Tom Wolfe’s neuroscience idolatry
From it opening invocation describing the behavior of amygdalectomized cats (an allegory for the novel’s primary theme involving modern college life), Tom Wolfe’s newest novel, I am Charlotte Simmons, reads like a paen to modern neuroscience. I normally would not post this kind of stuff but I have been thinking that Wolfe’s novel is part of a larger phenomenon — the popularization and dissemination of neuroscience to a wider audience than ever before. For example, in the last few years, it is my impression that there have been many more articles in the NYT about neuroscience. I don’t recall seeing neuroscience-related articles there on such a frequent basis before.
Back to the topic on hand. I was especially eager to read Wolfe’s novel because he wrote it after visiting and observing students at a few colleges. Of note, he spent the most time (I think a whole year) at Stanford — my senior year there. His previous short story collection (Hooking Up), written right after his time at Stanford in 2001, does an excellent job of capturing snippets of college life, as any recent Stanford graduate can probably tell just from the title’s clever use of a popular new (well, relatively) phrase. Also, strangely enough, President Bush has repeatedly been seen reading Charlotte Simmons. With all the important world matters to read up on, why this book of college life? Between this fact and the Stanford connection, I decided to check the book out myself.
Here’s an excerpt from Charlotte talking to another student:
This class in neuroscience? It’s the most exciting subject in the world. It’s like in the future it’s going to be the key to just about everything
Ah, I agree entirely! Anyways, if you’re looking for a good read that includes some neuroscience idolatry, some crazy fraternity parties, and is recommended by none other than the President of the United States, Wolfe’s your man.
July 28th, 2005 at 5:03 pm
Correlatively, we can look forward to a right-wing cultural backlash like that against evolutionary biology. Many religious folk don’t take kindly to neuroscientists trampling on territory that used to be the stomping grounds of nonphysical souls. How long before school boards are trying to tout neuroscience as providing just one theory of the basis of the human mind, with soul mechanics being the alternative theory?
July 31st, 2005 at 12:03 am
In terms of right-wing cultural backlash, the future is now: the government is clearly moving towards making all University and College curriculae subject to primary production oversight by government appointees (read: republicans) instead of academic faculty or administration. To see some evidence for my statements, see the latest issue of Academe, the journal of the AAUP.