The Animal and the Thinker

Instinct, Reason and the Dance of Our Divided Selves

John Duncan

$59.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

W H Allen
10 July 2025

Behavioural theory (Behaviourism); Humanistic psychology; Psychology: emotions; Biology, life sciences

Pioneering, prize-winning neuroscientist who has led research programmes at Oxford and Cambridge, with a dazzling new story of human behaviour and how we find meaning, for fans of Thinking Fast and Slow and Steven Pinker.

Why are we so often in conflict-arguing with ourselves and with others, uncertain over who we are and what we need from our lives?

In The Animal and The Thinker, the world-leading, pioneering neuroscientist John Duncan explains that each of us is not just one person - we are two. On one side are our animal instincts, built on the sophisticated needs of human life through evolution, but struggling to navigate the complexity of modern life. On the other side is our rational brain which calculates and cogitates, but is often helpless in the face of bigger questions of meaning and purpose.

Dovetailing these two competing sides of ourselves, Duncan draws on a lifetime's pioneering work to attack puzzles that have concerned thinkers, writers and philosophers through human history. Right and wrong. Freedom and responsibility. Women and men. Democracy and justice. Ambition and fulfilment. Understanding how these two sides of ourselves interact offers revealing and often surprising answers to some of the great questions of our lives.

Discover a new perspective on human behaviour, and learn how we can better understand ourselves, our struggles, and our search for meaning.

By: John Duncan
Imprint: W H Allen
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 242mm, Width: 164mm, Spine: 38mm
Weight: 651g
ISBN: 9780753560921
ISBN 10: 0753560925
Pages: 432
Publication Date: 10 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

John Duncan is among the pioneers of modern cognitive neuroscience. He has worked for more than forty years on the puzzles of mind and brain, with joint appointments at the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. He is a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the British Academy. In 2012 he was awarded the Heineken Prize in Cognitive Science.

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

A tour de force. John Duncan has marshalled his experience as a world-class cognitive neuroscientist to remind us that whilst reason seems to define the human mind, the role of our animal instincts, as studied through Darwinian ethology, powerfully shape our behaviour and our social values. Duncan writes with an elegant clarity which is simultaneously thought-provoking and entertaining * Simon Baron-Cohen, Cambridge University * Electric... a book full of good science, sage advice and deep understanding of the human condition * Professor Robin Dunbar, Oxford University *