What do we mean when we say "I"? Can thought arise out of matter? Can a self, a soul, a consciousness, an "I" arise out of mere matter? If it canno...
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Oct 19, 2008
David
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I have an interesting perspective on this title because the book I read just before it was The New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, a book grounded in Zen Buddhist philosophy. Tolle declares that the Ego (or thinking mind) is the cause of all the poisons of our civilization and the only hope for us as a species is to embrace awareness and presence and escape the thinking mind that feeds our needs for material possessions, success, achievement, domination, and so on. This book is in fact an entire logicia
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Dec 22, 2007
Chuck
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Twenty-eight years ago, Douglas Hofstadter published a book titled "Goedel, Escher, Bach" that earned him instant academic renown and a cultlike following. A mathematician friend recommended the book to me, and I tried mightily to read it, keeping at it more because of my admiration for my friend that for the experience of reading the book. It was either too indirect, too intricately argued, or too Germanic for me to follow, and after months of off and on attempts I finally put it as
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Jul 19, 2008
Brady
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Douglas Hofstader is a wonder, tackling the almost incomprehensible Big Question of "What is the I?" with relative clarity and wit. He is a master of metaphor and analogy, eschewing a microscopic understanding of how the brain works to giving a sensible, rational (though revolutionary) macroscopic explanation of what we commonly refer to as "the soul". Hofstader is certainly no Cartesian dualist, but his ideas are neither what you would expect from a material monist.
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Mar 26, 2009
Clay
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I read Douglas Hofstadter”s “Godel, Escher, Bach” long ago – sometime in the early ‘80s, and I remember thinking “I really need to read this again. I liked this book, but there was a lot I think I missed.”
When I saw a copy of “I Am a Strange Loop” in a used-book store, and Hofstadter said in the intro it was his update of “Godel, Escher, Bach,” I figured this was my chance to rediscover the concepts in “Godel, Escher, Bach.”
Well, I did, but I can’t say I was happy with th More...
When I saw a copy of “I Am a Strange Loop” in a used-book store, and Hofstadter said in the intro it was his update of “Godel, Escher, Bach,” I figured this was my chance to rediscover the concepts in “Godel, Escher, Bach.”
Well, I did, but I can’t say I was happy with th More...
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May 13, 2008
Craig
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The purpose of this book is to explain the mystery of consciousness. He admits off the top that the concept of the mind and conscious thought is quite difficult to nail down, and probably impossible to draw a distinct line upon. Is a mosquito conscious? After all, it, like us, seems to have a will to live, and responds to environmental stimuli in ways that benefit itself. If not a mosquito, is a bee conscious? A fish? A snake? A dog?
He does so by describing the mind's process of some More...
He does so by describing the mind's process of some More...
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Jan 10, 2009
Fred
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I've been reading "I Am A Strange Loop" by Douglas Hofstadter. The development of his theme is slow, so I read the epilogue to find out if he was coming to anything other than where he seemed to be going. The epilogue seems to be about the same as the first few chapters.
I skipped around the book a little and found this intriguing discussion on page 322 called 'Two Daves.' He presents a mental experiment of two universes, identical in every detail except that More...
I skipped around the book a little and found this intriguing discussion on page 322 called 'Two Daves.' He presents a mental experiment of two universes, identical in every detail except that More...
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Sep 17, 2008
Jane
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This book, on consciousness and what makes a human an "I," is methodical and exuberant, technical and personal. Reading it was a long, thoughtful journey. It's not an easy book. The workings of the human brain are described metaphorically (and not physiologically), and often those metaphors are mathematical. Sometimes, too, Hofstadter employs playful analogies to show how consciousness works, and how it doesn't work. (He is not a dualist; consciousness arises from physical laws and
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Aug 12, 2007
Brodie
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I enjoyed much of Hostetter's account of the ways in which a strictly biological account of cognition fails to grasp the complexities of consciousness and identities. I did find, however, his account of how identity is dispersed and externalized the be somewhat unconvincing, thought not because I disagree with the concept but with his interpretation of the concept. He tries to argue through several chapters that the decentered--"strange loopiness"--of consciousness comes about becaus
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Dec 16, 2009
shawn
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i am sorry to give this book one measly star. i am a huge admirer of hofstadter's work. i would fanatically recommend any of his books, which are all fantastic and required reading by this point for all intellectually-minded people interested in "putting it all together". i was therefore ecstatic that he should finally publish another book, but crushed upon reading it.
the principle point is that though he purports to have some new big answer, this book merely retraces t More...
the principle point is that though he purports to have some new big answer, this book merely retraces t More...
