Giovanni Frazzetto Books

What can a brain scan, or our reaction to a Caravaggio painting, reveal about the deep seat of guilt? How can reading Heidegger, or conducting experiments on rats, help us to cope with anxiety in the face of the world's economic crisis? Can ancient remedies fight sadness more effectively than anti-depressants? What does the neuroscience of acting tell us about how we feel empathy, and fall for an actor on stage? What can writing poetry tell us about how joy works? And how can a bizarre neurological syndrome or a Shakespearean sonnet explain love and intimacy? We live at a time when neuroscience is unlocking the secrets of our emotions. But is science ever enough to explain why we feel the way we feel? Giovanni Frazzetto takes us on a journey through our everyday lives and most common emotions. In each chapter, his scientific knowledge mixes with personal experience to offer a compelling account of the continual contrast between rationality and sentiment, science and poetry. And he shows us that by facing this contrast, we can more fully understand ourselves and how we feel.

Exploring the intricate landscape of human emotions, Giovanni Frazzetto delves into their physiological, genetic, historical, artistic, and philosophical dimensions. He examines various feelings, including anger, guilt, and joy, supported by scientific research such as the influence of monoamine oxidase A on anger and the role of opioid receptors in music appreciation. The narrative also highlights unique artistic expressions, like Salvador Dali's giant caterpillar installation, which reflects on the concept of sedation.

Together, Closer examines the way humans relate to each other across a spectrum of relationships from parent-child to platonic friendships and, of course, romantic love. . . . The reader reads the stories of others' lives but, of course, we are really appraising our own. Every now and then-and where this happens will depend on your intimate style-the text seems to silver into a kind of mirror. It is unnervingly accurate the way this works, and triggers an interior scrutiny. In these characters, Frazzetto is really showing us ourselves, helping us to look at what we usually look away from. - The Guardian An ambitious project . . . Giovanni Frazzetto marries science with art, the most recent discoveries of neuroscience with human stories about intimacy. . . . A clear love of art and science shines from the book. -The Irish Times [Frazzetto] ponders what intimacy really is, what it means, and how it shifts and changes throughout a person's lifetime. . . . Regardless of whether they are heterosexual or homosexual relationships, or between a parent and child, each tender story shows a different aspect of intimacy, including the passion one first might ascribe to the word 'intimate.' . . . The author leaves the door open for readers to make their own comparisons and conclusions. Science and anecdote intertwine in this close examination of the bonds that bind humans together. -Kirkus Reviews

Eine junge Frau legt sich einen imaginären Freund zu – damit sie endlich Ruhe vor ihren besorgten Eltern hat. Ein Theaterschauspieler liebt seine Ehefrau – und geht dennoch fremd. Vater und Tochter verstehen sich nicht, doch ihre Beziehung blüht auf, als sein Tod naht. Acht Geschichten darüber, wie Menschen in unserer Gesellschaft versuchen, einander näherzukommen – und welche Rolle Hormone, Gene und soziale Normen dabei spielen. Was reizt uns an Monogamie, was an Untreue? Wie hält Freundschaft, wie entsteht Intimität? Leichtfüßig verknüpft Giovanni Frazzetto dramatische Erzählung und neueste Erkenntnisse aus Biologie und Hirnforschung und entdeckt so die Liebe auf umfassende Weise neu.

Warum geraten manche Menschen schneller in Wut als andere? Wieso berührt uns manches Theaterstück, während ein anderes uns völlig kaltlässt? Weshalb hilft die sizilianische Küche besser gegen Depressionen als Medikamente? Sieben Kapitel. Sieben Gefühle. Giovanni Frazzetto verbindet Erkenntnisse aus Philosophie und Psychologie mit den Erfahrungen aus seiner Arbeit als Hirnforscher und Schriftsteller. Um zum Beispiel das Phänomen der Liebe zu erklären, zieht er neben Hirn-Scans auch Shakespeare-Sonette zu Rate. Frazzettos Buch ist eine rasante Achterbahnfahrt durch die Welt unserer Emotionen, an deren Ende wir Wut, Trauer und Freude mit vollkommen anderen Augen sehen.