A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind—our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions—and how mind and brain relate to art.
At the turn of the century, Vienna was the cultural capital of Europe. Artists and scientists met in glittering salons, where they freely exchanged ideas that led to revolutionary breakthroughs in psychology, brain science, literature, and art. Kandel takes us into the world of Vienna to trace, in rich and rewarding detail, the ideas and advances made then, and their enduring influence today.
The Vienna School of Medicine led the way with its realization that truth lies hidden beneath the surface. That principle infused Viennese culture and strongly influenced the other pioneers of Vienna 1900. Sigmund Freud shocked the world with his insights into how our everyday unconscious aggressive and erotic desires are repressed and disguised in symbols, dreams, and behavior. Arthur Schnitzler revealed women’s unconscious sexuality in his novels through his innovative use of the interior monologue. Gustav Klimt, Oscar Kokoschka, and Egon Schiele created startlingly evocative and honest portraits that expressed unconscious lust, desire, anxiety, and the fear of death.
Kandel tells the story of how these pioneers—Freud, Schnitzler, Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele—inspired by the Vienna School of Medicine, in turn influenced the founders of the Vienna School of Art History to ask pivotal questions such as What does the viewer bring to a work of art? How does the beholder respond to it? These questions prompted new and ongoing discoveries in psychology and brain biology, leading to revelations about how we see and perceive, how we think and feel, and how we respond to and create works of art. Kandel, one of the leading scientific thinkers of our time, places these five innovators in the context of today’s cutting-edge science and gives us a new understanding of the modernist art of Klimt, Kokoschka, and Schiele, as well as the school of thought of Freud and Schnitzler. Reinvigorating the intellectual enquiry that began in Vienna 1900, The Age of Insight is a wonderfully written, superbly researched, and beautifully illustrated book that also provides a foundation for future work in neuroscience and the humanities. It is an extraordinary book from an international leader in neuroscience and intellectual history.
About the Author
Eric R. Kandel is University Professor and Kavli Professor at Columbia University and a Senior Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Kandel is founding director of the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, and recipient of the 2000 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on memory storage in the brain. He is the author of In Search of Memory, a memoir that won a Los Angeles Times Book Award, and co-author of Principles of Neural Science, the standard textbook in the field. He was born in Vienna and lives in New York with his wife, Denise.
Advance praise for The Age of Insight
“Eric Kandel has succeeded in a brilliant synthesis that would have delighted and fascinated Freud: Using Viennese culture of the twentieth century as a lens, he examines the intersections of psychology, neuroscience, and art. The Age of Insight is a tour-de-force that sets the stage for a twenty-first-century understanding of the human mind in all its richness and diversity.” —Oliver Sacks, author of The Mind’s Eye and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat
“In a polymathic performance, a Nobel laureate weaves together the theories and practices of neuroscience, art and psychology to show how our creative brains perceive and engage art—and are consequently moved by it. . . . A transformative work that joins the hands of Art and Science and makes them acknowledge their close kinship.” —Kirkus Reviews (STARRED)
