Einstein’s Brain

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xv

   PDF

2. “Einstein” as a Grammatical Illusion

   • Sal Restivo

   Pages 1-17

3. The Social Self: Beyond the Myth of Individualism

   • Sal Restivo

   Pages 19-37

4. Einstein’s Brain: A Conspiracy of Mythologies

   • Sal Restivo

   Pages 39-69

5. Genius: Standing on the Shoulders of Social Networks

   • Sal Restivo

   Pages 71-99

6. The Social Brain Paradigm

   • Sal Restivo

   Pages 101-121

7. The Social Brain: Implications for Therapeutic and Preventive Protocols in Psychiatry

   • Sal Restivo, Mario Incayawar, Jenelle M. Clarke

   Pages 123-137

8. Back Matter

   Pages 139-163

   PDF

This book reviews the research on Einstein’s brain from a sociological perspective and in the context of the social brain paradigm.  Instead of “Einstein, the genius of geniuses” standing on the shoulders of giants, Restivo proposes a concept of Einstein the social being standing on the shoulders of social networks. Rather than challenging Einstein’s uniqueness or the uniqueness of his achievements, the book grounds Einstein and his achievements in a social ecology opposed to the myths of the “I,” individualism, and the very idea of “genius.”  “Einstein” is defined by the particular configuration of social networks that he engaged as his life unfolded, not by biological inheritances. 

• STS
• Science and Technology Studies
• Social Brain
• Social Brain Paradigm
• Sociology of the Brain
• The Knowing Subject
• Social Networks
• The Einstein Myth
• Sociology
• Social Psychology

“What a wonderful book. It’s a joy to read and delivers a powerful sociological message. Restivo’s account of the debates over analyzing Einstein’s Brain is great to have. I hope the defining slogan of this book will travel widely: ‘Give me a genius and I will give you a social network.’” (Randall Collins, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, author of The Sociology of Philosophies (1998))

• Ridgewood, USA

  Sal Restivo

Sal Restivo is a sociologist/anthropologist who has held professorships and endowed chairs at universities in the U.S., Europe, and China.  He is a former president of the Society for Social Studies of Science and author most recently of Sociology, Science, and the End of Philosophy: How Society Shapes Brains, Gods, Maths, and Logics (Palgrave, 2017).

With Mario Incayawar and Jenelle Clarke.

Policies and ethics