Present Containing Books The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul
| Title | : | The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul |
| Author | : | Douglas R. Hofstadter |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 512 pages |
| Published | : | April 1st 1985 by Bantam Books (first published 1981) |
| Categories | : | Philosophy. Nonfiction. Science. Psychology. Biology. Neuroscience. Writing. Essays. Artificial Intelligence |
Douglas R. Hofstadter
Paperback | Pages: 512 pages Rating: 4.14 | 5370 Users | 117 Reviews
Interpretation Conducive To Books The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul
Brilliant, shattering, mind-jolting, The Mind's I is a searching, probing cosmic journey of the mind that goes deeply into the problem of self and self-consciousness as anything written in our time. From verbalizing chimpanzees to scientific speculations involving machines with souls, from the mesmerizing, maze-like fiction of Borges to the tantalizing, dreamlike fiction of Lem and Princess Ineffable, her circuits glowing read and gold, The Mind's I opens the mind to the Black Box of fantasy, to the windfalls of reflection, to new dimensions of exciting possibilities. "Ever since David Hume declared in the 18th century that the Self is only a heap of perceptions, the poor Ego has been in a shaky conditions indeed...Mind and consciousness becomes dispensable items in our accounts of reality, ghosts in the bodily machine...Yet there are indications here and there that the tide may be tuming...and the appearance of The Mind's I, edited by Douglas R. Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett, seems a welcome sign of change." William Barrett, The New York Times Book Review
Point Books Supposing The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul
| Original Title: | The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul |
| ISBN: | 0553345842 (ISBN13: 9780553345841) |
| Edition Language: | English |
Rating Containing Books The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul
Ratings: 4.14 From 5370 Users | 117 ReviewsColumn Containing Books The Mind’s I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul
Honestly this changed my way of thinking on several levels.What time you read a book makes a big difference; this was my book to read when I got up an hour or so before everybody else in the house. But maybe if I had read it at some other time of day I wouldn't have such a feeling of my brain being full, that the mental sharpness that I had during my philosophy degree had, like Elvis, left the building. But maybe it's the book, not me? Whilst the mix of academic paper and sci-fi short story works (science fiction being, after all, primarily the fiction
very good - but not as good a GEB :-)
A superb collection of thought-provoking essays and short stories touching on various aspects of the philosophical side of cognitive science. Hofstadter & Dennett's commentary was always interesting to read - even when I disagreed with them (which was much more often on this year's careful reading than when I skimmed this volume a few years ago), their opposing viewpoint helped me sharpen my own ideas.
Came for the philosophy, stayed for the literature.Every selection and piece of commentary featured in this book I would roughly place in one of two categories: (1) those that raise questions or (2) those that attempt to answer or offer refutations to other answers to those questions.Most of the short stories, articles, and book excerpts included in the volume in addition to a good portion of the commentary by the editors fall into the former category and raise fascinating questions and dilemmas
This book was an excellent introduction to speculative fiction divorced from the modern categories of science fiction and Tolkienesque fantasy. Daniel Dennett and Douglas Hofstadder collected stories that inspired new thoughts and ideas. This book also introduced many to non-American authors with much to offer; for instance, I was introduced to Jorge Luis Borges through this book, and he remains one of my favorite authors.
Hofstadter delivers a vastly enjoyable account accessible to any intelligent non-specialist, but on this occasion requiring far less persistence than Gödel, Escher, Bach. The ground he covers encompasses some of the most traditionally intractable problems in philosophy, yet his accounts of the various thought experiments and the issues they do and do not illuminate never appear impenetrable. The book is organised into a collection of vignettes that can easily be bitten off and chewed over
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