A leading neuroscientist offers a history of the evolution of the brain from unicellular organisms to the complexity of animals and human beings today Renowned neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux digs into the natural history of life on earth to provide a new perspective on the similarities between us and our ancestors in deep time. This page-turning survey of the whole of terrestrial evolution sheds new light on how nervous systems evolved in animals, how the brain developed, and what it means to be human. In The Deep History of Ourselves LeDoux argues that the key to understanding all human behavior lies in viewing evolution through the prism of the first living organisms. By tracking the chain of the evolutionary timeline he shows how even the earliest single cell organisms had to solve the same problems we and our cells have to solve today in order to survive and thrive. Along the way, LeDoux explores our place in nature, how the evolution of nervous systems enchanced the ability of organisms to survive and thrive, and how the emergence of what we humans understand as consciousness made our greatest and most horrendous achievements as a species possible. Reviews and Endorsements: "Joseph LeDoux is the major scientist leading the current important effort to delineate the brain mechanisms of emotional states. In his most recent book, The Deep History of Ourselves, LeDoux attempts to connect the survival capacity of single-celled micro-organisms to the unique human capacity for survival. This capacity is importantly mediated by our ability to think, feel, and to contemplate not only our own past and future but the past and future of humankind. This is an extraordinary book. Indeed, as LeDoux points out, it is a deep history of ourselves." —Eric R. Kandel, Kavli Professor and University Professor, Columbia University; Senior Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute; author of In Search of Memory and The Age of Insight; recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “LeDoux begins his new book with the biology of simple life forms but ends it, at the peak of biological complexity, with a closely argued defense of human feeling and consciousness as higher order cognitive processes. One does not need to agree with all of his positions?and I, for one, agree with many?to admire the quality of his achievement and to congratulate him on it.” —Antonio Damasio, Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, University of Southern California, and author of The Strange Order of Things: Life, Feeling and the Making of Cultures "Joseph LeDoux has provided a remarkable, personalized synthesis of zoology, neuroscience, psychology and philosophy: His main theme is the emergence of consciousness through the evolution of nervous systems and the behaviors they control: Not the tree of life, but the tree of consciousness, and where it may lead us. An amazing, mind-expanding read.” —Trevor Robbins, University of Cambridge, Recipient of the 2014 Brain Prize "This is a fascinating book with a grand vision of the evolution of life, from its molecular origins to what it is like to be conscious. Joseph LeDoux takes an unconventional look at some key ideas, including new and revealing insights on how our brains work.” —Marian Stamp Dawkins, Professor of Animal Behaviour, University of Oxford "An enthralling, highly informative journey from the origins of life itself to the emergence of creatures with sophisticated mental lives. An indispensable perspective on how we humans come to possess intelligence, consciousness, and emotion. From biology to mentality, this book is a tour de force." —Susan Schneider, NASA Chair, Library of Congress, and author of Artificial You: AI and the Future of Your Mind "Joseph LeDoux has written an extraordinary book full of insight, enlightening the many ways that we humans, and along the way, other animals, came to be the way we are. Wonderfully readable by a lay audience, full of useful information even for other neuroscientists." —Daniel Levitin, PhD, FRSC, author of This Is Your Brain on Music and The Organized Mind "Joseph LeDoux is one of the rare scientists who sees both the forest and the trees. This exceptionally readable book will satisfy diverse audiences. It is a primer on the evolution of life forms wedded to a sophisticated, historically informed, provocative discussion of the psychological processes that cry for illumination. An original work by a distinguished scientist who understands both the brain and its relation to psychological events." —Jerome Kagan, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Harvard University "Readers have good reason to ponder LeDoux’s concluding challenge. [A] refreshingly lucid treatment of profound questions.” —Booklist (starred review) “Plenty of popular authors describe the history of life, but LeDoux wants readers to remember as well as enjoy, so he divides his book into short, pithy chapters, each explaining a single evolutionary advance. . . . Like all good educators, the author begins simply. . . . [An] expert history of human behavior beginning at the beginning.” —Kirkus Reviews "Joseph LeDoux deepens our understanding of a profound question as old as Aristotle: how does our mind set us apart from other species? We could not have a better guide: LeDoux is a world-leading neuroscientist whose research has taken him to the frontiers of behavior, emotions, and