The Self Delusion: The New Neuroscience of How We Invent—and Reinvent—Our Identities

Berns (What It’s Like to Be a Dog), a psychology professor at Emory University, takes a crack at explaining human identity in this informative if not always persuasive treatise. Citing studies on how the brain stores and retrieves memories, perceives optical and tactile illusions, and experiences emotions, Berns describes identity as “lo-fi” simulation that the brain constructs, leading one to believe they are physically contiguous. Humans can never perceive their own brains, he writes, but one’s mind has the potential of creating “multiple potential yous” based on one’s mood. His ideas are intriguing, but his explanations are somewhat scattered—he cites out-of-body experiences, multiple-personality disorder, and belief in superstitions are proof of the brain’s ability to “trick us in many ways,” but doesn’t quite connect them to his thesis. As well, his discussion of how various narratives (including Lascaux cave drawings, fairy tales, and superhero stories) serve as templates for self-identifying narratives, since “we cannot help but graft our own experiences onto these ubiquitous narratives,” is a bit of a stretch. For the most part, readers willing to follow this winding exploration will be piqued, though perhaps not entirely convinced. Agent: Michelle Tessler, Tessler Literary. (Oct.)