Get Free Shipping on orders over $0
Brainwashing : The Science of Thought Control - Kathleen Taylor
eTextbook alternate format product

Instant online reading.
Don't wait for delivery!

Go digital and save!

Brainwashing

The Science of Thought Control

By: Kathleen Taylor

Paperback | 23 April 2017

At a Glance

Paperback


$34.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $8.75 with

 or 

Ships in 5 to 10 business days

Throughout history, humans have attempted to influence and control the thoughts of others. Since the word 'brainwashing' was coined in the aftermath of the Korean War, it has become part of the popular culture and been exploited to create sensational headlines. It has also been the subject of learned discussion from many disciplines: including history, sociology, psychology, and psychotherapy. But until now, a crucial part of the debate has been missing: that of any serious reference to the science of the human brain. Descriptions of how opinions can be changed, whether by persuasion, deceit, or force, have been almost entirely psychological.

In Brainwashing, Kathleen Taylor brought the worlds of neuroscience and social psychology together for the first time. In elegant and accessible prose, and with abundant use of anecdotes and case-studies, she examines the ethical problems involved in carrying out the required experiments on humans, the limitations of animal models, and the frightening implications of such research. She also explores the history of thought-control and shows how it persists all around us, from marketing and television, to politics and education.

This edition includes a new preface from the author reflecting on the uses of brainwashing today, including by the Islamic State.

Oxford Landmark Science books are 'must-read' classics of modern science writing which have crystallized big ideas, and shaped the way we think.
Industry Reviews
Review from previous edition: 'A magisterially detailed survey... Taylor is never less than direct and engaging.  The subject may be difficult but the writing never is.  With no hint at all of academic pretension, this is a model of how to make hard science accessible without rendering it impossibly watered down or patronising.  This is an outstanding book.  Academic researchers and human rights professionals will find it a goldmine of relevant research and information.  And anyone else interested in psychology will find it a thrill.' -- Focus Magazine 12/2004`The book is to be commended. Taylor writes engagingly.' -- THES`I can't remember when I last encountered such a thoroughly argued book which was also so accessible.  A miracle of cogency.' -- Morning Star`An ambitious and well-written study' -- The Guardian

More in Philosophy of The Mind

Stalking the Wild Pendulum : On the Mechanics of Consciousness - Itzhak Bentov
Beyond Good and Evil : Penguin Classics - Friedrich Nietzsche

RRP $17.99

$15.40

14%
OFF
Manifest - Roxie Nafousi

Hardcover

RRP $32.99

$20.60

38%
OFF
Wild Unknown : The Wild Unknown - Kim Krans

RRP $36.99

$29.15

21%
OFF
Inner Engineering : A Yogi's Guide to Joy - Sadhguru

RRP $44.99

$35.75

21%
OFF
Essay Books : Essay Books - The School of Life

RRP $22.99

$18.99

17%
OFF
Plain Life : On thinking, feeling and deciding - Antonia Pont

RRP $34.99

$29.99

14%
OFF
Bright Shining : how grace changes everything - Julia Baird

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
All Things Are Full of Gods : The Mysteries of Mind and Life - David Bentley Hart
The Journey : Big Panda and Tiny Dragon - James Norbury

RRP $35.00

$28.75

18%
OFF
Tao Te Ching : Traditional Wisdom - Stephen Mitchell

RRP $27.99

$23.75

15%
OFF
Against Interpretation and Other Essays : Penguin Modern Classics - Susan Sontag
Rationality : What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters - Steven Pinker
The Nicomachean Ethics : Oxford World's Classics - Aristotle

RRP $24.95

$21.75

13%
OFF