Issn Print: 1533-7006

Publication Date: 2006/08/15


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ASKING DIFFICULT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HUMAN NATURE: FUTURE OF THE BRAIN

Bruce H. Price

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Excerpt

“Towards the end” of his 45-year career in neuroscience, Steven Rose, Professor of the Biology of the Brain and Behavioral Research Group at the Open University, has written his 15th book. Dubbed by some as “the conscience of neuroscience,” he warns that neuroscience cannot be practiced in isolation of its social context. He acknowledges the influence of his wife, sociologist Hilary Rose.
I meant to simply review this book, jot down a few thoughts, and send it in. But the book's themes, hauntingly familiar since George Orwell's 1984, made me pause and reflect. It is a disturbing book.
I agree with the author's fundamental tenets: Neuroscientific developments must be examined in the context of their social, cultural, and political implications. The purpose of science is intended to serve humanity. Morality must guide science; science can't guide morality. And overblown scientific claims are common. The book reminds us of how much we think we know, yet how little we really do understand about brain structure and the mind. We are data-rich but theory-poor.
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