10. Einstein's Brain

Dr Geoff Bunn's ten-part history is a journey through 5000 years of our understanding of the most complex thing in the known universe.

From Neolithic times to the present day, Geoff journeys through the many ideas of what the brain is for and how it fulfils its functions.

What soon becomes obvious is that our understanding of this most inscrutable organ has in all periods been coloured by the social and political expedients of the day no less than by the contemporary scope of scientific or biological exploration.

In this episode, the focus is on how advances in neurology have influenced our understanding of human's as 'neurochemical selves'. Examining the recent trend to explain every aspect of personality by underlying brain processes, Geoff Bunn highlights how disciplines from aesthetics to sociology have felt the impact of neuroscience. He acknowledges the benefits supplied by MRI scanning but points out the flaws in promoting an understanding of humanity based entirely on analysis of the brain. If the dissection of Einstein's brain were all we had to go on, we wouldn't know much about the famous physicist's life and character.

Featuring the voices of Paul Bhattacharjee, Jonathan Forbes and Hattie Morahan.

Produced by Marya Burgess.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.