A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis (English) Paperback Book

Description: A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis, Fari Amini, Richard Lannon Debunking Freudian theory, the authors of this groundbreaking analysis of the biological underpinnings of love offer a new paradigm for understanding the human "heart", redefining family ties, community, and romance in the process. Reprint. 25,000 first printing. FORMAT Paperback LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description This original and lucid account of the complexities of love and its essential role in human well-being draws on the latest scientific research. Three eminent psychiatrists tackle the difficult task of reconciling what artists and thinkers have known for thousands of years about the human heart with what has only recently been learned about the primitive functions of the human brain.A General Theory of Love demonstrates that our nervous systems are not self-contained- from earliest childhood, our brains actually link with those of the people close to us, in a silent rhythm that alters the very structure of our brains, establishes life-long emotional patterns, and makes us, in large part, who we are. Explaining how relationships function, how parents shape their childs developing self, how psychotherapy really works, and how our society dangerously flouts essential emotional laws, this is a work of rare passion and eloquence that will forever change the way you think about human intimacy. Back Cover "The heart has its reasons whereof Reason knows nothing." In this fascinating account of the psychobiology of love, the authors uncover proof of Pascals famous statement. Drawing on new scientific discoveries about the human brain, they describe the workings of our ancient, pivotal urge for intimacy, revealing that our nervous systems are not self-contained: from earliest childhood our brains actually link with those of the people close to us in a silent rhythm that makes up the life force of the body. These wordless ties determine our mood, stabilize and maintain our health, and change the structure of our brains, so that, in a very real sense, who we are and who we become depend on whom we love. A General Theory of Love applies these extraordinary insights to some of the most crucial issues we face, explaining how relationships function, how parents shape a childs developing self, how psychotherapy really works, what fosters violence in children, and how modern society dangerously flouts our most basic emotional laws. A work of rare originality, passion, and eloquence, A General Theory of Love will forever change the way you think about human intimacy. Author Biography Thomas Lewis, M.D. is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, and a former associate director of the Affective Disorders Program there. Dr. Lewis currently divides his time between writing, private practice, and teaching at the UCSF medical school. He lives in Sausalito, California.Fari Amini, M.D. is a professor of psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine. Born and raised in Iran, he graduated from medical school at UCSF and has served on the faculty there for thirty-three years. Dr. Amini is married, has six children, and lives in Ross, California.Richard Lannon, M.D. is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCSF School of Medicine. In 1980, Dr. Lannon founded the Affective Disorders Program at UCSF, a pioneering effort to integrate psychological concepts with the emerging biology of the brain. Dr. Lannon is married and the father of two; he lives in Greenbrae, California. Review "An insightful look at the science of human emotions. . . . A rare example of the fusing of scientific rigor with literary eloquence." --San Fransisco Examiner"Bold. . . . Eminently readable. . . . Convincingly connects love and biology." --The Washington Post Book World"A lovely, furious book. . . . It puts love right where were not used to finding it--in the company of physics and economics as a suitable object of study. . . . Comparisons to Oliver Sacks and Lewis Thomas become inevitable." --San Francisco Chronicle"In elegant prose . . . [the authors] argue why we need a culture attuned to the ways of the heart." –Entertainment Weekly Review Quote Insightful. A rare example of the fusing of scientific rigor with literary eloquence.?San Francisco Examiner Excerpt from Book What is love, and why are some people unable to find it? What is loneliness, and why does it hurt? What are relationships, and how and why do they work the way they do? Answering these questions, laying bare the hearts deepest secrets, is this books aim. Since the dawn of our species, human beings in every time and place have contended with an unruly emotional core that behaves in unpredicted and confusing ways. Science has been unable to help them. The Western worlds first physician, Hippocrates, proposed in 450 B.C. that emotions emanate from the brain. He was right-but for the next twenty-five hundred years, medicine could offer nothing further about the details of emotional life. Matters of the heart were matters only for the arts-literature, song, poetry, painting, sculpture, dance. Until now. The past decade has seen an explosion of scientific discoveries about the brain, the leading edge of a revolution that promises to change the way we think about ourselves, our relationships, our children, and our society. Science can at last turn its penetrating gaze on humanitys oldest questions. Its revelations stand poised to shatter more than a few modern assumptions about the inner workings of love. Traditional versions of the mind hold that Passion is a troublesome remnant from humanitys savage past, and the intellectual subjugation of emotion is civilizations triumph. Logical but dubious derivations follow: emotional maturity is synonymous with emotional restraint. Schools can teach children missing emotional skills just as they impart the facts of geometry or history. To feel better, outthink your stubborn and recalcitrant heart. So says convention. In this book, we demonstrate that where intellect and emotion clash, the heart often has the greater wisdom. In a pleasing turnabout, science-Reasons right hand-is proving this so. The brains ancient emotional architecture is not a bothersome animal encumbrance. Instead, it is nothing less than the key to our lives. We live immersed in unseen forces and silent messages that shape our destinies. As individuals and as a culture, our chance for happiness depends on our ability to decipher a hidden world that revolves-invisibly, improbably, inexorably-around love. From birth to death, love is not just the focus of human experience but also the life force of the mind, determining our moods, stabilizing our bodily rhythms, and changing the structure of our brains. The bodys physiology ensures that relationships determine and fix our identities. Love makes us who we are, and who we can become. In these pages, we explain how and why this is so. During the long centuries when science slumbered, humanity relied on the arts to chronicle the hearts mysterious ways. That accumulated wisdom is not to be disdained. This book, while traveling deep into the realm of science, keeps close at hand the humanism that renders such a journey meaningful. The thoughts of researchers and empiricists join those of poets, philosophers, and kings. Their respective starting points may be disparate in space, time, and temperament, but the voices in this volume rise and converge toward a common goal. Every book, if it is anything at all, is an argument: an articulate arrow of words, fledged and notched and newly anointed with sharpened stone, speeding through paragraphs to its shimmering target. This book-as it elucidates the shaping power of parental devotion, the biological reality of romance, the healing force of communal connection-argues for love. Turn the page, and the arrow is loosed. The heart it seeks is your own. Details ISBN0375709223 Author Richard Lannon Short Title GENERAL THEORY OF LOVE Pages 288 Language English ISBN-10 0375709223 ISBN-13 9780375709227 Media Book Format Paperback DEWEY 152.41 Year 2001 Imprint Vintage Books Place of Publication New York Country of Publication United States Birth 1964 Residence Sausalito, CA, US DOI 10.1604/9780375709227 AU Release Date 2001-01-09 NZ Release Date 2001-01-09 US Release Date 2001-01-09 UK Release Date 2001-01-09 Publisher Random House USA Inc Publication Date 2001-01-09 Illustrations 50 ILLUSTRATIONS Audience General We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:2626861;

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