Conscious
A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind
Ratings16
Average rating3.5
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "If you’ve ever wondered how you have the capacity to wonder, some fascinating insights await you in these pages.” --Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals As concise and enlightening as Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, this mind-expanding dive into the mystery of consciousness is an illuminating meditation on the self, free will, and felt experience. What is consciousness? How does it arise? And why does it exist? We take our experience of being in the world for granted. But the very existence of consciousness raises profound questions: Why would any collection of matter in the universe be conscious? How are we able to think about this? And why should we? In this wonderfully accessible book, Annaka Harris guides us through the evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific findings that probe our limited understanding of consciousness. Where does it reside, and what gives rise to it? Could it be an illusion, or a universal property of all matter? As we try to understand consciousness, we must grapple with how to define it and, in the age of artificial intelligence, who or what might possess it. Conscious offers lively and challenging arguments that alter our ideas about consciousness—allowing us to think freely about it for ourselves, if indeed we can.
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When I pick up a science book, I like to read useful information based in facts. This book had some interesting facts and information I didn't know, so it was a pleasant read. However, there were some parts that I consider unnecessary. The chapters we're brief and engaging, but I feel like there was so much to explain and it needed more pages. I disagree with some points of view and statements of the author, but the major problem I had was the lack of evidence and resources. Overall, it was and OK book.
I won this book through GoodReads and I thank to publishers for providing me this copy. My review isn't influenced by this fact.
This is very meta. We are conscious. But what does it mean? How does it feel to be conscious? Why do we feel we are conscious? Are trees conscious as well? What about rocks? What about atoms? What is the hard problem of consciousness? It's a book full of interesting questions. Perfect for a wandering mind.
