The Hidden Pattern: A Patternist Philosophy of Mind (Paperback)

~ Ben Goertzel (Author) "The main focus of this book is on the philosophy of mind - a topic that, obviously, is extremely broad with a huge variety of..." (more)
Key Phrases: Chaotic Logic, Perennial Philosophy, Thich Nhat Hanh (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The Hidden Pattern presents a novel philosophy of mind, intended to form a coherent conceptual framework within which it is possible to understand the diverse aspects of mind and intelligence in a unified way. The central concept of the philosophy presented is the concept of "pattern": minds and the world they live in and co-create are viewed as patterned systems of patterns, evolving over time, and various aspects of subjective experience and individual and social intelligence are analyzed in detail in this light.

Many of the ideas presented are motivated by recent research in artificial intelligence and cognitive science, and the author’s own AI research is discussed in moderate detail in one chapter. However, the scope of the book is broader than this, incorporating insights from sources as diverse as Vedantic philosophy, psychedelic psychotherapy, Nietzschean and Peircean metaphysics and quantum theory. One of the unique aspects of the patternist approach is the way it seamlessly fuses the mechanistic, engineering-oriented approach to intelligence and the introspective, experiential approach to intelligence.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Brown Walker Press (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581129890
• ISBN-13: 978-1581129892
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #227,745 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Goertzel, Escher, Bach, November 1, 2006

By	takingadayoff "takingadayoff" (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The Hidden Pattern author Ben Goertzel is nothing if not ambitious. In this book, he is proposing a unified philosophy of the mind and intelligence. He's been thinking about this problem since he was sixteen, more than twenty years. It's all about pattern. Everything is pattern. Of course, it's a lot more complicated than that. I think. To be honest, I'm in over my head with this book. But if Goertzel has the chutzpah to take on all of human intelligence (and beyond), then I guess I can review a book that I don't really understand.

Inspired partly by Douglas Hofstadter's Goedel, Escher, Bach; Goertzel as a teenager came up with a theory of patterns, much as Hofstadter came up with an idea of interconnected braids when he was thirteen. When Hofstadter, in his 20th anniversary edition preface, complains that the reviewers didn't accurately describe what his book was about, he finds that it takes him quite a few pages (the whole book, in fact) to describe what the book is actually about. So when I say Goertzel's book is about how everything is pattern (as he puts it), that doesn't do it justice. However, the only way even he can explain his theory is to write an entire book. The blurb on the back, the preface, the conclusion, none of the usual places for a quick summing up, give us any help. We just have to dive in and read the book.

The Hidden Pattern takes us all over the place, with forays into logic, mathematics, science fiction, physics, linguistics, metaphysics, and more. Those darned patterns are everywhere. Goertzel spends a fair amount of the book talking about his pet project, the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) that is truly human-like, or better. He wants to create an intelligence that can think original thoughts and create new ideas. So far, artificial intelligence has been limited to things like voice recognition and dealing with huge amounts of information. But a few people are working toward creating what can only be described as an actual brain. Goertzel has spent some ten years working on the software that will be this new brain, called Novamente. It's very exciting, and the skeptical among us will protest that this kind of artificial intelligence is about as likely to come about as time travel. But Goertzel does believe that time travel is possible. He also believes that telekinesis and immortality are attainable. Anything is possible!

But back to the patterns. Look, I'll admit right here that I still don't know what the whole pattern thing is about. There were sections that I just didn't get at all, due to serious gaps in my education, such as physics. But there was still plenty that made me think. Goertzel probably hasn't come up with the answers to everything any more than Hofstadter did or, for that matter, Aristotle. But they all make you think. You may want to read the book, or at least parts of it, more than once. (This is where an index would come in handy, but there isn't one.)

Goertzel writes The Hidden Pattern in a conversational tone, only resorting to formulas and diagrams when absolutely necessary. (He's written many technical books and papers on AI and mathematics, so he has academic street cred.) He admits that he may not succeed in creating the AI he imagines. But he figures that the quest will be so interesting that it will be worth it even if it doesn't pan out the way he envisions. Which is exactly how to approach The Hidden Pattern: with complete understanding as your noble goal, but with a thoughtful and challenging read as an excellent consolation prize.

3 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Amazing Goertzel, January 3, 2007

By	Teresa J. Molinaro (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a wonderful book.. exciting, well written, logical and brilliant.
I'd recommend it to anyone interested in ideas, social networks, political
development or in psychology, history, philosophy or just about anything
because this guy really knows how to 'connect the dots'!

4 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Pattternist Philosophy of the Mind, November 10, 2006

By	John W. Rose "book worm" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I didn't finish this book as I considered that some of his assumptions were not correct and the book was a waste of time for me.