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Dec 24, 2008
Kevan
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In one of Feynman's books he discusses the difference between deep ideas and profound ideas, Character of Physical Law perhaps.
Hofstadter is a profound thinker. Some of his explorations such as designing fonts seem just silly at first until you understand that he's exploring micro-puzzles that include deep challenges. His Fluid Analogy stuff contain good examples.
If I understand The Strange Loop properly, he's exploring the idea that consciousness if simply an illusion lo More...
Hofstadter is a profound thinker. Some of his explorations such as designing fonts seem just silly at first until you understand that he's exploring micro-puzzles that include deep challenges. His Fluid Analogy stuff contain good examples.
If I understand The Strange Loop properly, he's exploring the idea that consciousness if simply an illusion lo More...
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Feb 22, 2008
Claus
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I read Hofstadter's "Gödel, Escher, Bach" many years ago and was completely taken aback by the author's brilliant style and insight.
I read Hofstadter's "Metamagical Themas" many years ago and was fascinated by the author's vast area of expertise.
I read Hofstadter's "Le Ton Beau de Marot" a few years ago and was amazed by the author's enormous knowledge.
I just finished Hofstadter's "I Am a Strange Loop" and was thoroughly More...
I read Hofstadter's "Metamagical Themas" many years ago and was fascinated by the author's vast area of expertise.
I read Hofstadter's "Le Ton Beau de Marot" a few years ago and was amazed by the author's enormous knowledge.
I just finished Hofstadter's "I Am a Strange Loop" and was thoroughly More...
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Nov 15, 2010
Maurizio
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Sono in molti ad avere comprato _Gödel, Escher, Bach_. Parecchi l'hanno anche letto :-). Dopo più di un quarto di secolo, Douglas Hofstadter ha pensato di pubblicare questo sequel, se mi consentite l'uso del termine. In effetti di Bach e di Escher non si parla, né ci sono i dialoghi (tranne due agli estremi del libro): Hofstadter si concentra su Gödel, e parte dal suo famoso teorema - di cui viene data una spiegazione lunga, ma assolutamente cristallina - per arrivare alla sua definizione di "
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Nov 11, 2011
Jon
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Douglas Hofstadter is a quirky and entertaining writer, though not as systematic as I would like. He starts off with the interesting insight that the I (or the self, or consciousness) is a strange feedback loop similar to an audio feedback loop or a video feedback loop. Audio feedback takes place when a microphone picks up its own background noise, and then endlessly rebroadcasts it as a screech. Video feedback occurs if a video camera is pointed at the video screen showing what the camera is
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Jul 11, 2011
Jeffrey
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I agree. He is a strange loop. The first third of this book is the Hofstadter that I expected to read - dragging me through a layperson's guide to prime numbers, squares, the Fibonacci series, Principia Mathematica and Bertrand Russell's attempt to banish paradox from mathematics, and finally, Godel's discovery of the ultimate self reflective mathematical string which shattered Russell's dreams. This was tough going, but ultimately worth it for this non-mathematician. Along the way we learned th
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Feb 14, 2011
Zach
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I didn’t like this book, although I agree with almost all of its assertions. Conceptually, I guess you could say, I enjoyed it, but the presentation - the language of the author, the over-long format, and the strange mixture of hard math and elementary philosophy - diminished and diluted the content to the point that it was barely worth reading. The first problem is Hofstadter’s “aww shucks” Uncle Fluffy writing style. His language is so steeped in a fireside chat mentality that the meat of h
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Sep 15, 2010
Ronny
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I didn't finish the book.
This book is supposedly about consciousness. However, what I read were random ruminations that (at best) briefly connected with the promised subject matter.
