Being Brains offers a critical exploration of neurocentrism, the
belief that "we are our brains," which became widespread in the 1990s.
Encouraged by advances in neuroimaging, the humanities and social
sciences have taken a "neural turn," in the form of neuro-subspecialties
in fields such as anthropology, aesthetics, education, history, law,
sociology, and theology. Dubious but successful commercial enterprises
such as "neuromarketing" and "neurobics" have emerged to take advantage
of the heightened sensitivity to all things neuro. While neither
hegemonic nor monolithic, the neurocentric view embodies a powerful
ideology that is at the heart of some of today's most important
philosophical, ethical, scientific, and political debates. Being Brains,
chosen as 2018 Outstanding Book in the History of the Neurosciences by
the International Society for the History of the Neurosciences, examines
the internal logic of such ideology, its genealogy, and its main
contemporary incarnations.