Exploring the Deep Origins of Consciousness: An Exploration of the Octopus and the Sea with Other Minds

Pinkasfeld: was nice

United Kingdom on Oct 26, 2023

Kindle-Kunde: Wenn man sich etwas mit der Evolution von Bewusstsein beschäftigen möchte, ist dies ein gut geschreibenes Buch. Der Oktopus dient dem Autor als Bezugspunkt, es wird allerdings auch über Allgemeines bzw. andere Arten sinniert.

Germany on Oct 18, 2023

Marcos Santos: Este pedido fue entregado en tiempo y forma

Mexico on Oct 05, 2023

A. Quijano: Es muy bueno

Spain on Jul 18, 2023

Mr. Wol Wallace: Found this book quite absorbing as to the origins, behaviour of octopuses, other cephalopods with the rest of life on this planet and know considerably more than I did about their intriguing species; certainly worth a read noting that the author is a philosopher not a marine scientist so quite an achievement. My only disappointment as such (which NB is relatively minor) is his summary which is somewhat abrupt and an anti climax when would have appreciated something which (acknowledging all the hard work he must have done compiling this study) draws together more emphatically why understanding octopuses is so important.

United Kingdom on Jul 15, 2023

Duane Schneider: I'm probably not the ideal audience for this book. I'm a casual fan of science, but to Godfrey-Smith's credit, "Other Minds," despite its weighty themes, is very readable for a non-scientist lay person. The author's contention that humans and cephalopods connect somewhere on the evolutionary tree is interesting. It seems like the impulse with books of this sort is to go back to the beginning, which Godfrey-Smith does, to flatworms breaking free of the primordial ooze and developing bilateral bodies and central nervous systems. Again, the author lays all this out as clearly as possible, but it's still not exactly a captivating way to start a book. Things get much more compelling when he starts describing human interactions with octopuses and giant cuttlefish, both of which are very curious and friendly creatures. Octopuses have been proven to achieve certain tasks in the lab, showing their intelligence. I was surprised that the octopus lives only a short time, one or two years, and Godfrey-Smith wonders why so much energy is invested in a complex nervous system given this short lifespan. The author spends a lot of time dwelling on the vivid colors and color changes of the...

United States on Aug 04, 2020

C. M. Stahl: This was a profoundly interesting book to read. I became intrigued after seeing a review of it and had never come across the author before. It was intriguing primarily for the subject matter which I had a minor level of curiosity about. It was however, the first book I have read about cephalopods. My other experiences have been by reading articles and lately watching YouTube videos.
It is not simply about octopuses and squids though. It is about using those life forms to explore bigger things like intelligence, consciousness and how animals including humans understand their environment. The author explores evolutionary possibilities about how animals come to relate to conspecifics, predators and prey. There are others which do not fit any of those categories.
As a book written for a popular audience it is not replete with scientific jargon and when new words or concepts are introduced, they are explained in understandable language with very good examples to provide perspective. Maybe the thing I appreciated the most was that it was written using a lot of questions and humble suggestions rather than offering grand new theories. It made for a far more thought provoking read...

United States on Jan 13, 2017