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
behaviour. It is elaborate sophisticated conflicted yet essential - without it our life
would have no meaning. On the other side is our rational brain. It generates an infinite world
of new ideas but often its need for focus generates sterile social beliefs and destructive
culture wars. Our rational side is brilliant but often it is wrong. For thousands of years
writers thinkers and philosophers have seen human life as a war between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Duncan shows that there is no war. To bring humanity and reality to the great conflicted
questions of our lives we need the dance between these two essential sides of ourselves.
