The Political Brain

The Emergence of Neuropolitics
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-963-386-659-7
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd (Sales)

Buch, Englisch, 120 Seiten, Format (B × H): 129 mm x 198 mm, Gewicht: 137 g

Reihe: CEU Press Perspectives

We have politics on our mind—or, rather, we have politics in different parts of our brains. In this path-breaking study, Matt Qvortrup takes the reader on a whistle stop tour through the fascinating, and sometimes frightening, world of neuropolitics; the discipline that combines neuroscience and politics, and is even being used to win elections.

Putting the 'science' back into political science, The Political Brain shows how fMRI-scans can identify differences between Liberals and Conservatives, can predict our behaviour with sometimes greater accuracy than surveys, and can explain the biology of uprisings, revolutions, and wars.

Not merely a study of empirical evidence, the book shows how the philosophical theories of, among others, Plato, Aristotle, and Spinoza can be supported by brain scans. Along the way, it also provides an overview of the state-of-the-art knowledge of the organ that shapes our politics. The book shows that if we rely on evolutionary primitive parts of the midbrain—those engaged when we succumb to polarised politics—we stand in danger of squandering the gains we made through the last eight million years.

Zielgruppe

Academic

Autoren/Hrsg.

Qvortrup, Mark

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Theorie, Politische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Foreword Barbara J. Sahakian Preface: The Brain in Political Research Introduction: The State of Neuropolitics Chapter One: The Brain: A Philosophical and Historical Introduction Chapter Two: The Neuropolitics of Us and Them Chapter Three: Social Neuroscience, Political Attitudes, and Election Campaigns Chapter Four: The Listening Brain: The State We Ought to Be In Epilogue: Inconclusive, Scientific Postscript, Notes, Subject Index Name, Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Matt Qvortrup is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Coventry University. He studied human biology before gaining a doctorate in politics at the University of Oxford. A recognized expert on political behavior, he presented the BBC program “The Political Brain” on BBC Radio 4 and is co-founder of the company NeuropoliticsAndMarketing.com.