For instance, near the beginning, the author wrote at length about vegetarianism. Near the end of this section, he briefly segued into the concept of degrees of consciousness, but did not develop it. This was a shame because that would have been interesting and on-topic -- more interesting and More...
This book is supposedly about consciousness. However, what I read were random ruminations that (at best) briefly connected with the promised subject matter.
For instance, near the beginning, the author wrote at length about vegetarianism. Near the end of this section, he briefly segued into the concept of degrees of consciousness, but did not develop it. This was a shame because that would have been interesting and on-topic -- more interesting and More...
Jul 12, 2010
Ugh
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“Dreary, oh so dreary”, remarks an imaginary sceptical reader at the start of chapter 20 of I Am A Strange Loop, highly unimpressed with the implications of Hofstadter’s stance on the nature of consciousness. I don’t share this imaginary reader’s dismay at Hofstadter’s point of view, but their words do fairly accurately sum up my opinion of Strange Loop as a whole, and hence their appearance at the opening of this review too.
When flicking through this book in the shop, I thought it was goin More...
When flicking through this book in the shop, I thought it was goin More...
Apr 25, 2010
Anthony
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keith recommended i read this months ago and i'm glad that i finally did. a quite unusual take on the problem of selfhood/identity that uses godel's theorem and video feedback loops as its central analogies. by far my favorite chapters of the book were the chapters devoted to catching the uninitiated reader (myself) up with a simplified (but not terribly over-simplified) understanding of the basics of number theory, set theory, principia mathematica, and godel. it had been so long since i'd r
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Feb 25, 2010
Mia
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It's no Godel, Escher, Bach, that's for sure. In fact, there seems to be a good deal of reliance on the existence of that prior book to provide credibility to this one. The author's constant self-conscious and self-involved appraisal of himself distracts from any more interesting theoretical points he might be trying to make, and his references to theoretical works detracts from more personal reflections. It's an attempt to consolidate several processes of thought and consideration of the natu
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Jul 01, 2009
Ben
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Douglas Hofstadter is, well, a bit loopy--but this book is a nice statement of his notion of selfhood and personal identity. He nicely locates consciousness in the self-referential symbol processing of the brain, and offers some very plausible analogies to explain just what being conscious might involve. But I'm ultimately unconvinced that he can dispel the evident gap between the "I" and the brain. For example, Hofstadter writes: 'The dance of symbols in the brain has to be perceived
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Apr 30, 2009
Al
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I enjoyed reading this foray by Hofstadter into coming to terms with that slippery concept we call 'I'; the style is cheeky, cheerful, very witty (perhaps too witty for some tastes). The subject of this book is elusive and slippery as ever; but it is of interest to anyone trying to grapple with this mercurial subject. Linked with 'I' is the concept of 'self', and by association, 'mind', 'soul', and 'conscience'. Hofstadter masterfully guides us through all the labyrinthian pathways, sometime
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Nov 20, 2010
Maurizio
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È vero che avevo già recensito a suo tempo ( http://xmau.com/notiziole/arch/200704/00... ) la versione originale del libro; ma dopo un anno e mezzo di lotta per tradurlo in italiano penso di essere in grado di parlarne con maggior cognizione di causa.<br />Questo libro è sicuramente diverso da Gödel, Escher, Bach, anche se è in certo senso la sua continuazione. Ad esempio, mancano quasi del tutto i dialoghi, che permettevano di leggere GEB almeno in parte senza doversi preoccupare di capire i c
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Aug 12, 2011
Derek
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Hofstadter is best known for Godel, Escher Bach, a book that profoundly influenced me in my years as an undergraduate. He revisits the same themes in this new book, giving a very personal and credible account of consciousness or mind or soul (all amounting to the same thing).
He is particularly good on how our brain activity can be explained at different levels; our representations of self and others; the sizes of souls (degrees of consciousness); and how consciousness is an outcome not More...
He is particularly good on how our brain activity can be explained at different levels; our representations of self and others; the sizes of souls (degrees of consciousness); and how consciousness is an outcome not More...
Jan 17, 2012
Gödel, Escher, Bach is one of my favorite books, and so I tackled this later work by the same author with some concern that it would be redundant. Thankfully, for the most part, it was not!
