I really liked the concept of this book, but the execution wasn't quite there. Pigliucci is a good writer but I don't think he put a lot of work into this book. ( )

One of the better books I read in 2012. As a long-time reader of Massimo's blog, I was keen to see his thoughts fleshed out more and I wasn't disappointed. The central idea is that while science is a wonderful, powerful tool for understanding the world, it's not enough -- contrary to currently-popular beliefs -- to circumscribe all possible knowledge. There are some things that science alone simply cannot and will not ever be able to tell us.

Countering both the primacy of science as well as the roadblock presented by its limitations, Massimo proposes a return to scientia, for which he has in mind a synthesis of science and philosophy (which he calls "sci-phi") meant to reflect that more expansive scope of knowledge-in-total. The book covers a tremendous breadth of topics from this perspective, though much of it centers on human nature: who we are, how we behave and relate to one another, what we can know about the world.

Some topics here will be familiar to those following contemporary biology, and particularly pop-science treatments that attempt to relate those fields to psychological, moral/ethical and political matters. However, Massimo brings the philosopher to bear on these findings and provides a unique perspective on what can otherwise descend into unsupported scientism.

As much as I'm in science's "camp", I also believe we have to be honest, even brutal, in our criticism of it. Science is limited in many dimensions, not least of which being the difficulty in saying exactly what it is, and while I understand why there's such a push towards making science seem privileged and untouchable, I don't believe that's the right course of action. Massimo deftly explains why, as well as what might be a more reasonable course of action, and given his dual background as both a practicing scientist and professional philosopher, he's well situated to make this case.

The book is well-written and intended for those without any particular scientific or philosophical training, and I'd highly recommend it for anyone who would read about modern neuroscience or psychology or anything else under the heading of "biology shapes humanity". ( )