“A fascinating synthesis of art, history, and science that is also accessible to the general reader. A distinctive and important title that is also a pleasure to read” —Library Journal (STARRED)
“Engrossing … Nobel-winning neuroscientist Kandel excavates the hidden workings of the creative mind. Kandel writes perceptively about a range of topics, from art history—the book’s color reproductions alone make it a great browse—to dyslexia. … Kandel captures the reader’s imagination with intriguing historical syntheses and fascinating scientific insights into how we see—and feel—the world.” —Publisher’s Weekly
“A fascinating meditation on the interplay among art, psychology and brain science. The author, who fled Vienna as a child, has remained captivated by Austrian artists Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele, each of whom was profoundly influenced by Sigmund Freud and by the emerging scientific approach to medicine in their day … [calls] for a new, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the mind, one that combines the humanities with the natural and social sciences.” —Scientific American
“Eric Kandel’s book is a stunning achievement, remarkable for its scientific, artistic, and historical insights. No one else could have written this book—all its readers will be amply rewarded.” —Howard Gardner, Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
“Eric Kandel’s training as a psychiatrist and his vast knowledge of how the brain works enrich this thoroughly original exploration of the relationship between the birth of psychoanalysis, Austrian Expressionism, and Modernism in Vienna.” —Margaret Livingstone, Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School
“This is the book that Charles Darwin would have produced, had he chosen to write about art and aesthetics. Kandel, one of the great pioneers of modern neuroscience, has effectively bridged the ‘two cultures’—science and humanities. This is a task that many philosophers, especially those called ‘new mysterians,’ had considered impossible.” —V. S. Ramachandran, author of The Tell-Tale Brain
“Eric Kandel has created a masterpiece, synthesizing brain, mind, and art like no one has before.” —Joseph LeDoux, NYU, author of The Emotional Brain and Synaptic Self
“[This book] offers not only a stunning organic (in every sense of the word) view of fin de siecle culture but also opens new vistas in bioesthetics. It explores the often shocking neurology of the beautiful. And it shows how artist and scientist interlace in the common quest to discover the innards of reality. ‘I don’t render the visible,’ said Paul Klee, ‘I make visible.’ He echoed Edna St. Vincent Millay’s ‘Euclid alone looked on beauty bare.’ Eric Kandel is of that company.” —Frederic Morton
“Nobel laureate Eric Kandel’s path-setting exploration of the connections between neuroscience and the painters Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka establishes a new frontier in the study of this all-important historical period. The shift toward a biological conception of self, which began in Vienna over a hundred years ago, has since decisively shaped our understanding of human nature.” —Jane Kallir, director, Galerie St. Etienne
“With infectuous enthusiasm and limitless reverence for his multiple subjects, Kandel deftly steers the reader through a vast and inviting territory of science, the creative process, the mind, emotion, eroticism, empathy, feminism, and the unconscious. Years in the making, this highly readable book presents a magisterial study of brain, mind, and art.” —Alessandra Comini, University Distinguished Professor of Art History Emerita, Southern Methodist University
