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Conversations on Mind, Matter, and Mathematics Hardcover – May 7, 1995

by Jean-Pierre Changeux (Author), Alain Connes (Author), M. B. DeBevoise (Translator)

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Do numbers and the other objects of mathematics enjoy a timeless existence independent of human minds, or are they the products of cerebral invention? Do we discover them, as Plato supposed and many others have believed since, or do we construct them? Does mathematics constitute a universal language that in principle would permit human beings to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations elsewhere in the universe, or is it merely an earthly language that owes its accidental existence to the peculiar evolution of neuronal networks in our brains? Does the physical world actually obey mathematical laws, or does it seem to conform to them simply because physicists have increasingly been able to make mathematical sense of it? Jean-Pierre Changeux, an internationally renowned neurobiologist, and Alain Connes, one of the most eminent living mathematicians, find themselves deeply divided by these questions.

The problematic status of mathematical objects leads Changeux and Connes to the organization and function of the brain, the ways in which its embryonic and post-natal development influences the unfolding of mathematical reasoning and other kinds of thinking, and whether human intelligence can be simulated, modeled,--or actually reproduced-- by mechanical means. The two men go on to pose ethical questions, inquiring into the natural foundations of morality and the possibility that it may have a neural basis underlying its social manifestations. This vivid record of profound disagreement and, at the same time, sincere search for mutual understanding, follows in the tradition of Poincaré, Hadamard, and von Neumann in probing the limits of human experience and intellectual possibility. Why order should exist in the world at all, and why it should be comprehensible to human beings, is the question that lies at the heart of these remarkable dialogues.

Conversations on Mind, Matter, and Mathematics

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Product Details

Hardcover: 280 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press (May 7, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0691087598
ISBN-13: 978-0691087597
Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.8 x 8.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #107 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Methodology
- #1627 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > History & Surveys
- #1800 in Books > Medical Books > Psychology > Cognitive

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3.7 out of 5 stars

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

. . . another man's poison

By Christopher Grant on April 2, 2008

Format: Paperback

It's taken me about a decade to finish reading this relatively short book. I'm a mathematician with a modest interest in philosophy, so I thought I'd find something worthwhile in this dialogue between a prominent mathematician and a prominent neuroscientist, but it just didn't click for me.

I have learned some things through this prolonged reading experience, though:

(1) Being a fly on the wall during an unrehearsed conversation between two intellectual heavyweights is overrated. Connes' and Changeux's thoughts are often disorganized, and when they disagree they usually seem to end up speaking past each other.

(2) People with profound knowledge in one field don't necessarily have a lot of deep insights to share when speaking outside of that field.

(3) If the final chapter is representative of the views of elite scientists, then scientism has a stronger foothold than I'd thought. In particular, I found Changeux's vision of science's role in the future of human society to be rather disturbing. If nothing else, this book was a good wake-up call, I suppose.

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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful

a pleasant surprise

By A Customer on January 13, 1999

Format: Paperback

There are many "dialogue" books of this sort, but personally I haven't read anything matching the brilliance of this one. The two men featured in this book, both true masters in their fields, represent two very different philsophical views, which become quite obvious immediately, yet they manage to engage in an intellectual dialogue free of the venom characterizing so much academic polemics nowadays, true to the spirit of those "pre-modern" French intellectuals, even reminiscent of Socrates & company. This is a minor masterpiece.

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7 of 14 people found the following review helpful

Pondering the philosophy of understanding mathematics

By Charles Ashbacher HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE VOICE on February 25, 2000

Format: Paperback

When reading this account of a series of conversations between Jean-Pierre Changeux and Alain Connes, two main themes emerge. The first is how little progress there has been made in the philosophy of mathematics and knowledge since the time of Plato and the second is how much fun it is to discuss it. Changeux is Director of the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Institut Pasteur and Connes is a previous winner of the Fields Medal for mathematical excellence. His prime areas of work are in analysis and geometry. These two superb minds jointly explore the realm of consciousness, knowledge, and the inherent ambiguities in the search for truth and understanding.
As the conversations progress, many of the main themes of philosophy are covered, with an emphasis on mathematics and the abstract nature of the human mind. My favorite chapter was "The Neuronal Mathematician", where the neural basis of understanding theorems is discussed. If it were possible for Plato to eavesdrop on the conversation, he would be baffled by the references to computers, but the discussion on the "forms" of mathematics would seem like old news. One very profound question raised in this book bears repeating, "Is it necessary for a computer to experience pain and suffering to be considered conscious?"
A book that should be thought of as a primer only, this is one work that can keep you thinking and pondering for years.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

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