The Mind's I: Fantasies And Reflections On Self & Soul Illustrated Edition

by Douglas R Hofstadter (Author), Daniel C. Dennett (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0465030910

ISBN-10: 0465030912

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With contributions from Jorge Luis Borges, Richard Dawkins, John Searle, and Robert Nozick, The Mind's I explores the meaning of self and consciousness through the perspectives of literature, artificial intelligence, psychology, and other disciplines. In selections that range from fiction to scientific speculations about thinking machines, artificial intelligence, and the nature of the brain, Hofstadter and Dennett present a variety of conflicting visions of the self and the soul as explored through the writings of some of the twentieth century's most renowned thinkers.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ever wondered who you are? Who you really are? This collection of writings and reflections by some of today's most notable thinkers is designed to enliven this most central, and most baffling, question in the philosophy of mind. In some ways, the questions posed and bantered about in this book are at the heart of all philosophical reasoning. They are the ultimate questions about the self. The Mind's I contains an astonishing variety of approaches to answering the question, "Who am I?" Between the covers of this book one encounters the literary erudition of Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges alongside the analytic rigor of John Searle. There are sophisticated metaphorical pieces (such as "The Princess Ineffabelle" by Polish philosopher and writer Stanislaw Lem), intriguing dialogues (like Raymond Smullyan's "Is God a Taoist?"), and serious but engaging philosophical essays from a host of thinkers (see Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?").

Editors Hofstadter and Dennett--leading lights in the study of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and the philosophy of mind--follow each selection with a short reflection designed to elaborate on their main themes. The Mind's I admirably broadens their fields to a more general audience. The book's essays are grouped into six categories, each successively raising the philosophical stakes by introducing new levels of complexity. Ultimately, one confronts some of the thorniest questions in modern philosophy here, such as the nature of free will, our place in the metaphysical world, and the possibility of genuine artificial intelligence. The book closes with a playful and perplexing piece by Robert Nozick, an adequate summation to The Mind's I. He writes, "Perhaps God has not decided yet whether he has created, in this world, a fictional world or a real one.... Which decision do you hope for?" --Eric de Place

About the Author

Douglas Hofstadter is College of Arts and Sciences Professor of Cognitive Science and Computer Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. His other books include the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid; Metamagical Themas; The Mind's I; Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies; Le Ton beau de Marot; and Surfaces and Essences, with Emmanuel Sander. He lives in Bloomington, Indiana.

Daniel C. Dennett is Distinguished Arts and Sciences Professor, Professor of Philosophy, and Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Basic Books; Illustrated edition (January 17, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0465030912
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0465030910
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1190L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.38 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #160,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #64 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)
- #311 in Consciousness & Thought Philosophy
- #399 in Philosophy (Books)

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104 ratings

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LuisCG

I would love this book other than the fact that much of ...

Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2017

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Really well done and really well written. I would love this book other than the fact that much of it is dated. That's not the author's fault, of course. But so much development has been made in the last 30 years in the cognitive sciences that you'd like to have newer material. Great book in its time though.

6 people found this helpful

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Mark A. Weiss

Delightful Entertainment with Plenty of Variety

Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2005

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The book is an anthology of material excerpted from elsewhere -- each essay followed by "reflections" by Dennet and/or Hofstadter. There is plenty of variety, so I guarantee you will find some essays utterly delightful and entertaining -- wether or not you fancy yourself as one who would normally pursue philsophy of mind or epistemology. The "Princess Ineffabelle" is delightful in its poetry -- even for me, a lover of highly analytical discourse. "Is God a Taoist?" is a wonderful example of the socratic dialog -- but entertaining and insightful both as well (and also, as the "reflections" claim, even pious). "The Epistemological Nightmare" is just so many things -- including outright funny. Insights abound here too though -- especially in the "reflections". You think you are "the final aribiter" of what it is like to be you. You know what tastes good to you, etc. The editors show how this is not so unquestionably true. The very fact that we allow "evidence" to support our critiques means that, e.g. taste-testing failures of yours would have to discredit you. If you dis-allow that possibility from the start, you didn't have a test or evidence in the first place. I gave a bit of detail on "The Epistemological Nightmare", I know -- but this gives you a taste for how you will be simultaneously entertained (even to outright laughing), given insights, and prompted to think in ways you never would have thought of. There's plenty of variety to pick from in the book. Go anywhere, any time.

13 people found this helpful

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Michael

This book will keep you up at night.

Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2013

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I read The Mind's I over approximately a three week period. For the majority of that time, my wandering thoughts were captivated by musings and thought experiments about cognition and the mind. Whether you're already deeply interested in cognitive philosophy, or if you just want to have something interesting to think/talk about, you should read this book.

That being said, If you're looking for a deeply technical discussion or a book on neurology, then this is not the book for you. Here you will find very little concrete fact. However the lack of technical detail and care does not take away from the intended goal of this book (just like basically all of Hofstadter's other works).

