scope:

This is an exploration of how the higher functions of the brain can be investigated, evaluated and, possibly, explained. A central theme throughout the book is rationality, since issues requiring rational evaluation confront many people everyday though emotional factors are often more influential in determining action. The book looks at various questions: is it possible to understand what is going on in someone else's mind?; why do people who are known very well often react irrationally, in a totally different way to what is expected?; what are emotions, beliefs, feelings and desire? Throughout, episodes from history involving famous artists and politicians are used - Gladstone and Lincoln, Bach and Graupner, Austen and Dickens - all providing useful examples to illustrate how rationality can provide an insight into the feeling self.