As I mentioned a
month ago, when I am not finished with the current book in time to write about
it for Friday, I intend to write about some other kind of mind issue. Finishing the book might be faster than
deciding on a topic, but I will try.
In my reading
over the last while, I have noticed that books about mind tend to fall into
three categories: physical, philosophical,
and, well, woo-woo (Not that I have anything against woo-woo. I lived in Berkeley for a long time, own
several tie-died items of clothing, and sometimes believe my printer is
possessed by evil spirits.). As is often
the case, the most interesting stuff seems to happen at the intersections.
The book I’m
halfway through and intend to write about when I’m done is an introduction to physical
anthropology that I stole fair and square from my kid after he took a course in
it a few semesters ago. It reminds me of
much of my college experience because the authors often lay out several
alternative and interesting theories with various evidence and then posit that
some kind of synthesis is probably most accurate.
For the most
part, the synthesis between the physical, philosophical, and woo-woo needs to
be home-made. The physical experts are
great on the how of it all. The
philosophers tend to discuss deep content and meta-content. The woo-woo add the je ne sais quois that occasionally makes sense on some other plane
entirely. So, for example, when I read
about Hox genes and the way they develop body patterns and then I go to yoga
where we move in ways inspired by those patterns from our animal history while
focusing on our breathing, I find connections that improve body, mind, and
spirit.
