Customer Reviews

Why Us?: How Science Rediscovered the Mystery of Ourselves

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In this work James Le Fanu, a medical doctor and prize-winning author, examines certain cutting-edge discoveries in the life sciences and finds that those discoveries have profound implications for understanding both the nature of science and the nature of humanity. He concentrates on two areas in particular: Genetics and Brain Science.

Regarding genetics, Le Fanu argues that recent advances in our understanding (including the mapping of the complete human genome) call into question the adequacy of the traditional theory of macroevolution (species to species) through random mutation over time. Turning to brain science, Le Fanu argues that recent research undermines any conceptual model of the brain-as-computer and "thought" as the simple result of chemical reactions. Taken together, these discoveries raise a challenge to the strict materialism that has characterized science for many decades, a materialism that (according to Le Fanu) can blind its proponents to the extraordinary implications of the data before them and has contributed to a growing sense of sterility in the field. Importantly, this strict materialism is not a necessary part of good scientific method. Indeed, Le Fanu believes we are on the verge of another major paradigm shift in science of the type Thomas Kuhn has described; that before long a tipping point will be reached and the hegemony of certain inadequate assumptions will be over.

Le Fanu is not a "creationist" properly speaking and any efforts to classify him as such would be lazy at best. He accepts the scientific consensus of an ancient earth and part of his argument rests on the evidence for periodic "explosions" of life in the Cambrian period and other eras. However, he does believe that to make sense of the life sciences in general - and humanity in particular - the rational disciplines of philosophy and theology must have a place at the table. And not in a child's high-chair, it would seem.

Le Fanu writes well, argues respectfully, and incorporates a generous number of useful illustrations. The work could have been improved by tighter organization of the overall argument and expanded implications for humanity. But perhaps that's where the philosophers and theologians come in.

Very interesting. Le Fanu makes a strong case for the wonder of our universe. The book is a broad sweep of science, though Le Fanu never gets superficial. He makes a strong case for an intelligent universe. I expect this book to generate a lot of discussions on the wonder, purpose and meaning of our existence. It is a strong and refreshing challenge to the weary little universe of materialism. Highly recommended.

"It cannot be long before a proper appreciation of the true significance of the findings of the recent past begins to sow doubts in inquisitive minds."
The paradigm shift that James Le Fanu alludes to in this book may just be around the corner, or new year for that matter. Le Fanu describes the fascinating findings of the New Genetics and Neuroscience, new evidence that calls for a new paradigm to be revealed. One can only hope this will come about soon. Science has indeed "rediscovered the mystery of ourselves" and will usher in a new period of discovery-- a period where wonder, and not doubt, will lead to an explosion of discoveries that have remained hidden under the existing paradigm.
This is an excellent book for all to read. Give it to anyone... Le Fanu writes with eloquence and grace, driving his ideas home and allowing all to comprehend, scientist or not.

This is an interesting reflection on what science does, and does not, tell us about ourselves. Recently the human genome project and brain scanning both generated a lot of hype suggesting that they would explain what makes us tick. After completion of the genomic map and many brain scans later, the hype has turned out to be hype. While carefully examining the research and the results, Le Fanu shows that the additional knowledge raises new questions, and the mystery has deepened. He presents this as his conclusion, not that of the scientists involved.
Le Fanu takes aim at some of the materialist claims made on behalf of science, e.g Daniel Dennett's claim that free will is an illusion. Le Fanu claims there is a non-material aspect of the mind that is not explainable purely in terms of brain processes. We know by introspection that we have free will, so why accept an authority that claims otherwise?
Unless "creationist" is a term for anyone who is not a materialist, then Le Fanu is no creationist, as claimed by one reviewer. The title is a bit misleading because Le Fanu is arguing that recent scientific research deepens the mystery, but he acknowledges that the researchers themselves aren't making this claim. Nevertheless, an excellent discussion.

Le Fanu's Why Us? is a timely reminder from a scientist that all is not well with Darwinian evolutionism. It should be an elementary aspect of public understanding that current science has not yet produced a theory of consciousness or of its evolution. And this is mirrored by an equal inadequacy in the current status of neuroscience, which cannot seem to truly grapple with its own proper subject matter. In fact, reductionist theories cannot even bridge the fact/value distinction, something that they should, must, be doing, even as scientists insist they must not, that value-free science must reduce biological knowledge to an extension of physics. The deficit of explanation leads to a sense of the inadequacy of explanation.
Le Fanu's rediscovery of a sense of wonder makes one think of the noumenal aspect of the 'phenomenon' of evolution, as it surpasses the limits of observation to issue an enigma beyond theory.
It is rare for a scientist to grasp the dilemma of evolutionary theories. Le Fanu's book is a seminal, and refreshing, exception. Perhpas there is science beyond scientism after all.

I've read a large number of books on the subject of science and religion. This is definitely worth reading no matter which side of the debate you find yourself. It's a fun read. Mr. Fanu writes well and is very knowledgable. The key points he makes are that the elucidation of the human (and other) genomes has not solved the mystery of the uniqueness of living things and their differences. And, perhaps an even more crucial point, despite the almost weekly new studies showing which part of the brain lights up during this or that mental activity, brain research has not begun to solve the "mind-brain" problem. And, in fact, it's not the kind of problem science can solve. The fundamental data we all start with is our mental life--and consciousness, free will, aesthetics and ethics--are completely unexplained and unexplainable by a strict materialistic interpretation of the universe. Our own minds are a clue, perhaps, that there are "more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in" the materialistic philosophies currently in vogue.

I don't know when I've read a more original, insightful, courageous book. I want to recommend it to everyone I know! Bravo, James Le Fanu!

A very readable (for the lay person) account of modern scientific research in the human genome and in the workings of the human brain. Le Fanu argues that, while we have made amazing advances in technology and scientific knowledge of the universe, the greatest mystery is very close to home - ourselves.

Whilst not himself either a creationist or exponent of intelligent design, he argues forcefully that the evolutionary theory of neo-Darwinism cannot account for the extraordinary world of detailed information contained in every cell of the human body; nor for the workings of the human brain. For those willing to question the doctrine of neo-Darwinism, this is fascinating and very important material.

Dr. Le Fenu's "Why Us?" is a readable and thought-provoking overview of recent findings of science. Describes science's quest for answers to the wonders of our world, only to find more complexities and questions.

Le Fanu starts out walking us elegantly through the progress of science of the latter decades, and their relevance for our understanding of ourselves. He chronicles the disappointments where some may have thought to have solved a riddle, only to find the answer is yet another enigma; as in the case of DNA, where our knowledge has exploded, while we are indeed extremely puzzled by exactly how the information that is the blueprint of us is stored in the dumbfoundedly complex poetry of DNA. The theory of evolution is not set in stone either; there are blanks unfilled, and probably adjustments to be made here and there in our understanding. All good. Now Le Fanu, hoping we won't notice, abandons logic, and out of thin air concludes that as our understanding of our brain/evolution/genetics is incomplete, maybe they're all wrong. Maybe there is some alternatve spiritual dimension? Well, who knows mr Fanu, maybe there is, but you've presented no coherent argument for it, nor why the gaps in the theories (correctly pointed out) should indicate that said theories, or science as a whole, are on the wrong track. No, we don't know everything and some things turn out to be far more complicated than we guessed, but that's hardly surprising, is it?

This is a pretty good drink of science, which mr Le Fanu has snuck a roofie of god into while you visited the bathroom. My drink tasted fine untill the end, but those last sips soured the whole experience.