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Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind Hardcover – June 4, 2019
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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.
- Reading age1 year and up
- Print length144 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions5 x 0.61 x 7.5 inches
- PublisherHarper
- Publication dateJune 4, 2019
- ISBN-100062906712
- ISBN-13978-0062906717
The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Conscious offers the clearest, most compelling explanation that I’ve seen of consciousness. 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, Give and Take, and Option B
“Wild ideas are on the table--you’ll come away with an appreciation of the major conflicts and the high stakes that come with any attempt to understand how consciousness really works.” — Sean Carroll, theoretical physicist and author of The Big Picture
“A fascinating book that literally illuminates the enduring mystery of consciousness. Harris makes the journey direct, clear, entertaining, and above all accessible--even to someone like me, who’d never before gotten my head around this complex topic.” — Gavin de Becker, author of The Gift of Fear
“Harris holds a mirror up to ourselves and the reflection she casts is wondrously unfamiliar. In salient prose that intertwines science and philosophy, Harris turns her joyful curiosity on the nature of awareness. Every sentence of this book works upon the next, delving the reader deeper into an exploration of consciousness. While most books that contemplate the mysteries of the universe make one feel small in comparison, Conscious gives the reader an undeniable sense of presence.”
— Nathalia Holt, author of New York Times bestseller Rise of the Rocket Girls
“A user’s guide to the scientific thinking on consciousness—delivering an assumption-shattering take on how we think about our mind, our self, and this very moment.” — Daniel Goleman, author of NYT bestseller Emotional Intelligence
“The AI quest for artificial minds has transformed the mystery of consciousness into philosophy with a deadline. In this gem of a book, Annaka Harris tackles consciousness controversies with incisive rigor and clarity, in a style that’s accessible and captivating, yet never dumbed down.” — Prof. Max Tegmark, MIT, author of Life 3.0: Being Human in the age of AI
“A remarkably focused, concise and provocative overview of the ‘problem of Mind.’ Written with great clarity, she gives readers unfamiliar with the debate a chance to see the fault lines defining modern discussions about the nature of consciousness.” — Adam Frank, astrophysicist and author of About Time and Light of the Stars
“I have read many, many great books on consciousness in my life as a neuroscientist. Conscious tops them all, hands down. It deals with unsolved questions and dizzying concepts with a graciousness and clarity that leaves the reader deeply satisfied.” — Marco Iacoboni, neuroscientist and author of Mirroring People
“A delectable introduction to a fundamental mystery that science has been struggling with since antiquity.” — Christof Koch, neuroscientist and author of The Quest for Consciousness
“One of those books that fundamentally shifts the way you think about reality. Consciousness is among the hardest concepts for humans to wrap their heads around, but Annaka Harris is a masterful explainer—she started by breaking my existing beliefs about the nature of consciousness and then she rebuilt them into a more nuanced, more complete, and more mind-bending understanding of what’s really going on behind my eyes.” — Tim Urban, author of the blog Wait But Why
“Annaka Harris has a rare gift to breathe wonder into the familiar. In Conscious, her target is our very selves. She offers each reader the bracing pleasure of becoming an enigma, lucidly explains the experiments that underwrite her offer, and persuasively argues that one of the greatest mysteries of science may be sitting in your chair.” — Donald Hoffman, cognitive scientist and author of Visual Intelligence and The Case Against Reality
“There is a profound intellectual adventure awaiting the reader of this exquisite book.” — Rebecca Goldstein, philosopher and author of Plato at the Googleplex
“Annaka Harris expertly and eloquently explores one of the deepest questions the
human mind has ever grappled with: itself. Harris turns the light inward, encouraging us to reflect on how we reflect as she clearly presents the prevailing theories of consciousness.” — Dean Buonomano, neuroscientist and author of Your Brain is a Time Machine
“A beautiful, clear, and thoughtful examination of the imponderable topic of consciousness.” — Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and His Emissary
“This brief book challenges conventional ways of thinking about thinking and presents provocative alternatives. By the end, readers may be less certain that consciousness distinguishes us from the rest of matter—or that there is any such thing as a conscious self….might not be fully convinced about all of the author’s points, but you may be less certain that there’s a “you” to convince.” — Kirkus Reviews
“The thoughtful and accessible text considers points of view offered by various philosophers, biologists, and neurologists, acting as devil’s advocate, challenging assumptions, and arguing why posited definitions are inadequate. Harris concedes that answers to the questions she poses are not currently within our grasp, but allows that as our understanding of reality, time, and quantum physics increases, so might our understanding of consciousness.” — Booklist
From the Back Cover
What is consciousness? How does it arise? And why does it exist?
We take for granted our experience of being in the world. 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 is it 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 may possess it.
An illuminating meditation on the self, free will, and felt experience, 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.
