How To Grow A Human: Adventures in Who We Are & How We Are Made by Philip Ball

51 in stock

239mm x 158mm x 34mm

Pages: 272

A cutting-edge examination of what it means to be human and to have a self in the face of new scientific developments in genetic editing, cloning and neural downloading.
After seeing his own cells used to grow clumps of new neurons GÇô essentially mini-brains GÇô Philip Ball begins to examine the concepts of identity and consciousness. Delving into humanitys deep evolutionary past to look at how complex creatures like us emerged from single-celled life, he offers a new perspective on how humans think about ourselves.
In an age when we are increasingly encouraged to regard the self as an abstract sequence of genetic information, or as a pattern of neural activity that might be downloaded to a computer, he return us to the body GÇô to flesh and blood GÇô and anchors a conception of personhood in this unique and ephemeral mortal coil. How to Build a Human brings us back to ourselves GÇô but in doing so, it challenges old preconceptions and values. It asks us to rethink how we exist in the world.