In his latest book, U of T prof tells the story of the human mind

Paul Bloom’s latest book kicks off by recounting a daydream in which he quits his job as a psychology professor to venture into the world of cosmology.  

But his fantasy of studying the vast reaches of the universe was brief because, he writes, “...all of psychology gives me this buzz. It’s about the most interesting topic there is – us. It’s about our feelings, experiences, plans, goals, fantasies, the most intimate aspects of our being.”

A professor in the University of Toronto’s department of psychology in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Bloom’s research focuses on developmental psychology, personality and how we make sense of the world – with a particular interest in pleasure, morality, religion, fiction and art.

His seventh book, Psych: The Story of the Human Mind, had its origins in the introductory psychology course Bloom taught at Yale University and, as such, provides an excellent overview of major aspects of psychology.

In its pages, he attempts to “put forth the best answers we have” to the fundamental questions most have pondered: How does the brain give rise to intelligence and conscious experience? Where does knowledge come from? How and why do we differ in personality, intelligence and other traits? How does the mind of a child differ from that of an adult? What makes people happy?

He also provides an overview of the different schools of psychological thought that offered their own best answers to the queries.

He describes the mechanistic or materialist point of view that our thoughts and emotions are the output of a vast assembly of nerve cells and the result of interactions between various molecules – or as Nobel Prize-winner and co-discoverer of the helical structure of DNA Francis Crick wrote: “Brain makes thought.”

He also describes “Cartesian dualism,” named for French philosopher and scientist René Descartes – the idea that our minds and our physical selves are distinct entities. In other words, we are bodies and souls. We feel certain, Bloom writes, “we are not our bodies; we inhabit these bodies. We are Ghosts in the Shell.”

Psych is filled with anecdotes and intriguing facts that help explain psychological principles and bring them to life – insights that would’ve sparked curiosity and interest among the students who either enrolled in the Yale course or took the online version of it that Bloom later developed.

He tells the story of Phineas Gage, who in 1848, while working on the construction of a railway, had a metal rod blasted through his brain. Gage survived and retained the ability to speak and understand language, as well as other intellectual capacities. However, Gage eventually suffered severe changes to his personality and emotional states, began having seizures and died – a clear demonstration of how physical damage to the brain affects who we are.

Bloom wrote the book during COVID-19, and he uses the pandemic to discuss the question: “If we’re so smart, why do we often seem so dumb?” Why is Holocaust denial still rampant, why do some believe 9/11 was an “inside job,” why are there so many followers of QAnon who believe, among other absurdities, that the actor Tom Hanks is a Satanist?

And why has COVID-19 become so politicized with so little regard to science? In writing about conspiracy theories like these, Bloom describes how beliefs about the disease contrast starkly between Democrats and Republicans (with neither side having a monopoly on accuracy). He cites a study showing that subjects supported a hypothetical government program, not on its merits, but on whether they were told it was a Democratic or Republican initiative.

Nonetheless, Bloom is optimistic and writes that, despite our irrationality, “... we are also the animal that is capable of acting intelligently for the long-term good...and tries to see things as they really are.”

The questions of consciousness and mind that Bloom raises in his book point to just how vast the story of the human mind is – despite its miniscule size compared to, say, a galaxy.

“The more you look at the mind and how it works from a serious scientific point of view, the more you appreciate its complexity, its uniqueness, and its beauty.”