The titling of this book - "Facing Reality" - came to me unbidden, presumably from my subconscious But, when it came, it seemed to be right, because that essentially is what I am trying to do in this book. " Facing" is to be understood in the sense of "looking at in a steadfast and unflinching manner." It thus contrasts with "Confronting" which has the sense of "looking at with hostility and defiance." As I face life with its joys and its sorrows, its successes and its failures, its peace and its turmoil, my attitude is one of serene acceptance and gratitude and not one of angry and arrogant...

So much has been written about the scientific contributions of Sherrington that the man himself, and his thoughts, have been overshadowed. More and more, students of history are calling for creative writing on the whole man, particularly when he is a genius. Those interested in the genesis of ideas want to know the settings for discoveries and the relevant circumstances which ushered in new truths and new insights. The "prepared mind" which Pasteur saw as the only one to be "favoured by fortune" is of immense importance in science, and our account of Sherring ton, we hope, will fill a very...

In February and March 1978 I delivered my first series of Gifford Lectures in the University of Edinburgh. These lectures have been published under the title The Human Mystery. The second series of ten lectures were delivered from April 18 to May 4 1979 under the title The Human Psyche. As with the first series, the printed text is actually the manuscript prepared for those lectures, not some later compilation. The lectures were delivered informally, but based strictly on this manuscript. It is hoped that the printed text will convey the dramatic character of a lecture presenta tion. This...