5 Books To Give To A Psychologist For Christmas (2014 Edition)
Christmas is coming and with it the time to buy and give engagement gifts. We know that the need to give gifts is there because there is an industry that has placed these dates on our calendar, we also know that we have the rest of the year to give gifts and we realize that not all gifts have to be bought… And, however, our behavior around these dates always ends up being disappointingly predictable
As in almost all situations, there is a lesser evil. In this case this lesser evil can be, for example, give (or give yourself) a book Books are always a good gift. What better way to combine the material and the spiritual than to use a product from which knowledge can be extracted?
Thinking about those heroes of the protest Christmas who run the risk of going out at the last minute to buy any book dragged by remorse and consumerist impulses, we present a list with five perfect titles for those people interested in psychology.
1. Proust and Neuroscience: a unique vision of eight fundamental artists of modernity, by Jonah Lehrer
Eight parallels drawn between artistic processes and the discoveries that science makes about our minds. The fun is not so much in seeing how some artists advanced in a certain way to the scientists (recognizing the advances made by the imagination in scientific matters is still very subjective) but in learning certain fundamentals of brain functioning thanks to their comparison with the notion of memory that I had Marcel Proust the formation of the structure of language in the works of Gertrude Stein the recognition of the mind-body connection by Walt Whitman etc.
In all these topics, a very accessible explanation is offered about the scientific proposals of these eight cases and their artistic expression by the authors. More information here.
2. Brain and Freedom, by JoaquÃn M. Fuster
Interesting point of union between science and the humanities. Based on the materiality of the brain and the body, JoaquÃn M. Fuster delves into philosophical arenas to question the idea that the brain dominates our behavior just like a software computer scientist masters the operation of a computer.
The issue of human freedom and free decision-making is faced here based on data provided by scientific research. More information here.
3. The Book of Psychology, various authors
Following the same stylistic line as the rest of the titles The book of… from the AKAL publishing house, this book is actually a review of the history of psychology (with its successes and errors) from Galen to the end of the 20th century. It also offers visual solidity and a type of graphics that make it perfect for quick queries about authors, psychological principles, theories, etc.
Very good option for people who are beginning to study this discipline. More information here.
4. The Universe of Consciousness. How Matter Becomes Imagination, by Gerald M. Edelman and Giulio Tononi
In a similar way to Fuster’s book, this very interesting book aims to grasp a particularly abstract concept. In this case, the awareness , something private and infinitely subjective. The physical mechanisms that are carried out in our body will be explained so that an experiential scene that only belongs to us and that seems to have continuity over time appears to us, in an almost magical way.
It requires, however, an attentive and reflective reading, especially in its last third. More information here.
5. Think Fast, Think Slow, by Daniel Kahneman
Two ways of thinking: system 1, intuitive, emotional and fast, and system 2, logical, rational and slow. Behind this simple explanatory scheme, one of the very few psychologists awarded the Nobel Prize offers us a tour through what we know about our ways of thinking our way of managing these ways and the consequences that all this can have on our lives, human relationships and even the economy.
A best-seller from which you can learn a lot while having a good time. More information here.
2015 edition of books on psychology to give as a gift
