Believing: The Neuroscience of Fantasies, Fears, and Convictions

Our thoughts and actions are overwhelmingly influenced by our beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are supported by external evidence, writes McGuire (emeritus, psychiatry & behavioral sciences, Univ. of California, Los Angeles). He promises to reveal how the brain gives rise to principles and narrows the perception of any divide between beliefs and evidence. His work, however, contains little neuroscientific information. Instead, it is a largely personal contemplation of how humans evolved to generate and hold on to myriad beliefs about themselves and the world. Not only does the book fail to tackle the neurobiology underlying belief formation and persistence, its meandering and loose structure makes it difficult for the reader to discern its intended main points. Moreover, with the inclusion of seemingly unrelated personal anecdotes from the author, the book at times comes across as a narrative of the text's creation rather than an insightful exploration into how beliefs become ingrained in the brain.