Siegel, Daniel J. (2011): The Neurobiology of 'We': How Relationships, the Mind, and the Brain Interact to Shape Who We Are

What is it about?

The audio course (i.e. not a proper book) aims to explain how we - or, to be more precise, our minds - interact to create social relationships between us, that is, to construct 'us'.

I chose the  based on the main title and expected it to be 'hard science' (c.f. neurobiology), but it turned out to be a little bit softer. That is, the book is more 'lifestyle-persuading' than just 'here is the science'.

Was it good?

Well, the course was nice listening, but the author's take on the subject matter made me hesitate every now and then as to what's the scientific backing to what is being claimed. I certainly don't have the credentials or neurobiological expertise to challenge anything in the course, but the still I could not escape the feeling.

Thus, I would say that the course is more like 'why not, can't hurt really' than 'must to know'.

The main take-away for me?

Actually, the main take-away for me did not really relate to the subject matter of the course but rather operates at the meta level. Namely, throughout the book I was thinking along the lines 'how and why we 'know' (or believe) anything we know'? This relates to the nagging feeling that I had throughout the course about whether I should believe what the author states or not while not having any relevant expertise to judge it myself. This applies to all kinds of knowledge about, say, fundamental physics or cosmology. In such cases we really have to use some contextual cues to judge the credibility of the information being assessed rather than the information itself - for example, the 'market share' of the idea among people who appear experts (like scientists with credentials in the field).

Who should read the book?

I think that the course 'wouldn't really hurt anyone' but I have hard time of thinking about who would be particularly fascinated by it.

The course on Amazon.com: The neurobiology of 'we'