Critical Neuroscience: A Handbook of the Social and Cultural Contexts of Neuroscience

Critical Neuroscience: A Handbook of the Social and Cultural Contexts of Neuroscience brings together leading scholars in a collective effort to understand the impact of the intellectual, economic and political conditions on current views of the brain, and how these models may in turn impact society. The editors create an interdisciplinary forum, within which contributors engage in fruitful debate about the potential of tools, the complexities of data interpretation and the social, political and cultural context of neuroscience research.

Spanning such diverse fields as philosophy, anthropology, history of science and psychiatry, the book traces the history of contemporary models of the brain, and brings laboratory observations into the forefront of neuroscientific research. Contributions explore the problem spaces in which knowledge from neuroscience is called upon to classify 'kinds' of people, and the ways in which these findings impact on society in a diverse range of settings. Together, they engage the social sciences and humanities with experimental neuroscience, and address fundamental questions of how to critique neuroscience in society.

With illuminating insights and deep scholarly rigour, Critical Neuroscience offers a comprehensive interdisciplinary perspective that aims to enrich our understanding of the brain as situated in the body and world, and neuroscience as embedded in a complex cultural context.