Author: Paul Broks
Title: Into the Silent
Land: Travels in
Neuropsychology
Genre: A bit of Psychology and Philosophy
Year: 2004
Pages: 230
Origin: borrowed from a library
Nod Rating: 4 nods out of 5
Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
(Christina Rossetti, ‘Remember’)
Into the Silent
Land became one of those
lucky reads, found on a book shelf in a library whilst waiting photocopying to
complete. The Worm browsed a shelf in the Psychology section, more as a way of
killing time, before stumbling upon this interesting title. A couple of minutes
of thumbing through the pages convinced him that it must be taken at once! The
Worm grabbed the book and photocopy pile, punched his way through a barrage of
librarians, all before jumping out of the second floor window onto the ground. Yes,
nothing can escape the desires of the Worm!
And so, back to reality, later that day the Worm started
tucking into Paul Broks’ gripping book. Based on his own experiences in
neuropsychology, Broks examines what it is to be human. The brain is the base
for this study, with Broks speculating on where the human resides; if a piece
of brain is removed, is a piece of the human – their soul, so to speak – also removed?
In this interesting manner, Broks flirts with both his discipline as well as
philosophical arguments. It is this way, he speculates, in which greater understanding
could ensue, not simply treating ‘the brain as an isolated object’.
Broks prods and pokes away at this idea throughout the book:
‘Where is the mind in this tangled wood of neurons and nerve fibres? It isn’t
anywhere. And the self? What did you expect? A genie in a bottle?’ He describes
and evaluates his own observations of the past of people who have coped with
losing a part of their brain and how they have changed in consequence, as well
as witnessing others who have undergone experiments in losing function in a
part of their brain: ‘A person? A half-person? Half a brain?’
The book is a mixture of past experience, philosophical
discussion, as well as fictional stories to illustrate key points. Brok’s tells
a story of a distant future in which Star Trek teleportation is possible; a
problem in the transport results in two Dereks. The one who successfully teleported,
and the other who remained behind. But which is the real Derek? Broks moves
deeper into a fictional dialogue between himself and the other. Throughout the
book these conversations interrupt the pages, with Brok’s using the device to
develop essential points in a clearer, more direct way. Furthermore, he also
connects with poetry and his own literary experiences, particularly in the use
of the Dannie Abse poem ‘In the Theatre’. Such touches are engaging, as well as
highlighting the harrowing idea of what makes a person.
Broks’ attempts to tie in together both brain – as a
scientific object – and the human self – as a social construct. He believes
that this is the ‘challenge for neuroscience’ in the future. Such a bridge is
attempted in these pages, however, there is no satisfactory resolution. There
remains an itch for more answers… or is this perhaps an itch to read more into
this fascinating field? Either way, Broks has succeeded in penning a lively and
engaging book, fully deserving of anyone’s attention. Now, if you will excuse
the Worm, he has a library book to return.
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