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ID: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century: The Quest for Meaning in the 21st Century [Paperback]

Susan Greenfield
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
RRP: £10.99
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Book Description

2 April 2009 0340936010 978-0340936016

If you've ever wondered what effect video games have on your children's minds or worried about how much private information the government and big companies know about you, ID is essential reading.


 


Professor Susan Greenfield argues persuasively that our individuality is under the microscope as never before; now more then ever we urgently need to look at what we want for ourselves as individuals and for our future society.


 


ID is an exploration of what it means to be human in a world of rapid change, a passionately argued wake-up call and an inspiring challenge to embrace creativity and forge our own identities.



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ID: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century: The Quest for Meaning in the 21st Century + The Private Life of the Brain (Penguin Press Science)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Sceptre (2 April 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0340936010
  • ISBN-13: 978-0340936016
  • Product Dimensions: 13.1 x 2.2 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 73,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Product Description

Review

'Susan Greenfield is often described as the foremost female scientist in Britain, but she is one of the best of any gender, anywhere, at getting complicated ideas across' (Independent on Sunday )

'Greenfield is an entertaining writer, a brilliant neuroscientist and an excellent exponent of the latest advances in brain chemistry' (New Humanist )

'Susan Greenfield enthrals and intrigues her readers in equal measure . . . a force of intellect and a force of nature' (John Humphrys 20081121)

'Asks good questions, describes intriguing facts and makes some interesting suggestions' (Financial Times 20081121)

'she is so fluent and persuasive a writer that just reading this important book perks up the grey cells' (Telegraph 20081121)

About the Author

Baroness Susan Greenfield is Professor of Pharmacology at Oxford University and Director of the Royal Institution. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the College of Physicians and has received 24 honorary degres from universities all over the world. Neuroscientist, broadcaster and author, she has received the Michael Faraday medal from the Royal Society for developing public understanding of science and made the Daily Mail's 100 Most Influential Women in Britain list in 2003. She received a CBE and a life peerage in 2001 and was awarded the L'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur in 2003.  In 2004/5 she was 'thinker in residence' reporting to the Premier of South Australia. She is based in Oxford.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and insightful 14 May 2012
Format:Paperback
Susan Greenfield is a neuroscientist, so she knows her stuff when it comes to the brain. In this fascinating and accessible book, she explores the idea of identity. As you might expect, it's complex and not explained by any simple factor or mechanism within the brain, and in fact is not really fully understood. However she clearly describes three main types of identity, ranging from Someone, through Anybody to Nobody.

In brief, Someone is the sense of self as a unique individual, separate from everyone else. Anybody is being part of a group, where you can lose your sense of individuality and become part of a bigger group identity. Finally Nobody is where neither of these is experienced and in a sense your identity is simply a stream of physical sensations.

These three states are present to some extent in all of us - for example being taken up in the joint thrill of a football crowd (if that's your thing) is to be Anybody, or loosing yourself by becoming drunk (or on drugs) is to be Nobody.

The first part of the book is perhaps the most difficult because she lays down the basics of how the brain works: but it's a necessary foundation for what follows. Then towards the end she explores how the modern digital age might presage change - in fact she argues that the changes wrought could be so profound that a post-digital society might have a completely different way of identifying self as a result.

You may not agree with all her ideas, but they are certainly thought provoking and always clearly argued. It's about 4 years old now, but doesn't feel out of date. If anything the latter parts seem even more relevant now.
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14 of 26 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars where's my body? 6 Jun 2008
Format:Hardcover
One of the interesting aspects of these frameworks for identity is the absence of the physical body. As Greenfield is talking about the Consumer Society, which begs us to treat our bodies in terms of having rather than being, this dislocation is strange.
Greenfield is enthusiastic - and it is always good to read something written with passion.
And, other reviewer: books are three dimensional, highly tactile objects, utterly different from attempting to read or study using an e-book. Try it.
I can play computer games for hours, may be it'll be the problems of reading a pdf, but I can only bear an e-book for 30 minutes.
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2 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Mind opening 26 April 2009
By Apicius
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fantastic book which can really revolutionise your concept of mind. Very enjoyable and absorbing though slightly fell away in final chapter. Highly recommended.
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