Thursday Thinking - The Brain and the Mind

Last month, David Brooks wrote a piece titled "Beyond the Brain." If you missed it, it's worth reading. Neuroscience tells us a lot and amazing new discoveries are being made at an astounding rate, but Brooks warns about the temptation of thinking science can tell us everything.

It’s a pattern as old as time. Somebody makes an important scientific breakthrough, which explains a piece of the world. But then people get caught up in the excitement of this breakthrough and try to use it to explain everything.

This is what’s happening right now with neuroscience. The field is obviously incredibly important and exciting. From personal experience, I can tell you that you get captivated by it and sometimes go off to extremes, as if understanding the brain is the solution to understanding all thought and behavior.

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David Brooks became a New York Times Op-Ed columnist in September 2003. He has been a senior editor at The Weekly Standard, a contributing editor at Newsweek and the Atlantic Monthly, and he is currently a commentator on "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer."