Questioning Human Nature - by Andreas Steck & Barbara Steck (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Examining the conscious and unconscious emotional forces that drive us, Questioning Human Nature offers new insights into human interactions and the challenges we face in an increasingly turbulent world.

Our time is marked by looming global crises: war, climate change, pandemics, migration, poverty, and hunger. Thanks to the extraordinary development of the human forebrain, we possess remarkable cognitive abilities--skills, achievements, and seemingly unlimited capacities for problem-solving and creative thinking. And yet, these unprecedented scientific advances have not prevented wars, aggression, or social inequality. Humanity appears unable to learn from the lessons of its own history. Why do abuses and conflicts keep recurring? In this book, the authors explore this fundamental question through an interdisciplinary lens. While the rational brain has made extraordinary progress, the emotional brain has evolved far less and continues to shape human behavior--particularly in relation to aggression, violence, and destructiveness.

About the Author

Andreas Steck is professor emeritus of neurology at the University of Basel. He was the president of the Swiss Neurological Society and a founding member and president of the European Neurological Society. Barbara Steck is a lecturer emeritus in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychotherapy at the University of Basel. She is author or coauthor of books on adoption, psychosomatics, and indications for psychotherapy in children and adolescents. Together, they are also coauthors of Brain and Mind.