The Kingdom of Infinite Space
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A Portrait of Your Head
Raymond Tallis
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A joyful tour of the human head and of what we make of the astonishing processes that take place within it
In this pathbreaking book, one of Britain’s most eloquent and original thinkers writes about the head, what happens in it, and how it is and is not connected to our sense of identity and consciousness. Blending science, philosophy, and humor, Raymond Tallis examines the extraordinarily complex relationship we have with our heads. His aim, as he says, “is to turn readers into astonished tourists of the piece of the world that is closest to them, so they never again take for granted the head that looks at them from the mirror.” Readers will delight that this is precisely what he accomplishes.
The voyage begins with a meditation on the self-portrait of a mirror image, followed by a consideration of the head’s various secretions. Tallis contemplates the air we exhale; the subtle meanings of nods, winks, and smiles; the mysteries of hearing, taste, and smell. He discusses the metaphysics of the gaze, the meaning of kissing, and the processes by which the head comes to understand the world. Along the way he offers intriguing digressions on such notions as “having” and “using” one’s head, and enjoying and suffering it. Tallis concludes with his thoughts on the very thing the reader’s head has been doing throughout the book: thinking.
Raymond Tallis is emeritus professor of geriatric medicine, University of Manchester, UK. As a poet, novelist, and philosopher, he has explored consciousness, language, and what is distinctive about human beings. His recent books include The Hand; I Am; The Knowing Animal; and The Enduring Significance of Parmenides: Unthinkable Thought. He lives in Cheshire, UK.
“Tallis is extremely erudite, writes very well, and mixes his medical knowledge with allusions to writers and poets. I would not have believed it possible to write a book about the head without focusing mostly on the brain, but that is exactly what he has done. And, it is remarkably engaging.”—E. Fuller Torrey, M.D., author of Surviving Prostate Cancer
“This is a most unusual and an unusually enjoyable book. As the author promises it is a rich feast of digressions. Tallis attacks his varied topics with unflinching straightforwardness and honesty, leavened by considerable humor.”—Adam Zeman, author of Portrait of the Brain
“The book gets the reader to think afresh about everyday experiences such as staring in the mirror, vision, breathing, speaking, hearing, face recognition, laughter, tickling, yawning, sweating, eating, spitting, smoking, vomiting, ageing, sex and death. . . . An entertaining mixture of intriguing facts and thought-provoking observations.”—Andrew Robinson, New Scientist
“With playful puns and allusions, occasional Joycean fuges and personal digressions, Tallis reflects on the social, cultural and emotional meanings of every aspect of a head’s appearance, secretions and actions, his elegant prose makes the mundane extraordinary.”—Chris McManus, Times Higher Education
“The mental energy is neatly gymnastic: each sequence of thoughts starts with a confident deep breadth and arms outstretched, then runs up, does a roll, a leap, a twist and a double-somersault, and lands on its own two sturdy feet without the faintest wobble at the far diagonal corner of the mat. I’ve never seen anything like it. . . . A very heady, heady experience.”—Lynne Truss, Sunday Times
"A witty tour of the body’s most complex component, a physiological, sociological, literary and autobiographical investigation. From the politics of seeing to the mechanics of seeing, Tallis’s erudition is impressive.“—Ralph Benson, Financial Times
"Reminds us of the glory of human beings."—Jane O’Grady, Guardian
"A sparkling tour of our senses and the way in which we are embodied . . . make the world seem a more interesting place and life that much more important.”—Nicholas Fearn, Independent
Publication Date: September 23, 2008
