Strange Order of Things

From one of our preeminent neuroscientists: a landmark reflection on the origins of life, feelings, mind, and culture that spans chemistry, biology, psychology, anthropology, and sociology, offering a new way of understanding who we are and how we behave.

We descend biologically, psychologically, and even socially from a long lineage that begins with single living cells. Our minds and cultures are linked by an invisible thread to the ways and means of ancient unicellular life and other life-forms. Inherent to the very chemistry of life is a powerful force, a striving toward life maintenance that governs life in all its guises, including the development of genes that help regulate and transmit life. The Strange Order of Things is a path-breaking investigation into homeostasis, the condition of regulating life within the range that makes possible not only the survival but the flourishing of life.