Second Nature: Brain Science and Human Knowledge [Paperback]

Gerard Edelman grieves over the "divorce" science and the humanities have experienced. Since there is no final decree in the proceedings, he wants to heal the breach. He has a mechanism to further the reconciliation - something he calls "Second Nature". That "Second" is the human's brain's extensive capabilities - capabilities that exceed what we see in the rest of Nature. With his long career in brain science and as a scholar well versed in the evolutionary background that makes us human, he may have an appropriate answer. In this book, he makes an excellent case for why the divorce need not be permanent. It's offered as a conciliatory gesture under the banner of his theory of "Neural Darwinism".

The label implies the obvious - our brains - hence, our minds - hence our "conscicousness" is the product of natural selection. It's not something separate from the real world in any way. Edelman, like all philosophers today, must face the still unfinished task of eliminating Descartes' "dualism" from consideration. "Dualism" effectively denies our evolutionary heritage. What is that heritage? Edelman enquires, and offers us his view of it.

Humans are distinct from the rest of the animal kingdom in one important way - our version of consciousness. As our brain developed, it created a unique form of neural pathways. Not only is the neural net highly complex - in a single human brain, the potential connectivity "far exceeds the number of elementary particles in the universe" - the methods of connecting are unique. Our brain, which spends far more effort viewing itself and the rest of the body than it does dealing with incoming or outgoing signals, uses a host of internal feedback loops ["reentrant" processing] to do its job. These reentrant signals are reinforced by areas Edelman calls "degenerate". Degeneracy doesn't imply deterioration, but instead is a kind of redundancy - many areas in the brain handle the same or similar tasks. With this brain structure emerging in early humans, selection could favour certain brains and pass their patterns down the generations. Habits once erratic and highly individual, ultimately became the social norm - many individuals shared the trait. Language, of course, with syntax and vocabulary, enhanced those inherited abilities. However, Edelman is dismissive of the concept of a "language module". Instead, he feels that communication reinforced traits already present, enhancing social interactions and forging bonds. Those bonds further contributed to behaviour factors literature describes and philosophy analyses.

Much of Edelman's presentation is reminiscent of Edward O. Wilson's call for "Consilience" in the book of that name published a few years ago. Edelman, however, in a bizarre designation, calls Wilson's proposal "reductionist". One can only tremble at the thought of Wilson's reaction. Richard Dawkins' "memes" are also dismissed as almost unworthy of notice. The author's grand, comprehensive view of the brain rejects anything "mechanistic". Yet, in what seems to be unconscious irony, Edelman concludes the book with a discussion of robots. Recently, some scholars have proposed the idea of an unconscious robot. It may look, walk and talk like a human, but lacks "consciousness" under most definitions. Edelman's team has, however, constructed a series of devices with extraordinary capabilities. Aptly named "Darwin", they've constructed several versions. These devices are highly mobile, and possess numerous input devices that "hear", "see" and "feel". Instead of programming them to seek or avoid objects or obstacles, the Darwins are set loose to wander and examine. When they perform approved acts, they are given verbal approval. This leads to "better" behaviour in future excursions. These robots "learn" how to live. Clearly, this is rich fare for the humanities to savour. As is the entire book. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

I suspect strongly that Edelman presents highly significant and radical ideas about consciousness, but I am unable to assimilate them by reading this book.

My fundamental problem is that his attitude and approach in the book seems to have as highest priority his own prowess. His prose is twisted and tortuous, he labours to points, and then you are unclear what the point is. He often using words that I have never encountered in 40 years of reading. He continually revels in his own sense of self importance.

Maybe this book is not aimed at the masses. But the implication is that it is. If it is aimed at the masses, it fails to communicate.

I specifically bought the book on the strength of the first review by a top ten reviewer. I regret buying it.

I give 3 stars because others may find out what he is trying to say and will almost certainly be suitably rewarded. It eludes me, as it will many others.

I read this book in 3 days whilst on holiday in 2008. I could not put it down. Although sometimes I had to re-read sentances two or three times to understand them!

For everyone who wondered why humans feel that someone is watching them, and why some humans feel the need to believe in a god, this book helps explain the physical aspects of the brain that lead to these feelings.

It is complicated to understand and I am sure I do not understand all that Edelman says but it lays a foundation and a desire to learn more. This book changed the way I think about the world and about people!

I know that some scientists do not agree with Edelman's theories but to me the overall gist of his explanation, although perhaps unproven in detail, does progress the layman's understanding of the topic.

If you are interested in what makes us human then read this. It is heavy going at times so you will need a real interest to persevere with it but it is worth doing so.