the brain, the mind and the person within -- a book review

Mark Cosgrove's The Brain, the Mind, and the Person Within: The Enduring Mystery of the Soul is a sheer joy to read.  While Cosgrove covers quite a bit of ground with the neurobiology and neuroscience fields in this brief book, the integration of those fields into a theological conversation are a delight!  Some readers might think the subtitle deceptive once they've finished the book (spoiler alert:  It's hard to know where Cosgrove lands himself on the question of the soul), but you'll doubtless be led to consider the myopic nature of so much scientism:  The human person cannot be reduced to the sum total of their constituent physical parts.  

What serious readers will find here, though, is a informative introduction into some the leading edges of neuroscience.  I've said for any number of years that the next big debate in the theology and science dialogue will happen at just this point.  And The Brain, the Mind and the Person Within is a smart and fabulous place to begin immersing yourself into that conversation.  Theologians -- and particularly college students and seminarians -- will find approachable and even at times funny chapters on big questions surrounding free will, cognitive science of religion, personhood, transhumanism, the hard problem of consciousness, etc.  The case studies alone make this an invaluable addition to any theological library.  But students will find some of the most important thinkers in this field introduced and discussed -- from Augustine to John Polkinghorne.

Overall this book is a great introduction to psychology and neuroscience for theologians.  But if you're looking for something more advanced than an introduction, you probably should look elsewhere.
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I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.