Today, the brain has ceased to be regarded as existing in isolation in the human body. It is now considered in relation to its sensory, emotional and cultural environment. This book asks the question of what are the mechanisms and chemistry of the emotions? How do emotional states and the consciousness of those states permeate memory and thought? How does depression affect the emotions, and how can it be treated? How is the consciousness of self and of others constructed? Marc Jeannerod teaches physiology at the University Claude-Bernard-Lyon-I, and is the director of the Institute of Cognitive Sciences.
A relative newcomer to the world of science, psychology gives rise to a rivalry between two older siblings, philosophy and biology. This enduring conflict between materialism and spiritualism, which continues today in other forms, without adoubt was the driving force behind its progress. What we know today about the spirit is a result of this history. Biology and psychology have shaped each other in turn. This book represents a riveting study on how two centuries of spiritual quarrelling made possible the modern attempt to establish the inner workings of the mind. A professor of physiology at the Université Claude Bernard, Marc Jeannerod is also the director of an Inserm neurological research team in Lyon.
For the first time, a psychoanalyst and a neurophysiologist have put their expertise together in order to progress in knowledge. The focus is rather on their ability to listen to each other, and their avoidance of concessions, than on individualistic, polemic arguments. Thus, important bridges are built between the two disciplines, which perhaps heralds the advent of another psychology. Jacques Hochmann is a professor of psychiatrics and a psychoanalyst. Marc Jeannerod is a professor of physiology and a neurophysiologist.