This is a fascinating book that has been assembled by two of the intellectual powerhouses of British medicine and biology.



In the introduction, Steven Rose, who has been a Professor of Biology and Director of the Brain and Behavior Research Group at the Open University since 1969, calls the neurosciences "that final terra incognita, the nature of consciousness itself." He proposes that developments in neurology, molecular biology and other neurosciences have been isolated from their sociological and economic context and have instead been dominated by a reductionist search for quick genetic and pharmacological quick solutions.



The book is based on two meetings that explored neuroscience and neuroethics and it is divided into five sections and sixteen chapters followed by a good list of references and potted biographies of the authors.



Part I. Introduction: The new brain sciences: Stephen Rose



Part II. Freedom to Change

1. Do we ever really act?: Mary Midgley

2. The definition of human nature: Merlin Donald

3. Consciousness and the limits of neurobiology: Hilary Rose

4. Mind metaphors. Neurosciences and ethics: Regine Kollek

5. Genetic and generic determinism. A new threat to free will?: Peter Lipton



Part III. Neuroscience and the Law

6. Human action, neuroscience and the law: Alexander McCall Smith

7. Responsibility and the law: Stephen Sedley

8. Programmed or licensed to kill? The new biology of femicide: Lorraine Radford

9. Genes, responsibility and the law: Patrick Bateson



Part IV. Stewardship of the New Brain Sciences

10. The neurosciences: the danger that we will think we have understood it all: Yadin Dudai

11. On dissecting the genetic basis of behavior and intelligence: Angus Clarke

12. Prospects and perils of stem cell research: a brief guide to current science: Helen Pilcher

13. The use of human embryonic stem cells for research: an ethical evaluation: Guido de Wert

14. The Prozac story: John Cornwell

15. Psychopharmacology at the interface between the market and the new biology: David Healy

16. Education in the age of Ritalin: Paul Cooper



Part V. Conclusion: Dai Rees and Barbro Westerholm



Part II: "Freedom to change," explores the effects of neuroscience on our concepts of human agency, responsibility and free will. The philosopher Mary Midgley asks the most important question: if the true cause of one of our actions is always a physical event in the brain, are we not active agents at all, but more like people hypnotized or possessed by an alien force? The other papers in this section discuss the same issue, without coming to a consensus.



Part III takes these issues as they might inform the law. Although the main focus is on British law, anyone interested in the concepts of legal responsibility will find a treasure trove of interesting and important information here.



In the final chapter, Dai Rees and Barbro Westerholm say that although the philosophical case against free will might seem watertight, it seems to make nonsense of human experience. They say that they "are driven to accept that there must be limitations in a philosophical method which has somehow arrived at the denial of this quality that we value so much."



It seems to me fitting that this should be the last word. Either the philosophical interpretations of the science are wrong and our intuitions about ourselves are correct, or we are all living in a world of delusion. Though it is easy enough to construct intermediate positions, that is what a lot of this work comes down to: do we trust ourselves or throw up our hands and declare that we are nothing but machines at the mercy of our genes and the environment? These are a great deal more than simple academic concerns: our answers will have a major impact on how we see ourselves and treat each other.



Wherever you are in this important debate, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in free will, legal responsibility and the implications of the New Neurosciences.



The only downside of this otherwise superb book is that some of the chapters are in serious need of an editor. That is a shame, but it does little to detract from the importance of this book.



Highly recommended.







Richard G. Petty, MD, author of Healing, Meaning and Purpose: The Magical Power of the Emerging Laws of Life