Other Minds

A philosopher dons a wet suit and journeys into the depths of consciousnessPeter Godfrey Smith is a leading philosopher of science He is also a scuba diver whose underwater videos of warring octopuses have attracted wide notice In this book, he brings his parallel careers together to tell a bold new story of how nature became aware of itself Mammals and birds are widely seen as the smartest creatures on earth But one other branch of the tree of life has also sprouted surprising intelligence the cephalopods, consisting of the squid, the cuttlefish, and above all the octopus New research shows that these marvelous creatures display remarkable gifts What does it mean that intelligence on earth has evolved not once but twice And that the mind of the octopus is nonetheless so different from our own Combining science and philosophy with firsthand accounts of his cephalopod encounters, Godfrey Smith shows how primitive organisms bobbing in the ocean began sending signals to each other and how these early forms of communication gave rise to the advanced nervous systems that permit cephalopods to change colors and human beings to speak By tracing the problem of consciousness back to its roots and comparing the human brain to its most alien and perhaps most remarkable animal relative, Godfrey Smith s Other Minds sheds new light on one of our most abiding mysteries. Free Download [ Other Minds ] author [ Peter Godfrey-Smith ] – kino-fada.fr I wanted to like this book I really did but unfortunately it just didn t do much for me.First of all, my background and the book s I studied bio with an emphasis on evolution This book is about the evolution of octopus brains a system only distantly linked to our own An octopus is really the closest thing we have to a truly alien intelligence whereas mammals and birds have similar systems in play We were a match made in heaven I was thrilled for this book and even tried to get a frie I wanted to like this book I really did but unfortunately it just didn t do much for me.First of all, my background and the book s I studied bio with an emphasis on evolution This book is about the evolution of octopus brains a system only distantly linked to our own An octopus is r...When you dive into the sea, you are diving into the origin of us allPeter Godfrey Smith, Other MindsMischief and craft are plainly seen to be characteristics of this creatureClaudius Aelianus, 3rd Century A.D., writing about the octopusIt is always fascinating reading a biology book that seems to resemble a physics book, or an economics book that borrows heavily from psychology Cross pollination and flexibility to squeeze into other academic boxes always pleases me So, when I discoveWhen you dive into the sea, you are diving into the origin of us allPeter Godfrey Smith, Other MindsMischief and craft are plainly seen to be characteristics of this creatureClaudius Aelianus, 3rd Century A.D., writing about the octopusIt is always fascinating reading a biology book that...Other Minds The Octopus, the Sea, And the Deep Origins of ConsciousnessOther Minds is one of the most remarkable books I have read ever There is much I loved about this book, much that fascinated, intrigued, puzzled, flummoxed, and thoroughly delighted me in this wonderful treasure, but none of that would have happened without the extraordinary writing by Peter Godfrey Smith So I may have been drawn into the book by the title and my fascination for the octopus, but the other half of the tit Other Minds The Octopus, the Sea, And the Deep Origins of ConsciousnessOther Minds is one of the most remarkable books I have read ever There is much I loved about this book, much that fascinated, intrigued, puzzled, flummoxed, and thoroughly delighted me in this wonderful treasure, but none of that would have happened without the extraordinary writing by Peter Godfrey Smith So I may have been drawn into the book by the title and my fascination for the octopus, but the other half of the title was equally compelling the deep origins of consciousness...One of the best books I read this year and not one I had been planning to read I skimmed a few reviews, which were interesting but did not leave me thinking that I needed to read the full book But then I started a sample on a whim and was swept away by the carefully observed descriptions of octopuses and to a lesser degree cuttlefish and the use of that as a springboard to discuss evolutionary biology and the philosophy of the mind.Octopuses are a type of mollusk and, like all invertebrates, One of the best books I read this year and not one I had been planning ...Thoroughly enjoyable, fantastic writing, a perfect blend of science and thoughtful, personal responses with a philosophical bent Highly recommendedI found this book after reading a NY Times article by the author, Octopuses and the Puzzle of Aging The article was fascinating, and at the bottom was a note mentioning it was adapted from this forthcoming book.I don t read as much non fiction as I should read none at all but I ordered it anyway and I m glad I did Godfrey Smith takes you from the beginning of life on Earth to the present, stopping along the way to point out importa...An interesting insight into the evolution of other forms of intelligent life which have developed completely independently of our own One of those intelligent books which deftly flows between science and philosophy Godfrey Smith is a good writer who handles complex ideas with ease He has researched well and quotes liberally from many scientific and philosophical sources adding his own compelling interpretations.But 3 stars rather than 4 I know I am idiosyncratic and inconsistent in my grad An interesting insight into the evolution of other forms of intelligent life which have developed completely independently of our own One of those intelligent books which deftly flows between science and philosophy Godfrey Smith is a good writer who handles complex ideas with ease He has researched well and quotes liberally from many scientific and philosophical sources adding his own compelling interpretations.But 3 stars rather than 4 I know I am idiosyncratic and inconsistent in my grading In this case I really wanted to enjoy the bookthan I did It s a great topic, well written and nicely presented The problem for me is that I m not sure whether Godfrey Smith wanted to write a book about other minds, using the Octopus as an example or about the Octopus and it...Other Minds by Peter Godfrey Smith is an amazing, thought provoking book that bridges science and philosophy, notably the question What is consciousness And how do you know when something is sentient Godfrey Smith addresses this thorny problem by studying the other time intelligence evolved on earth, notably the cephalopods These animals, which include octopuses and cuddle fish, are intelligent, especially the octopuses They solve complex cognitive tasks as readily as magpies and monk Other Minds by Peter Godfrey Smith is an amazing, thought provoking book that bridges science and philosophy, notably the question What is consciousness And how do you know when something is sentient Godfrey Smith addresses this thorny problem by studying the other time intelligence evolved on earth, notably the cephalopods These animals, which include octopuses and cuddle fish, are intell... 10 10 RECOMMENDThe premise Basically, a philosopher tries to parse out how and why cephalopods octopus, squid, cuttlefish developed intelligent minds when they split from all other animals we consider to have intelligent minds e.g vertebrates like cats, dogs, parrots, monkeys, humans, etc so very, very long ago These are parallel evolutions our minds and octopoid it s a word minds developed completely independent of each other How Why And what does this say about what a mind i 10 10 RECOMMENDThe premise Basically, a philosopher tries to parse out how and why cephalopods octopus, squid, cuttlefish developed intelligent minds when they split from all other animals we consider to have intelligent minds e.g vertebrates like cats, dogs, parrots, monkeys, humans, etc so very, very long ago These are parallel evolutions our minds and octopoid it s a word minds developed completely independent of each other How Why And what does this say about what a mind is Basically, octopi yes, I know octopodes and octopuses are preferred, but fuck off, look how cute octopi is are the closest thing we have to alien intelligence.The kind of intelligence octopi have seems, to me, to be similar to the intelligence humans have adaptivity For instance, octopi have been observed stealing halved coconut shells presuma...3.5 some good stuff about octopus and cuttlefish wee behavior but a lot of fluff repetition as well.He tries to tackle cephalopod behavior, evolutionary biology and the evolution of consciousness in mammals, birds and cephalopods The cephalopod behavior is by far the most interesting There are some cool anecdotes in here, some from his own experience and some from others If you read the eBook, don t miss the color photos near the end of the book And I don t recommend reading on eink 3.5...

• English
• 27 January 2018
Peter Godfrey-Smith
• Hardcover
• 257 pages
• 0374227764
• Peter Godfrey-Smith
• Other Minds