The Age of Insight: The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present by Eric R. Kandel
I purchased this book a long time ago, but I was hesitant to read it due to its thickness. However, I finally finished reading it today. The scope covered by this book is as wide as the author’s diverse academic background, and the level of knowledge is deep. If I were to describe the book in one word, it would be ‘elegant.’ Beginning with stories about modernist artists from around 1900 in Vienna, Austria, notably Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka and the early famous medical scientists exploring neuroscience, including Freud, this book explores the human unconscious and psychology. It also describes in detail neuroscience and how it relates to emotions and reactions that beholders feel when they see art. In particular, it offers many intriguing insights into visual perception and the theory of mind. Although the content is not easy to read due to its abstract nature, it contains many important research results and contents in cognitive science. After reading this book, I...