Details
Synopsis
Hofstadter's long-awaited return to the themes of Gèodel, Escher, Bach--an original and controversial view of the nature of consciousness and identity. What do we mean when we say "I"? Can a self, a soul, a consciousness, an "I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here? This book argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Deep down, a human brain is a chaotic soup of particles, on a higher level it is a jungle of neurons, and on a yet higher level it is a network of abstractions that we call "symbols." The most central and complex symbol in your brain or mine is the one we both call "I." But how can such a mysterious abstraction be real--or is our "I" merely a convenient fiction?--From publisher description.
| Size | | Length: | 412 pages | | Height: | 10.0 in | | Width: | 7.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 26.4 oz |
Industry Reviews
"The book is all Hofstadter--part theory, some of it difficult; part affecting memoir; part inventive thought experiment--presented for the most part with incorrigible playfulness....[P]rovocative and heroically humane." (starred review)
(01/29/2007)
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