6 people found this helpful

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A. R. Masters

Still interesting 30 years later

Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2013

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Collection of fiction, non-fiction & commentary aimed at freeing your mind from preconceptions about what a mind is. Includes Turing's classic 1950 paper proposing the "Turing Test" for whether a machine can think. If you think the human soul can't be an emergent property of the human brain, read this and open yourself to a new version of wonder & mystery.

Turing says that by 2000, computers would have Gigabyte memory, & thinking machines could become possible. Current estimates say maybe a petabyte is more realistic. The authors note that eventually, long after 1981, computers might beat the best human chess players. Nobody considers the possibility of a world wide web of interconnected computers, or Siri conversing with you from an iPhone 5.

3 people found this helpful

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Lydia

The Mind's I opener

Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2006

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This book by D&D is a wonderful, elegant, and fun way to introduce philosophical ideas about the mind. Especially in regards to people that have no familiarity, and even no interest! Because of the strong Hofstadter feel to this book (I don't think Dennett put much into this) anyone can pick it up and begin opening their "Mind's I" to the exhilaratingly beautiful philosophy of mind. So, if you for some reason you aren't interested in philosophy (IMPOSSIBLE!), but still enjoy thought-provoking fiction, Lewis Carroll type wit, and self-reflection, you'll still be able to appreciate this book.

I particularly enjoyed `A Conversation with Einstein's Brain' which was written by Hofstadter. In it, the reader is presented more implicit concepts about the mind than they will be able to recognize, with or without prior familiarity with the topics. It's truly a classic piece of art. Moreover, if you're not going to read the whole thing, or don't like a few essays in a row, don't put it down too quickly! If you hate it that much, skip to the second to last essay (mentioned above) and pry open your minds eye.

2 people found this helpful

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Frank J. Perricone

Fantastic collection

Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2003

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If you've ever asked questions about mind, intelligence, identity, and the unity of the organism, you need to read this book. It's a collection of nice little stories and articles that are individually quite digestible. But each one is a great inspiration for questions and ideas and thoughts. And cumulatively, they present a synergistic panoply of alternative views and issues that synthesize into a truly enriching mind-altering experience.
Perhaps the best testament to this book's appeal is that I keep having to buy new copies because each time I let someone borrow it I never get it back. Or perhaps it's that I keep buying new copies anyway!

13 people found this helpful

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BRANDI

Thought/Mindfullness-provoking work of genius!

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2011

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"The MInd's Eye" is a thought provoking book that examines the ideas of "self" and "I" via many disparate authors/essays. Dennett is featured prominently, as are Dawkins and others from the worlds of philosophy/science/literature/criticism/psychology. It is a wide reaching book, and academic enough, while remaining easily accesssable to anyone w/ a sincere interest in exploring one's self. It's an entertaining, clever piece of prose and science. I highly recommend it to those who've enjoyed "Explaining Conscioussness", and "Breaking the Spell".

One person found this helpful

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James

A great read!

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2010

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A great read! It is an edited work and so contains many short stories/essays with consciousness as the subject. You might not like all of the stories/essays, but you'll like most of them.

`What am I?', `Where am I?', and so forth are general topics.

I've had this book for years and will pick it up and re-read different parts for entertainment. I never fail to get something new out of it with every re-read.

Buy it, you'll like it!

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Phillip Carter

I recommend grabbing "I am a strange loop" also

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2016

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I recommend grabbing "I am a strange loop" also, they go very well together. I love this sort of thing, so I am biased towards a five star review...

John

Mind blowing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 13, 2011

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I first bought this book at least twenty years ago and it had a profound affect on how I thought about life, the universe and everything. I recommend it without reservation to anyone who wants to try looking at things another way (or another couple of ways or three)

2 people found this helpful

SJP

I read this when it was first issued and bought ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 15, 2016

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I read this when it was first issued and bought this one for a younger relative who seemed interested in what 'I' is. It was very well recived.

Bernie Hernandez

Required introduction to “self” and “consciousness.”

Reviewed in Australia on July 12, 2020

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Having read it originally more than twenty years ago but leaving it behind during my move to Australia, I am SO happy to have found it still available on print, although I would’ve loved to get it on kindle, instead.

I consider this book, if not triggered, certainly cemented my interest in the concepts of “self” and “consciousness” in a way that has enlightened my career ever since.

It is quite interesting and entertaining the way both co-editors select and discuss each of the selections, but not always agreeing on why nor their perspectives on the main topics. Reminds me a lot of Plato’s Dialogues, with the twist of all the parties in this book being real humans (or not?)

Definitely recommended, even if you don’t agree with other works of the editors.

Dylan Gimel

Great

Reviewed in Canada on January 5, 2015

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Excellent stories, both the fiction and non-fiction. Still open it up from time to time.

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