What Science Can & Cannot Tell Us About Human Nature
Are humans unique? Can animals think as we do? Will machines ever be conscious? What is free will? For centuries, attempts to answer these questions have been the stuff of theological and philosophical dispute, as well as bar-room debate. Now scientists claim they can solve these riddles of human existence once and for all. In doing so, they promise to upset many of the accepted ideas about morality and human nature.
This thrilling book draws on cutting-edge sciences such as evolutionary biology, cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence to assess what, precisely, they can and cannot explain about human nature. It explains the histories of these sciences and analyses the complex relationship between human beings, animals and machines to explore what really makes us human. At once a defence of scientific reason and a challenge to some of today's most cherished scientific theories, the book deftly interweaves philosophy, science and history to answer the most fundamental question of all: what is a human being?