"Kwanza, kitabu cha Eric R. Kandel, ""The Age of Insight,"" kinachukua watu Vienna, 1900 ambapo viongozi katika sayansi, dawa, na sanaa walianza mapinduzi ambayo yalibadilisha milele jinsi tunavyofikiria akili ya binadamu - mawazo na hisia zetu za fahamu na zisizo za fahamu - na jinsi akili na ubongo vinavyohusiana na sanaa." Mwanzoni mwa karne hiyo, Vienna ilikuwa mji mkuu wa kitamaduni wa Ulaya. Wasanii na wanasayansi walikutana katika vyumba vyenye kung'aa, ambapo walibadilishana mawazo ambayo yalisababisha uvumbuzi mkubwa katika saikolojia, sayansi ya ubongo, fasihi, na sanaa. Kandel anatupeleka katika ulimwengu wa Vienna kufuatilia, kwa maelezo tajiri na yenye thawabu, mawazo na maendeleo yaliyofanywa wakati huo, na ushawishi wao wa kudumu leo. Shule ya Tiba ya Vienna iliongoza kwa kutambua kwamba ukweli uko chini ya uso. Mtazamo huo ulijenga utamaduni wa Vienna na kuwa na uvutano mkubwa juu ya waanzilishi wengine wa Vienna ya 1900. Sigmund Freud alishangaza ulimwengu kwa ufahamu wake juu ya jinsi tamaa zetu za kila siku za kukandamiza na za ngono zinavyokandamizwa na kufichwa katika alama, ndoto, na tabia. Arthur Schnitzler alifunua jinsia ya wanawake isiyo ya fahamu katika riwaya zake kupitia matumizi yake ya ubunifu ya monologue ya ndani. Gustav Klimt, Oscar Kokoschka, na Egon Schiele waliunda picha zenye kuvutia na za kweli ambazo zilieleza tamaa, tamaa, wasiwasi, na hofu ya kifo. "Kandel anaelezea jinsi waanzilishi hawa - Freud, Schnitzler, Klimt, Kokoschka, na Schiele - walichochewa na Shule ya Tiba ya Vienna, na kwa upande wao waliwaathiri waanzilishi wa Shule ya Historia ya Sanaa ya Vienna kuuliza maswali muhimu kama vile ""Mtazamaji huleta nini kwenye kazi ya sanaa?""" Mtazamaji huitikiaje? Maswali haya yalisababisha uvumbuzi mpya na unaoendelea katika saikolojia na biolojia ya ubongo, na kuongoza kwa ufunuo kuhusu jinsi tunavyoona na kutambua, jinsi tunavyofikiria na kuhisi, na jinsi tunavyoitikia na kuunda kazi za sanaa. Kandel, mmoja wa wasomi wa kisayansi wa wakati wetu, anawaweka wavumbuzi hawa watano katika muktadha wa sayansi ya kisasa ya cutting-edge na inatupa uelewa mpya wa sanaa ya kisasa ya Klimt, Kokoschka, na Schiller, pamoja na shule ya mawazo ya Freud na Schnitzler. "Kuchanganya utafiti wa kiakili ulioanza Vienna 1900, ""The Age of Insight"" ni kitabu kilichoandikwa kwa uzuri, kilichotafitiwa kwa uzuri, na kilichoonyeshwa kwa uzuri, ambacho pia hutoa msingi wa kazi ya baadaye katika sayansi ya neva na sayansi ya kibinadamu." Ni kitabu cha ajabu kutoka kwa kiongozi wa kimataifa katika sayansi ya neva na historia ya kiakili. Eric R. Kandel ni Profesa wa Chuo Kikuu na Profesa wa Kavli katika Chuo Kikuu cha Columbia na Mtafiti Mkuu katika Taasisi ya Matibabu ya Howard Hughes. Kandel ni mkurugenzi mwanzilishi wa Kituo cha Neurobiolojia na Utendaji katika Chuo Kikuu cha Madaktari na Madaktari wa Chuo Kikuu cha Columbia, na mpokeaji wa Tuzo ya Nobel ya Fisiolojia au Tiba ya 2000 kwa kazi yake juu ya kuhifadhi kumbukumbu katika ubongo. Yeye ni mwandishi wa In Search of Memory, kumbukumbu ambayo ilishinda Los Angeles Times Book Award, na mwandishi mwenza wa kanuni za sayansi ya neva, kitabu cha kawaida katika uwanja huu. Alizaliwa Vienna na anaishi New York na mkewe, Denise. "Eric Kandel amefanikiwa katika mchanganyiko mzuri ambao ungemfurahisha na kumvutia Freud: ""Kwa kutumia utamaduni wa Vienna wa karne ya ishirini kama lensi, anachunguza makutano ya saikolojia, neuroscience, na sanaa.""" "The Age of Insight ni tour de force ambayo huweka hatua kwa ajili ya karne ya ishirini na moja ya kuelewa akili ya binadamu katika utajiri wake wote na utofauti. "" - Oliver Sacks, mwandishi wa ""Mtazamo wa akili"" na ""Mtu ambaye Mke wake kwa Koseji"" - Katika maonyesho polymathic, mshindi wa tuzo ya Nobel weaves pamoja nadharia na mazoea ya