consciousness. With brilliance, wit, and wisdom, LeDoux traces four billion years of life, showing how humans share basic behaviors with one-celled organisms yet soar to a reflective self-awareness that may be unique in the universe. Utterly fascinating and a thrill to read." —Jeffrey D. Sachs, University Professor at Columbia University "The most important thing to know about consciousness is that it evolved. In this master work, Joe LeDoux shows us not only the big picture of that evolution, but also the critical details of the complex nervous system that has enabled consciousness to emerge into our lives." —Christopher Frith, author of Making Up the Mind “Putting ourselves in context is always a wise idea; putting ourselves in the context of 4 billion years of history is a perspective-altering tour-de-force. Short, appealing essays ask 'what is consciousness?', 'what is emotion?', and, most of all, 'who am I?' The answers will surprise you.” —Hazel Rose Markus, author of Clash! How to Thrive in a Multicultural World "Deep History presents the continuity in how behavior results from biological processes in the simplest organisms to the most complex. This supports the thesis that behavior in complex organisms such as ourselves is due largely to processes different from those that lead to conscious awareness. LeDoux presents all this with engaging detail and a masterful command of the big picture, culminating in his own theories of consciousness and of the emotions. This rich and remarkable book is must reading for anybody interested in the nature of life, thought, and consciousness." —David Rosenthal, Philosophy and Cognitive Science, CUNY Graduate Center Table of Contents: Preface xv Prologue: Why on Earth …? 1 Part 1 Our Place in Nature Chapter 1 Deep Roots 9 Chapter 2 The Tree of Life 13 Chapter 3 Kingdoms Come 17 Chapter 4 Common Ancestry 20 Chapter 5 It's a Livin' Thing 24 Part 2 Survival and Behavior Chapter 6 The Behavior of Organisms 29 Chapter 7 Beyond Animal Behavior 35 Chapter 8 The Earliest Survivors 39 Chapter 9 Survival Strategies and Tactics 44 Chapter 10 Rethinking Behavior 48 Part 3 Microbial Life Chapter 11 In the Beginning 53 Chapter 12 Life Itself 57 Chapter 13 Survival Machines 63 Chapter 14 The Arrival of Organelles 68 Chapter 15 The Marriage of LUCA's Children 71 Chapter 16 Breathing New Life into Old 74 Part 4 The Transition to Complexity Chapter 17 Size Matters 79 Chapter 18 The Sexual Revolution 82 Chapter 19 Mitochondrial Eve, Jesse James, and the Origin of Sex 88 Chapter 20 Colonial Times 91 Chapter 21 The Selection Two-Step 95 Chapter 22 Flagellating Through the Bottleneck 100 Part 5 … And Then Animals Invented Neurons Chapter 23 What Is an Animal? 107 Chapter 24 A Humble Beginning 115 Chapter 25 Animals Take Shape 119 Chapter 26 The Magic of Neurons 124 Chapter 27 How Neurons and Nervous Systems Happened 127 Part 6 Metazoan Bread Crumbs in the Oceans Chapter 28 Facing Forward 137 Chapter 29 Tissue Issues 141 Chapter 30 Oral or Anal? 145 Chapter 31 Deep-Sea Deuterostomes Link Us to Our Past 148 Chapter 32 A Tale of Two Chords 151 Part 7 The Vertebrates Atrive Chapter 33 Bauplan Vertebrata 157 Chapter 34 The Life Aquatic 161 Chapter 35 On the Surface 165 Chapter 36 The Milk Trail 171 Part 8 Ladders and Trees in the Vertebrate Brain Chapter 37 Neuro-Bauplan Vertebrata 179 Chapter 38 Ludwig's Ladder 183 Chapter 39 The Triune Temptress 188 Chapter 40 Darwin's Muddled Emotional Psychology 192 Chapter 41 How Basic Are Basic Emotions? 195 Part 9 The Beginning of Cognition Chapter 42 Cogitation 203 Chapter 43 Finding Cognition in the Behaviorist Bailiwick 208 Chapter 44 The Evolution of Behavioral Flexibility 216 Part 10 Surviving (and Thriving) by Thinking Chapter 45 Deliberation 225 Chapter 46 The Engine of Deliberative Cognition 228 Chapter 47 Schmoozing 234 Part 11 Cognitive Hardware Chapter 48 Perception and Memory Share Circuitry 243 Chapter 49 The Cognitive Coalition 249 Chapter 50 Rewired and Running Hot 255 Part 12 Subjectivity Chapter 51 Being There 263 Chapter 52 What Is It Like to Be Conscious? 269 Chapter 53 I Want to Take You Higher 277 Chapter 54 Higher Awareness in the Brain 281 Part 13 Consciousness Through the Looking Glass of Memory Chapter 55 The Invention of Experience 289 Chapter 56 Ah, Memory 294 Chapter 57 Putting Memories in Their Places 300 Chapter 58 Higher-Order Awareness Through the Lens of Memory 305 Part 14 The Shallows Chapter 59 The Tricky Problem of Other Minds 315 Chapter 60 Creeping Up on Consciousness 324 Chapter 61 Kinds of Minds 329 Part 15 Emotional Subjectivity Chapter 62 The Slippery Slopes of Emotional Semantics 337 Chapter 63 Can Survival Circuits Save the Day? 344 Chapter 64 Thoughtful Feelings 350 Chapter 65 Emotional Brains Run HOT 359 Chapter 66 Survival Is Deep, but Our Emotions Are Shallow 368 Epilogue: Can We Survive Our Self-Conscious Selves? 372 Appendix 381 Bibliographic Key 383 Illustration Credits 401 Index 403 About the Author:
Joseph LeDoux is the Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science at New York University, where he is a member of the Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology. He directs the Emotional Brain Institute at New York University and at the Nathan Kline Institute, and is the author of the books Anxious, Synaptic Self, and The Emotional Brain. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, LeDoux lives in Brooklyn, New York |