Die Illusion der Gewissheit

What is the mind? How does it differ from the body? In her essay, Siri Hustvedt tackles the ancient, still unresolved mind-body problem and clarifies how the different answers to this question have profound implications for our understanding of ourselves. With her multidisciplinary approach, Hustvedt demonstrates how unfounded assumptions about body and mind have distorted and confused the thinking of neuroscientists, geneticists, psychiatrists, evolutionary psychologists, and researchers in artificial intelligence. She introduces the reader to body-integrating theories of consciousness that are changing the current debate about mind and body—while emphasizing that no idea is untouchable. Here, Hustvedt's literary work converges with her scientific and philosophical essays into a unique form of poetic scholarship.