The Self Delusion: The New Neuroscience of How We Invent--And Reinvent--Our Identities

A New York Times-bestselling author reveals how the stories we tell ourselves, about ourselves, are critical to our lives

We all know we tell stories about ourselves. But as psychiatrist and neuroscientist Gregory Berns argues in The Self Delusion, we don't just tell stories; we are the stories. Our self-identities are fleeting phenomena, continually reborn as our conscious minds receive, filter, or act on incoming information from the world and our memories.

Drawing on new research in neuroscience, social science, and psychiatry, Berns shows how our stories and our self-identities are temporary and therefore ever changing. Berns shows how we can embrace the delusion of a singular self to make our lives better, offering a plan not centered on what we think will be best for us, but predicated on minimizing regrets. Enlightening, empowering, and surprising, The Self Delusion shows us how to be the protagonist of the stories we want to tell.

ISBN-13: 9781541602298

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Basic Books

Publication Date: 10-18-2022

Pages: 304

Product Dimensions: 9.50(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.10(d)

Age Range: 13 - 18 Years

Gregory Berns is a professor of psychology at Emory University, where he directs the Center for Neuropolicy and Facility for Education & Research in Neuroscience. He is the author of several books, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller How Dogs Love Us. He lives on a farm near Atlanta, Georgia.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Self Delusion 1

Part I The Self across Time

Chapter 1 You Are a Simulation 15

Chapter 2 Early Memories 23

Chapter 3 Compression 35

Chapter 4 The Bayesian Brain 47

Chapter 5 The Bayesian Self 57

Chapter 6 All the Yous 73

Chapter 7 The Evolution of Narrative 91

Chapter 8 Narrative Forms 103

Part II The Self and Others

Chapter 9 Flavors of You 119

Chapter 10 The Evolution of Groupthink 131

Chapter 11 Moral Backbone 149

Chapter 12 The Banality of a Brain 165

Chapter 13 The Man with Half a Brain 181

Part III The Future of You

Chapter 14 Novels on the Brain 195

Chapter 15 Hijacked Narratives 211

Chapter 16 No Regrets 225

Chapter 17 The Good Life 237

Chapter 18 The Future of You 247

Epilogue 255

Acknowledgments 257

Notes 259

Index 275