Name: CONSCIOUS
Rating: 3.777777777777778 (18 reviews)
ISBN: 9780062906724

ANNAKA. HARRIS

A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind

CONSCIOUS

Annaka Harris

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.

Conscious

Dani

Too brief to be meaningful. A broad literature review of the studies of consciousness not told in a particularly appealing way. An ungrounded defense of Panpsychism very hard to buy. At least if was short. Do not recommend it to anyone. 

Justin Jerome Price

The nature of consciousness has always been a subject that eluded us humans. What does it mean to be conscious? What is the relation between consciousness and subjective self-awareness of oneself? How can one know if someone is conscious or not? How did consciousness arise from apparently nonconscious, inert material In her book Consciousness, science writer consultant and editor Annaka Harris explores the scientific basis behind the concept known as panpsychism. Panpsychism is a philosophy and hypothesis that proposes that consciousness is a fundamental aspect in the universe, composing the very elements of matter. And while this theory may sound somewhat fantastical, Harris does a formidable job in exploring the concept through a scientific and curious lens. By grounding the hypothesis in this manner, it makes the conclusions and concepts of the hypothesis much more palatable to a regular audience. She even states that while she herself does not fully believe in the hypothesis in terms of explaining all of the intricacies and mysteries around consciousness, that it deserves to be considered as a valid hypothesis to explore and discuss, especially if one leans towards materialism. And I believe she does accomplish this goal. 

	What I appreciate about the book is how she approaches the subject of panpsychism. She does not start off exploring the hypothesis immediately. Rather, she builds towards the discussion of panpsychism through analyzing the common conceptions of consciousness of the public and scientific community. Pointing out not simply the flaws of these conceptions, but also pointing out how these flaws arise from intuitive experiences. As she mentions in the book, panpsychism is not an intuitive concept for people to grasp. But by exploring the flaws both in the public and traditional scientific establishment conception of consciousness, she creates an intuitive rationale for panpsychism through inductive reasoning. And while this argument is persuasive due to its intuitive nature, it also has a weakness of being difficult to prove directly through scientific experimentation. Yet this is also a point she acknowledges towards the end of her book. She goes even further in saying that consciousness may be one of the few mysteries that will always elude humanity.

	In conclusion, this book is a very interesting and short read into a concept that is often not taken seriously by people. I feel that she does show that panpsychism at the very least deserves some serious consideration as a philosophy.

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.

Rob Brogan

A nice recap of my undergraduate studies in consciousness and epistemology, plus a few really interesting updates from recent studies in other disciplines. 

I can’t say this is some strong piece of philosophical work that contributes to the progression of this Hard Problem, but I don’t think that was the intent. I think just about anyone can pick up this book and get a decent understanding of all those semesters of hard work I went through - haha!!

CONSCIOUS A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind

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