Bush''s bioethics council, takes readers on a tour of neuroethics, a moral minefield created by our exploding understanding of the brain. Gazzaniga eschews easy answers in exploring the potential and limits of neuroscience."--USA Today
(
USA Today 2005-12-08)
"A lively and generally accessible book. . . . The strengths of the book are the gems about neuroscience research and research in general, that often go unstated and unrecognized in tehe rush to apply scientific findings to numerous social problems. . . . Especially valuable are points Gazzaniga raises that are well developed and on target in considering the implications of neuroscience for the criminal justice system. . . . Exciting."--New England Journal of Medicine
(Stephanie J. Bird
New England Journal of Medicine 2006-08-10)
"Gazzaniga has written an intelligent, insightful, and provocative book that is ready to assume its place in the line of important contributions that evolutionary science and sociobiology have made toward the development of a scientifically based ethic. . . . This book is most compelling in its demonstration of the critically important insights that cognitive neuroscience has to offer in current moral debates."
(John Weagraff
Psychiatric Services)
