The Animal and the Thinker: Instinct, Reason and the Dance of Our Divided Selves

The big questions of our lives bring fierce debates. Right and wrong. Freedom and responsibility. Women and men. Democracy and justice. Ambition and fulfilment. Where do answers lie in a mind that produces the many sides and needs of humanity?

In The Animal and the Thinker, pioneering neuroscientist John Duncan lays out the principles, strengths and weaknesses of two sides of ourselves. One side follows the principles of instinctive animal behavior. It is elaborate, sophisticated, conflicte...