Paperback of my book out today. Not such a good paperweight as hardback, but otherwise nicer. www.penguin.co.uk/books/461766...

The Animal and the Thinker

Why are we so often in conflict—arguing with ourselves and with others, uncertain over who we are what we need from our lives? In The Animal and the Idea, the world-leading, pioneering neuroscientist...

penguin.co.uk

Latest post on Animal and Thinker blog Why I love feminism... partly... johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com/p/culture-wa...

Culture Wars – Part 4. Two kinds of feminism

(This blog is an add-on to my book The Animal and the Thinker.

johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com

New post on my blog - what should happen to teen rapists? johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com/p/culture-wa...

Culture Wars – Part 3. What should happen to teenage rapists?

(This blog is an add-on to my book The Animal and the Thinker.

johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com

New post on my Animal and Thinker blog: johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com/p/culture-wa... The ideal of democracy and the reality of our minds...

New post on the blog: johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com/p/why-we-try Smashing computers, why I've come to love bad reviews, how cute God would think we were

It is in the dialogue of instinct and reason that we find answers to life’s biggest questions.

The book lays out the principles, strengths and weaknesses of instinct and reason. Not rivals, each brings something essential to the mind. Instinct struggles with modern civilisation - but brings value and meaning. Reason brings an infinity of new ideas - but alone is helpless.

For thousands of years, writers, thinkers and philosophers have seen life as a battle between the guiding power of reason and a disruptive animal within. Fierce culture wars and endless newsfeeds turn up the tension. How can we overcome our uncertainties and know the many sides of ourselves?

Why are we so often in conflict — arguing with ourselves and each other over who we are and what we want?

Just finished the back cover text for the paperback of The Animal and the Thinker. It will need splitting into 4 posts:

johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com First four posts – operating principles; “the other”; two things to teach schoolchildren.

The Animal and the Thinker blog | John Duncan | Substack

This blog is an add-on to my book The Animal and the Thinker, discussing how the principles of instinct and reason illuminate the big questions of our lives. The principles are in the first two posts ...

johnduncananimalandthinker.substack.com

Last year my book The Animal and the Thinker came out. Basic idea – how the operating principles of instinct and reason together answer big human questions. Right and wrong. Culture wars. Family and work. The meaning of life. That sort of thing. Now as an add-on I’m starting a blog…