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Title: ASTONISHING HYPOTHESIS: THE SCIENTIFIC SEARCH FOR THE SOUL by Francis Crick ISBN: 0-684-80158-2 Publisher: Scribner Book Company Pub. Date: 01 July, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.75 (16 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Not a light read
Comment: Francis Crick is probably best known to most of us from high school biology classes for his pioneer work with James Watson on the structure and function of DNA. In his book the Astonishing Hypothesis he tackles a topic hardly less complex, the origin of awareness. Although the subtitle would suggest that the discussion is the scientific proof for the existence of the soul--and possibly thereby the existence of God--the reader who takes up the book with this expectation will be resoundingly disappointed. Instead he or she will find a very convoluted discussion of brain neurophysiology, the theoretical basis of sensory systems, the attempts to synthesize human neural function in computers, and the author's personal theory of free will. What if anything any of this has to do with the soul is anybody's guess.
On the whole, I have no quarrel with the author's choice of subject matter, but I found the book at times overly in depth and at others too brief in its discourse. I also found that the train of thought was a little confusing, as though the author went off on interesting tangents at great lengths and could only with great effort get back on track. It was as though he could have used a better outline to begin with or had attempted to cover too much in too small a space. It might also have arisen from his need to extensively paraphrase the work of others in fields in which he himself has less expertise. The discussion of the neural function of the human brain, particularly the oddities of its dysfunction were quite good. Indeed I felt it was an excellent update on what I had learned years ago in A&P for nursing school. The discussion of neural networks and artificial intelligence got a little too detailed for me, but if you're the type who finds Roger Penrose a pleasant afternoon's read, then Crick's account might actually be a little too light minded for you.
In general I found the writer's style was labored enough for it to require a concerted effort to plow my way through it. It took several attempts, during which I read several other books on wholly different topics, before I could actually finish it. I even went to the extreme of taking it with me to my health club where I would be a "captive audience" with nothing better to take my mind off the boredom of my half hour on the tread mill. On the whole, I preferred boredom. While I've no doubt the gentleman is a very learned individual, I've undertaken more readable books on the subject of mind and awareness. States of Mind by Conlon and Hobson would probably be more understandable by and enjoyable to the average reader, although this book too tends to try to cover too much in too little space.
Rating: 5
Summary: excellent introduction
Comment: If you have high-school level biology background. This book will be a great book to know about the way people are trying to know the brain.
Rating: 5
Summary: "Truly Astonishing"
Comment: A journey through the wonders of the Human Mind. A case for the ultimate question of what really makes us what we are. Dr. Francis Crick deftly handles the problem of human conciousness, exposing the real questions that could be tackled by scientific methods.
Is there a metaphysical soul, or is our consciousness fully explained by the activity of neurons in our brains?
Although Dr. Crick doesn't "directly" touch on this subject, but rather turn to "THE NEURAL CORRELATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS", thus avoiding addressing causality in case of neural activity and conciousness, he does a marvellous job in shaping the thoughts of whoever asks the questions.
One of the most insightful books that I have ever read. Thank you Dr. Crick
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Title: A Universe of Consciousness: How Matter Becomes Imagination by Gerald M. Edelman, Giulio Tonomi, Giulio Tononi ISBN: 0465013775 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 06 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach by Christof Koch ISBN: 0974707708 Publisher: Roberts and Co. Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $45.00 |
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Title: Wider than the Sky: The Phenomenal Gift of Consciousness by Gerald M. Edelman ISBN: 0300102291 Publisher: Yale University Press Pub. Date: 10 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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Title: Synaptic Self: How Our Brains Become Who We Are by Joseph Ledoux ISBN: 0142001783 Publisher: Penguin Books Pub. Date: 28 January, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Mystery of Consciousness by John R. Searle ISBN: 0940322064 Publisher: New York Review of Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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