I've heard no convincing explanation for dualism (and many convincing reasons why it should not be), so I've long possessed a sort of existential dread about the nature of "I" and my own free will. Hofstadter provides persuasive, rational explanations for not only un-dualist will but also More...
I've heard no convincing explanation for dualism (and many convincing reasons why it should not be), so I've long possessed a sort of existential dread about the nature of "I" and my own free will. Hofstadter provides persuasive, rational explanations for not only un-dualist will but also More...
Feb 05, 2009
Though elegantly written, it is not surprising that Douglas Hofstadter's I Am a Strange Loop suffers a bit by comparison to his acclaimed Gdel, Escher, Bach: they both cover the same ground, with the more recent book elaborating on the ideas of the first one. However, I Am a Strange Loop is a much more personal effort, an "intellectual autobiography" (Time) of the last 30 years of Hofstadter's life. Critics agreed that Hofstadter is riveting when sharing his grief over the unexpected
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Apr 27, 2009
Jake
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A good introduction to Hofstadter's ideas about consciousness, in a considerably shorter package than Godel, Escher, Bach.
Hofstadter is at his best in the first half of the book, when he's outlining his idea of the "strange loop" and discussing how it connects to his other ideas about the mind. His discussion of Godel and incompleteness is also excellent-- I'd read another book on the same subject, but Hofstadter did a much better job of getting the ideas across. After More...
Hofstadter is at his best in the first half of the book, when he's outlining his idea of the "strange loop" and discussing how it connects to his other ideas about the mind. His discussion of Godel and incompleteness is also excellent-- I'd read another book on the same subject, but Hofstadter did a much better job of getting the ideas across. After More...
Nov 09, 2009
Ryan
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This book is a recapitulation and paring-down of Hofstadter's original philosophy of the mind as presented in Godel, Escher, Bach. Writing that GEB was apparently misunderstood- perhaps for its numerous & colorful divergences- Hofstadter here intends to directly address the heart of the matter: namely, the nature of consciousness.
His concept of the mind is from the epiphenomenalist school. From what I gather, for Hofstadter, a mind emerges when a sufficiently advanced representationa More...
His concept of the mind is from the epiphenomenalist school. From what I gather, for Hofstadter, a mind emerges when a sufficiently advanced representationa More...
Nov 15, 2009
kevin
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Very slow moving book compared to the Feynman memoir that I just read. I never quite finish GEB but had the impression that GEB was more fun to read due to its close association to the formal computer science I was deeply involved with at that time.
The body of the book, which I believe I am in now, is starting to show some promise though.
The following part of the review was written after I finished the book.
On hindsight, I think GEB was interesting because More...
The body of the book, which I believe I am in now, is starting to show some promise though.
The following part of the review was written after I finished the book.
On hindsight, I think GEB was interesting because More...
Jul 02, 2010
Hofstader is truly an amazing geek.
Although not as entertaining as Godel, Escher, Bach, this book is full of insights and fascinating thought experiments. TBH, on a few occasions I was on the virge of declaring it "boring" - he was crunching the same concepts over and over, and I had got them quite clearly the first time; and then all of sudden he comes up with something that literally takes my breath away, in a way I didn't expect a philosophical book to be able to do. Most More...
Although not as entertaining as Godel, Escher, Bach, this book is full of insights and fascinating thought experiments. TBH, on a few occasions I was on the virge of declaring it "boring" - he was crunching the same concepts over and over, and I had got them quite clearly the first time; and then all of sudden he comes up with something that literally takes my breath away, in a way I didn't expect a philosophical book to be able to do. Most More...
Jan 14, 2010
Ed
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I like Hofstadter/ Since I have read his other books, I'm just not really troubled by the concept of the irrelevance of in principle reductionisms, and the concept that layers (mostly) talk to themselves. However, that comes as somebody who has read most all of his work, including GEB, and has read the monograph on Gödel's marvelous Incompleteness Theorem. (See also my review of the monograph on Gödel's Theorem.)
If you haven't, this will come as new territory for you. However, th More...
If you haven't, this will come as new territory for you. However, th More...
