The Self Illusion: Why There is No 'You' Inside Your Head [Extract]

The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty

Simon Baron-Cohen · 256 pages

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

Julian Jaynes · 486 pages

At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes's still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only three thousand years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, o

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement

David Brooks · 424 pages

From the influential and hugely popular "New York Times" columnist and bestselling author of "Bobos in Paradise" comes a landmark exploration of how human beings and communities succeed.

On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not

Robert A. Burton

The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success

Kevin Dutton · 288 pages

In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of “madness” along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may

How the Mind Works

Steven Pinker · 661 pages

"Presented with extraordinary lucidity, cogency and panache...Powerful and gripping...To have read [the book] is to have consulted a first draft of the structural plan of the human psyche...a glittering tour de force" - Spectator "Why do memories fade? Why do we lose our tempers? Why do fools fall in love? Pinker's objective in this erudite account is to explore the nature and history of the human

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

Sam Harris · 256 pages

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Waking Up is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, Waking Up is for the twenty percent of Americans who follow no religion but who suspect that important truths can be found in the experienc

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

David Eagleman · 290 pages

"This book will shine light on some of the hard-to-reach places in the brain, showing the ways in which we are not the ones driving the boat. Why does the conscious mind know so little? What do visual illusions unmask about the machinery running under the hood? How much of our lives are determined by choices and behaviors that are hard-wired, unconscious, and beyond our control? Do we have any man

How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like

Paul Bloom · 280 pages

In this fascinating and witty account, Yale psychologist Paul Bloom draws on insights from child development, philosophy, neuroscience, and behavioral economics to examine the science behind our curious desires, attractions, and tastes, covering everything from the animal instincts for sex and food to the uniquely human taste for art, music, and stories.

A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness

Michael Pollan · 320 pages

The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life

Alison Gopnik · 288 pages

A revelatory examination of how babies and young children think draws on new scientific understandings to identify links between key behaviors and subsequent abilities, explaining how the latest findings offer profound insight into the nature of being human.

Music and the Mind

Anthony Storr · 212 pages

Why does music have such a powerful effect on our minds and bodies? It is the most mysterious and most intangible of all forms of art. Yet, Anthony Storr believes, music today is a deeply significant experience for a greater number of people than ever before. In this challenging book, he explores why this should be so. Music is a succession of tones through time. How can a sequence of sounds both

The Illusion of Conscious Will

Daniel M. Wegner · 405 pages

The Man Who Couldn't Stop

David Adam · 324 pages

**An intimate look at the power of intrusive thoughts, how our brains can turn against us, and living with obsessive compulsive disorder** Have you ever had a strange urge to jump from a tall building or steer your car into oncoming traffic? You are not alone. In this captivating fusion of science, history, and personal memoir, David Adam explores the weird thoughts that exist within every mind

You Are Not Your Brain: The 4-Step Solution for Changing Bad Habits, Ending Unhealthy Thinking, and Taking Control of Your Life

Jeffrey M. Schwartz, Rebecca Gladding

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction

Susan Blackmore · 554 pages

The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers

Daniel L. Schacter · 279 pages

"Daniel L. Schacter, chairman of Harvard University's Psychology Department and a leading expert on memory, has developed the first framework that describes the basic memory miscues we all encounter. Just like the seven deadly sins, the seven memory sins appear routinely in everyday life. Schacter explains how transience reflects a weakening of memory over time, how absent-mindedness occurs when f

Meet Your Happy Chemicals: Dopamine, Endorphin, Oxytocin, Serotonin

Loretta Graziano Breuning · 210 pages

The Ghost in the Machine

Arthur Koestler · 384 pages

The Ghost in the Machine is a work in philosophical psychology published in 1967. The title is a phrase coined by the Oxford philosopher Gilbert Ryle to describe the Cartesian dualist account of the mind–body relationship. Koestler shares with Ryle the view that the mind of a person is not an independent non-material entity, temporarily inhabiting and governing the body. One of the book's central

Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them

Joshua D. Greene · 422 pages

Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (Us) and for fighting off everyone else (Them). But modern times have forced the world's tribes into a shared space, resulting in epic clashes of values along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything

Hardwiring Happiness: The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm, and Confidence

Rick Hanson · 304 pages

The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain

Brock L. Eide, Fernette Eide · 283 pages

"In this revolutionary book, the Eides use new brain science and their expertise in neurology and learning disorders to explain how individuals with dyslexia not only perceive the written word differently but also conceive space more intuitively, see connections between unrelated objects, and are able to make great leaps creatively that others simply miss. Presenting a variety of case studies and

Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud · 560 pages

Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy and the New Science of Desire

Martin Lindstrom · 240 pages

How much do we know about why we buy? What truly influences our decisions in today's message-cluttered world? An eye-grabbing advertisement, a catchy slogan, an infectious jingle? Or do our buying decisions take place below the surface, so deep within our subconscious minds, we're barely aware of them?In BUYOLOGY, Lindstrom presents the astonishing findings from his groundbreaking, three-year, sev