|
It may be the deepest mystery of philosophy,
psychology, and neuroscience: How does the brain unite to
create the self, the subjective "I"? In Altered
Egos, Dr. Todd Feinberg presents a new theory of the
self, based on his first-hand experience as both a psychiatrist
and neurologist.
Feinberg first introduces the reader to
dozens of intriguing cases of patients whose disorders have
resulted in what he calls "altered egos": a change
in the brain that transforms the boundaries of the self.
He describes patients who suffer from "alien hand syndrome"
where one hand might attack the patient's own throat, patients
with frontal lobe damage who invent fantastic stories about
their lives, paralyzed patients who reject and disown one
of their limbs. Feinberg argues that the brain damage suffered
by these peoples has done more than simply impair certain
functions -- it has fragmented their sense of self. After
illustrating how these patients provide a window into the
self and the mind, the author presents a new model of the
self that links the workings of the brain with unique and
personal features of the mind, such as meaning, purpose,
and being. Drawing on his own and other evidence, Feinberg
explains how the unified self, while not located in one
or another brain region, arises out of the staggering complexity
and number of the brain's component parts.
Lucid, insightful, filled with fascinating
case studies and provocative new ideas, Altered Egos
promises to change the way we think about human consciousness
and the creation and maintenance of human identity.
Todd E. Feinberg, M.D. is Associate Professor
of Neurology and Psychiatry at The Albert Einstein College
of Medicine, and Chief of the Betty and Morton Yarmon Division
of Neurobehavior and Alzheimer's Disease at the Beth Israel
Medical Center in New York.
|
