The Human Spark: The Science of Human Development
*Starred Review* Kagan has heard neuroscientists boasting that the biochemistry of genes and synapses will soon explain all human emotions and behavior. He does not believe them. Here he advances a sophisticated perspective on the human condition, situating the latest findings of neuroscience within a much broader matrix of psychological, social, and cultural considerations. When explaining the emergence of human morality, for instance, Kagan acknowledges a biological-genetic priming for empathy, but he insists that the forms that empathy takes depend on the psychological development of the individual and on the cultural context in society. Readers further discern the limits of biological science as they see how the same biochemical—oxytocin—can foster openness to new ideas in some, while intensifying suspicion in others. An analyst’s eye for complexity also informs Kagan’s treatment of social class as a determinant of beliefs and conduct: upper-class children in Madagascar look remarkably unlike upper-class children in the U.S., yet share their cognitive profile. A capacity for dealing with complicated issues serves Kagan and his readers well when he confronts the twin epidemics of mental illness and moral confusion afflicting the twenty-first-century world. A rare inquiry allowing general readers to see how cutting-edge research clarifies ordinary human hopes—and fears. --Bryce Christensen