Customer Reviews

The Oxford Companion to the Mind

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I am slowly moving through this tome, enjoying every moment spent there. This text, now in 2nd edition (2004), is an excellent overview of many psychological aspects of the human mind. It is clearly written. Articles pertaining to scientific studies of the mind, and psychology of human behavior, are thoroughly researched; helpful bibliographies provide a stimulus to "dig deeper." This book deserves a place next to other psych-related texts in your personal library.

This 800-page classic reference, on a difficult and hugely multi-faceted subject, appears to cover just about every possible area in this huge category! Not only is it a stupendous browser, but one can practically read it from start to finish without getting too difficult or scientific, for an interested amateur like myself. And there are drawings, diagrams ,sketches covering children's art, illusions, on and on. Plus short bios of the greats (like Newton,Hegel,Rosseau, Sartre, Kant,,etc, etc),plus many lessor known ,but perhaps of equal distinction..Subjects like religion, magic, medicine, out of body experiences, hallucinations, are given active note, not to mention some less known, but still interesting subjects. So if you have a chance, pick this one up. It's also guaranteed to initiate an interest in lots of things you may know absolutely nothing about beforehand! Definitely one of those desert island books that will never go out of style!

Richard Gregory arguably knows more about the human brain than any man alive. This second edition of the Oxford Companion to the Mind has over 200 contributors, over a thousand entries and a million words and in it is much that is new since the first edition (1987.) Out goes Freud (well, not quite; he is still there, but much more strictly edited; ditto Jung et al.) and in comes a huge amount of new and riveting brain research. This is still a philosophical and historical as well as a scientific work of immense learning that will divert and entertain as well as explain: it will expand your mind and change the physical interconnections of your brain. There are short pithy entries, sometimes delightfully quirky, often witty; there are longer, more complex contributions on a myriad of wide-ranging subjects, sometimes technical but always understandable, accessible even for the non-scientist reader. It ranges from mirror cells, face recognition, and drama to how we see art; from Aristotle to puzzles; from the hippocampus to shellshock. It covers language, memory, imagination and intelligence: are all clearly explained. There are three mini-symposia on consciousness, brain imaging and artificial intelligence. This is not just a dazzling reference book but also a diverting bed-side book for artist and scientist alike.

This one-volume reference book deals, after all, with a subject that is constantly subject to change. Who knows how many new neurological discoveries may make some statement or another within these pages moot tomorrow, or may have done so already in the decade and more since its publication?

Despite such concerns, this book holds up well. I'd like to praise in particular a brief but pointed discussion of the work of the French philosopher Maine de Biran (1766-1824), written by F.C.T. Moore. De Biran explained that my intention to raise my arm is never an "object" to be grasped by an "inner sense" -- it is, rather, a fact or a relation, the connection of the active self with the arm.

This was an important break with earlier thought, and a step toward Jamesian pragmatism on the one hand, continental phenomenology on the other.

Shipped quickly. My father appreciated direct shipment to his residence. Though I didn't read it, my father's recommendation means it is worth the read.

Over one -hundred experts write on various areas of study of the Mind. There is a great richness of material here. Gregory himself an expert on visual perception provides articles on this subject. The breadth and range of material is very great. So there is a tremendous amount to be learned and studied from here. Still I do have a few reservations about the work. There are important subjects which are very sparsely covered. For instance so far as I understand it the major treatment for the most severe form of Depression is Electro- convulsive Therapy, commonly called Shock Treatment. The article on this is skimpy and not at all up- to- date. I too found the much longer article on 'Depression' far from satisfactory.
Some claim that more has been discovered in the past five years in the area of brain research than in all previous time taken together. That material is naturally not in this book. I suspect that anyone who wished to research any of the topics discussed in this book would today do it online. They would easily gather together a number of articles on this subject. This Internet change in the way we do things makes a work like this present one however rich in material, somewhat less vital than it might have been thought of previously.

The whole discussion of psychiatric concepts like depression, autism, or schizofrenia is limited to listing of symptoms and research results on whether they are purely physiologically determined etc..if this is the state of psychiatric understanding of human mind and its illnesses today, then its probably true that were living in very oppressive societies.. otherwise entries on psychological issues like intelligence or visual perception give good introductions to the state of current research.. can be of some help as a general referance work but dont expect any serious illuminations..

_The Oxford Companion to the Mind_ is an excellent reference source of information on various mental phenomena. It was relevant to my essays because several entries dealt with the current state of the parapsychological evidence and how that related to the question of survival of bodily death