The Astonishing Hypothesis
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The Astonishing Hypothesis is Francis Crick's book about consciousness. The book is mostly concerned with establishing a basis for scientific study of consciousness, but Crick places the study of consciousness within a larger social context. Human consciousness is central to human existence and so scientists find themselves approaching the topic after others have already claimed the territory. Crick does not try to avoid the resulting turf battle between scientists, philosophers, and the Catholic Church.
Public perceptions of science and the questions that scientists are willing to ask are strongly influenced by religion. Crick has discussed the relationship between science and religion in his earlier book What Mad Pursuit. Crick's view of this relationship is that religions can be wrong about scientific matters and part of what science does is confront the errors that exist within religious traditions. For example, the idea of a mechanism for the evolution of life by natural selection is opposed by some who fear that it undermines belief in creation of life by divine intervention. Crick's subtitle for The Astonishing Hypothesis is The Scientific Search For The Soul . Crick argues that traditional conceptualizations of the soul as a non-material being must be replaced by a materialistic understanding of how the brain produces mind. The publicity generated by opposition to scientific ideas such as natural selection or the scientific study of the soul brings such topics out of the rather obscure literature of science and into general public debate. In this book, Crick tries to hold up his end of this debate.
Those who oppose ideas such as natural selection are often frustrated by the difficulty of trying, as outsiders, to influence science and science education. This frustration sometimes results in emotional opposition to specific scientific ideas such as natural selection. The Catholic Church still advises scientists not to question the divine origin of the human soul. Scientists have learned lessons from public debate of topics such as evolution by natural selection. Many scientists now avoid public discussion of any topic that is part of religious doctrine. Crick is not one to avoid a confrontation between religion and science.
Francis Crick was one of the co-discoverers of the molecular structure of the genetic molecule, DNA. Crick served as an important theorist who helped guide the growth of molecular biology, the science that makes it possible for modern medicine to understand and combat diseases such as AIDS. More recently, Crick has become a theorist for neurobiology and the study of the brain. Crick's book The Astonishing Hypothesis boldly announced to the public that the human soul is a subject of scientific investigation.
In his book, Crick presented an idea that has great potential to provoke wide-spread public discussion and opposition. The 1990s were declared the Decade of the Brain by some administrators of science research. Within the rather small brain science community, researchers began discovering mechanisms of brain function that may account for the human soul. Few researchers care to inform the public of the implications of such research for fear of offending those who believe in non-material or eternal souls. Crick, as one of the icons of science, does not have to ask Congress for funding, so he is not afraid to confront the religious implications of modern neuroscience research.
In his review of Crick's book, J. J. Hopfield (Science magazine, 4 February 1994) concluded that, "The book should be read by scientists for its eloquent attempt to put consciousness, which we so much equate with the essence of our humanity, into the realm of science." Crick's book is an heroic attempt to wrest consciousness from the hands of philosophers and place it in the hands of scientists.
Crick's Astonishing Hypothesis is that, "a person's mental activities are entirely due to the behavior of nerve cells, glial cells, and the atoms, ions, and molecules that make them up and influence them." Crick shows how scientific study of the brain during this 1900's has brought us to the point where scientists can now accept consciousness, free will, and the human soul as subjects for scientific investigation.
There are many who feel threatened by the idea (to quote Crick) that, "You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and your ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will, are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules." Crick confronts these fears directly by using an unscientific word, soul. Crick is confrontational in his approach and challenges religious believers with the idea that there is a scientific view of the soul as being just one more manifestation of brain physiology.
For anyone with an interest in how their brain produces conscious experiences, Crick provides a guided tour of this largely unexplored territory. Crick argues that we need not fear this exploration. In coming decades, science may reveal the mechanisms of mind and provide humans with powerful means to control their brains. Crick's book is an invitation to understand this brave new world.
The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search For The Soul (Scribner reprint edition, 1995) ISBN 0684801582