The Well-Tuned Brain: The Remedy for a Manic Society

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Medical, Specialties, Internal Medicine, Neuroscience, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Psychology
Cover of the book The Well-Tuned Brain: The Remedy for a Manic Society by Peter C. Whybrow, MD, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Peter C. Whybrow, MD ISBN: 9780393248470
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: May 18, 2015
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Peter C. Whybrow, MD
ISBN: 9780393248470
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: May 18, 2015
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

In this optimistic and inspiring book, Peter Whybrow, the prize-winning author of American Mania, returns to offer a prescription for genuine human progress.

The Well-Tuned Brain is a call to action. Swept along by the cascading advances of today’s technology, most of us take for granted that progress brings improvement. Despite spectacular material advance, however, the evidence grows that we are failing to create a sustainable future for humanity. We are out of tune with the planet that nurtures us.

Technology itself is not the problem, as Whybrow explains, but rather our behavior. Throughout its evolution the ancient brain that guides us each day has been focused on short-term survival. But fortunately we are intensely social creatures. Without the caring behaviors that flow from intimate attachments to others, we would be relying on a brain that is only marginally adapted to the complexity of the problems we must now face together. Today we must grapple with survival, not in its immediacy but over the long term.

The first step in finding our way forward is to reexamine who we are as creatures of this planet. To this end, Whybrow takes us on a fascinating tour of self-discovery, drawing extensively upon his decades of experience as a psychiatrist and his broad knowledge of neuroscience and human behavior.

Illustrated throughout with engaging personal stories, the book’s trove of cutting-edge science is enriched by philosophical, historical, and cultural perspectives. What emerges is a summons to rediscover the essential virtues of earlier nurturing, of mentored education, and an engagement with the natural world through curiosity and imagination.

Neuroscience can open the search for a better future. But technology alone will not save us. To achieve success we will need the strength and wisdom of our better nature as humane social beings.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this optimistic and inspiring book, Peter Whybrow, the prize-winning author of American Mania, returns to offer a prescription for genuine human progress.

The Well-Tuned Brain is a call to action. Swept along by the cascading advances of today’s technology, most of us take for granted that progress brings improvement. Despite spectacular material advance, however, the evidence grows that we are failing to create a sustainable future for humanity. We are out of tune with the planet that nurtures us.

Technology itself is not the problem, as Whybrow explains, but rather our behavior. Throughout its evolution the ancient brain that guides us each day has been focused on short-term survival. But fortunately we are intensely social creatures. Without the caring behaviors that flow from intimate attachments to others, we would be relying on a brain that is only marginally adapted to the complexity of the problems we must now face together. Today we must grapple with survival, not in its immediacy but over the long term.

The first step in finding our way forward is to reexamine who we are as creatures of this planet. To this end, Whybrow takes us on a fascinating tour of self-discovery, drawing extensively upon his decades of experience as a psychiatrist and his broad knowledge of neuroscience and human behavior.

Illustrated throughout with engaging personal stories, the book’s trove of cutting-edge science is enriched by philosophical, historical, and cultural perspectives. What emerges is a summons to rediscover the essential virtues of earlier nurturing, of mentored education, and an engagement with the natural world through curiosity and imagination.

Neuroscience can open the search for a better future. But technology alone will not save us. To achieve success we will need the strength and wisdom of our better nature as humane social beings.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book The Change Book: How Things Happen by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs: A Novel by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Tom Paine's Iron Bridge: Building a United States by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Pig Tales: An Omnivore's Quest for Sustainable Meat by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Full Planet, Empty Plates: The New Geopolitics of Food Scarcity by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Barely Composed: Poems by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book The Intelligence Trap: Why Smart People Make Dumb Mistakes by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Black Masters: A Free Family of Color in the Old South by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Strange Fire: A Novel by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book The Quantum Spy: A Thriller by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Novels (Slipcased Edition) (Vol. 3) by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Curses! Broiled Again! by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book Rooms Are Never Finished: Poems by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
Cover of the book To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice by Peter C. Whybrow, MD
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy