Neither gods nor beasts : how science is changing who we think we are / Elof Axel Carlson.

Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. : Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, [2008], ©2008.

xi, 179 pages ; 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Humanity in a prescientific universe -- Living on automatic pilot -- Between gods and beasts -- Our negative image of our animal self -- Mind, soul, ideals, and the ephemeral -- Confronting and recognizing our biology -- Biology becomes mechanistic and emerges as a science -- The human body is composed of cells -- The body evolves -- Most human traits are determined by genes, which are composed of DNA -- We have a life cycle and sexuality that is genetically programmed -- Neurobiology reveals how the brain works -- How should we perceive humanity in the third millennium? -- The blank slate, the human nature, and the biological determinism fallacies -- Human nature as potential for forming communities -- Science enriches our appreciation of the arts and humanities -- Moral values bind a community -- The human condition and our world view change every generation -- Rethinking science teaching -- A human outlook for the third millennium.