About the Author
Annaka Harris is the author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. She is an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics, whose work has appeared in the New York Times. Annaka is the author of the children's book I Wonder, a collaborator on the Mindful Games Activity Cards by Susan Kaiser Greenland, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the Inner Kids organization. She lives with her husband, the neuroscientist, author, and podcaster Sam Harris, and their two children.
annakaharris.com
Product details
- Publisher : Harper; 1st edition (June 4, 2019)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 144 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062906712
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062906717
- Reading age : 1 year and up
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 5 x 0.61 x 7.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #66,405 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Humanist Philosophy
- #25 in Free Will & Determinism Philosophy
- #160 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
![Annaka Harris](https://cdn.statically.io/img/m.media-amazon.com/images/I/B1pgJhah7jS._SY600_.jpg)
Annaka Harris is the New York Times bestselling author of “CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind” (HarperCollins, June 2019). She is an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics, and her work has appeared in The New York Times. Annaka is the author of the children's book “I Wonder,” a collaborator on the “Mindful Games Activity Cards,” by Susan Kaiser Greenland, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the Inner Kids organization. Visit her online at: annakaharris.com
twitter.com/annakaharris
facebook.com/annakaharrisprojects/
instagram.com/annakaharrisprojects/
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers find the book concise, quick, and easy to read. They also describe the writing style as great and the content as thought-provoking, plausible, and sweet.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book concise, clear, engaging, and conversational. They say it's a quick read and a great introduction to the mind for people who have not had much exposure. Readers also say the first half of the book is good at setting the framework for a discussion.
"...It felt like an extended essay on the topic of consciousness, a fast-paced overview of a very fascinating topic...." Read more
"...This was a nice short read on the topic, it was eloquently written and gives the reader many other names in the area of study to further research..." Read more
"...The first half of this book is very good at setting the framework for a discussion. Truly an excellent bit of writing...." Read more
"This book offers a brief but interesting introduction to the current thinking about consciousness...." Read more
Customers find the book thought-provoking, providing an interesting look at Panpsychism and how consciousness relates to our experience. They also say it provides a great starting point for an earnest study of neuroscience. Customers also mention the book is beautifully produced and sweet.
"...It raised a lot of thought-provoking questions, exploring and investigating them without providing answers...." Read more
"...her perspective, it’s hard not to welcome this as a useful popular introduction to the subject." Read more
"The first 3/4 of this book comes fast and provides insights to consciousness I had never considered...." Read more
"...no stable structure to build on, but definitely surfaces great thought experiments and questions...." Read more
Customers find the writing style entertaining, informative, and gripping. They also describe the book as perfect and sane.
"Conscious makes for a good read if you keep in mind the limitation of having to introduce a complicated subject in some one hundred pages...." Read more
"...This was a nice short read on the topic, it was eloquently written and gives the reader many other names in the area of study to further research..." Read more
"This small book is packed with a very readable and very sane mental stroll through the concept of consciousness by an author who is clearly familiar..." Read more
"...studies and hypotheticals of interest, although these are well chosen by the author...." Read more
Customers have mixed opinions about the length of the book. Some find it very short and a quick read, while others say it's a little short.
"This was a quick read, a relatively short book and very readable...." Read more
"...It is very short and a quick read. Would have like to see more real world explanations" Read more
"Much too short, Conscious leaves those of us seeking a deeper exploration of the titular phenomenon with more to be desired...." Read more
"Harris keeps it short and interesting, but makes a lot of references, so it’s easy to go to the source for more information...." Read more
Reviews with images
![Small and Short, but Accessible and Enlightening](https://cdn.statically.io/img/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/common/transparent-pixel._V192234675_.gif)
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She then begins to problematize our intuitions. Are we sure that plants and trees aren’t conscious? Can we be confident that free will is a fundamental part of consciousness? Do we think that our actions depend on consciousness in any way whatsoever?
Having sufficiently shaken the reader up and awoken them to the problem of consciousness, Harris then offers a version of panpsychism as a tentative theory. Distinguishing her account from the straw man theories often debated (a rock can’t think!) she argues that panpsychism offers a coherent explanation for why some matter is able to be conscious—because all matter is in some sense conscious.
Unfortunately, a slim volume allows other approaches little more than a similar straw man treatment. Since all relations between matter in the universe are governed by the laws of physics no such thing as a distinct free will can exist. The fact that physical determinism is incompatible with many interpretations of quantum physics and is itself a controversial stance is not acknowledged. Similarly, the explanation that consciousness is an evolutionary product that maximizes animal adaptivity is similarly dismissed since she’s “shown” that consciousness cannot have an effect on action.
But to engage the reader in clear and non-simplistic prose on a question that admits of lots of jargon, to give readers a sense of the depth of this simultaneously scientific and philosophic phenomena...that in itself is an incredible accomplishment. If the author had devoted more space to a deeper exploration of the science and philosophy around consciousness she would have risked turning it into another unreadable tome. Even if you disagree with her perspective, it’s hard not to welcome this as a useful popular introduction to the subject.
RCD from the Teton Mountains, Driggs ID
All I'm left with is a framework, the holes in the prevailing wisdom and the reminder that my inability to meditate to a level where I grasp the moment leaves me .... small.
I wished it were a bit longer; it was like being given a taste of icing but not being allowed to have any cake. I wanted more, or at least more time engaging with the subject, and it kind of felt like she introduced another line of thought at the end, then quickly wrapped things up and ran. I hope she'll write a sequel and spend more time fleshing things out, and go further with it. But make it clearer what the book is about so people can choose more appropriately.
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Lends a ton of clarity to an otherwise highly cryptic subject.