On Being Human: Why Mind Matters

Inspired by the essays of Michel de Montaigne, Kagan (Human Spark), emeritus professor of psychology at Harvard, forays into epistemology, semantics, human nature, and cultural relativism as he defends the idea that certain features of mind—feeling, knowing, understanding—cannot be explained solely by brain function. He criticizes neurobiologists who misapply the language of psychology to physiology, use animals as models, and seek genetic explanations for emergent properties of thought while rejecting “mental processes as having any autonomous causal power because they are invisible and nonmaterial.” Similar sentiment is leveled at researchers who rely on such measurements as blood flow scans without accounting for the effects of setting and complex associations. Kagan is equally harsh on psychologists, accusing them of failing to recognize the gap between reported and actual beliefs and feelings, and of a misplaced attraction to proving popular ideas. He also has much to say on the value of teaching complex thinking instead of memorization of facts, and the value of science that starts from observation rather than preconceived notions. Kagan’s thought is easy to follow, his prose pleasant to read, and his opinions clear, though his straw man arguments against his intellectual peers do not always convince the reader. (Apr.)