The Mind and the Machine: What It Means to Be Human and Why It Matters

What defines human? In the age of the computer, the author (From Homer to Harry Potter) looks at the futuristic works of authors like Ray Kurzweil concerned with mind, body, and spirit in the present day and compares them to the supernatural world of the Bible. In between he examines the human quest through science and reason. During the journey, Dickerson examines thinkers of the Enlightenment; the creative voice of J. R. R. Tolkien; biologist Richard Dawkins; and behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner. "The debate directly relates to the question of whether humans are just complex computers," the author writes. There is much here that reconciles reason with faith in the Bible as the author finds reason plays a great part within the sacred scriptures. This complex, thoughtful book will be of interest to those who want to know where computers are taking modern society. (May)