neuroscience, sanaa na saikolojia kuonyesha jinsi ubongo wetu ubunifu kutambua na kushiriki sanaa." . . . Kazi ya mabadiliko ambayo inaunganisha mikono ya Sanaa na Sayansi na kuwafanya watambue ukoo wao wa karibu. <unk> <unk> Kirkus Reviews (STARRED) <unk>Uchanganuzi wa kuvutia wa sanaa, historia, na sayansi ambayo pia inapatikana kwa msomaji wa kawaida. "Kandeli, mwandishi wa ""Library Journal"" na ""The New York Times,"" ambaye ni mwanasayansi wa neva na mshindi wa tuzo ya Nobel, anachunguza jinsi akili ya ubunifu inavyofanya kazi." Kandel anaandika kwa ufahamu juu ya mada mbalimbali, kutoka historia ya sanaa - uzalishaji wa rangi ya kitabu peke yake hufanya iwe kivutio kikubwa - kwa dyslexia. Kandel anashika mawazo ya msomaji na syntheses ya kihistoria ya kuvutia na ufahamu wa kisayansi wa kuvutia juu ya jinsi tunavyoona na kuhisi ulimwengu. <unk> <unk> Publisher's Weekly <unk> Tafakari ya kuvutia juu ya mwingiliano kati ya sanaa, saikolojia na sayansi ya ubongo. "Mwandishi, ambaye alikimbia Vienna akiwa mtoto, amebaki akivutiwa na wasanii wa Austria Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka na Egon Schiele, kila mmoja wao aliathiriwa sana na Sigmund Freud na mbinu ya kisayansi inayoibuka ya dawa katika siku zao... [inaomba] mbinu mpya ya interdisciplinary ya kuelewa akili, moja ambayo inachanganya sayansi ya binadamu na sayansi ya asili na kijamii. """ "Hakuna mtu mwingine angeweza kuandika kitabu hiki, wasomaji wake wote watapata thawabu kubwa. "" - Howard Gardner, Profesa wa Hobbs wa Utambuzi na Elimu, Shule ya Elimu ya Harvard, Eric Kandel, mafunzo yake kama daktari wa akili na maarifa yake makubwa ya jinsi ubongo unavyofanya kazi, huongeza utafiti huu wa asili wa uhusiano kati ya kuzaliwa kwa psychoanalysis, Ufafasi wa Austria, na Modernism huko Vienna. - Margaret Livingstone, Profesa wa Neurobiology, Shule ya Tiba ya Harvard." Kandel, mmoja wa waanzilishi wakubwa wa sayansi ya neva ya kisasa, kwa ufanisi amefanya daraja kati ya "tamaduni mbili" sayansi na sayansi ya binadamu. Hii ni kazi ambayo wanafalsafa wengi, hasa wale wanaoitwa "mafumbo mapya", walikuwa wameona kuwa haiwezekani. "S. Ramachandran, mwandishi wa ""The Tell-Tale Brain"" ameunda kazi bora, akichanganya ubongo, akili, na sanaa kama hakuna mtu aliyewahi kufanya kabla ya ""Joseph LeDoux, NYU, mwandishi wa ""The Emotional Brain and Synaptic Self"" hutoa sio tu mtazamo wa kipekee wa kikaboni (katika kila maana ya neno) wa utamaduni wa karne lakini pia hufungua maono mapya katika bioesthetics." Inachunguza mfumo wa neva wa mara nyingi wenye kushtua wa uzuri. Na inaonyesha jinsi msanii na mwanasayansi wanavyounganishwa katika jitihada ya kawaida ya kugundua mambo ya ndani ya hali halisi. "Ninafanya kitu kuwa kinachoonekana, "" alisema Paul Klee, ""Ninafanya kitu kuwa kinachoonekana"" - akirudia maneno ya Edna St. Vincent Millay, ""Euclid peke yake aliona uzuri bila kujali"" - Eric Kandel ni mmoja wa wale ambao ni ""Frederick Morton, mshindi wa tuzo ya Nobel, Eric Kandel, ""mchoro wa kuanzisha njia ya uchunguzi wa uhusiano kati ya neuroscience na wachoraji Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele na Oskar Koukoska." "Kwenye mwelekeo wa kubadilisha mtazamo wa kibiolojia wa nafsi, ambayo ilianza Vienna zaidi ya miaka mia moja iliyopita, tangu wakati huo imebadilisha kabisa uelewa wetu wa asili ya kibinadamu. ""Jane Kallir, Mkurugenzi, Galerie St. Etienne, kwa shauku ya kuambukiza na heshima isiyo na kikomo kwa mada zake nyingi, Kandel anaongoza msomaji kupitia eneo kubwa na la kualika la sayansi, mchakato wa ubunifu, akili, hisia, eroticism, hisia, feminism, na isiyo ya fahamu." "Kama kitabu cha ""Mwanzoni mwa Utafiti,"" kitabu hiki kinaonyesha utafiti wa ubongo, akili, na sanaa, na kinaonyesha jinsi ubongo unavyoweza kuathiri akili na akili."