The Brain, In Theory

Name: The Brain, In Theory
Price: 59.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9780691281384

Romain Brette

$59.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Miscellaneous
01 June 2026

Philosophy of mind; Mathematics & Sciences; Philosophy of science; Neurosciences

Why engineering and computational analogies are poorly suited to the study of biological cognition.

Mainstream theories of the brain are often expressed through engineering concepts

computation, code, control, reverse-engineering, optimisation. These theories cast the living organism as a machine and the brain as a computer. The fact that cognition is a biological phenomenon seems merely anecdotal; biology is considered just 'implementation'. In The Brain, In Theory, Romain Brette argues that the brain is not a 'biological computer' because living organisms are not engineered. Engineering is the use of knowledge to solve technical problems, to build an artifact with a plan. But, Brette reminds us, Darwin's insight is precisely that evolution is not a case of engineering. Unlike engineering, evolution has no predetermined goals, plans, or knowledge.

Brette reviews the main theoretical frameworks for thinking about the brain, including computation, neural representations, information, and prediction, and finds them poorly suited to the study of biological cognition. He proposes understanding the brain as a self-organised, developing community of living entities rather than an optimised assembly of machine components. With this new perspective, Brette brings life back to the study of the brain and cognition.

By: Romain Brette
Imprint: Miscellaneous
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780691281384
ISBN 10: 0691281386
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 June 2026
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Romain Brette is a neuroscientist at the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics, Paris. He has worked on neuronal biophysics, neuroinformatics, auditory neuroscience, philosophy of neuroscience, and recently on the behavior and physiology of protists.