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The Analysis of Mind
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"A most brilliant essay in psychology."—New Statesman
"A delightful experience."—Joseph Conrad
Philosopher, mathematician and social critic, Bertrand Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. In The Analysis of Mind, one of his most influential and exciting books, Russell presents an intriguing reconciliation of the materialism of psychology with the antima ...more
"A delightful experience."—Joseph Conrad
Philosopher, mathematician and social critic, Bertrand Russell was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. In The Analysis of Mind, one of his most influential and exciting books, Russell presents an intriguing reconciliation of the materialism of psychology with the antima ...more
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Paperback, 192 pages
Published
October 17th 2005
by Dover Publications
(first published 1921)
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When you drop a weight on your toe, and you say what you do say, the habit has been caused by imitation of your undesirable associates, whereas it is brought into play by the dropping of the weight.
It is a puzzle of our modern scientific worldview that we have been extremely successful in explaining things remote from our experience, and yet have made comparatively little headway in explaining our experience itself.
We begin with physics, the king of the sciences. Here we are dealing with t ...more
"The unconscious becomes a sort of underground prisoner, living in a dungeon, breaking in at long intervals upon our daylight respectability with dark groans and maledictions and strange atavistic lusts."
In which Bertrand Russell teaches young people how to use a couple SAT/GRE words in a single sentence: atavism, malediction—both terrific words from the perspective of a logophile. ...more
Brilliant book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and following it really made me think about the connection between mind (exemplified by psychology) and matter (exemplified by physics), and how Russell believes them to be made of the same neutral "stuff". The book made me really question and examine within a rational and logical perspective everything I have ever experienced. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the connection between mind and matter and the varying viewpoints of different phi
...more
On my re-reading of The Analysis of Mind (1921) I was amazed by how much more I understood of Russell's lectures than on my first reading. Between my two reads I have read much of Russell's earlier work so perhaps this helped to appreciate his views on psychology much more.
Anyway, Russell's central thesis is pretty straightforward. He analyzes all the subjects of psychology, as the study of our mental life, and comes to the conclusion that all of this field can be reduced to sensations and imag ...more
Anyway, Russell's central thesis is pretty straightforward. He analyzes all the subjects of psychology, as the study of our mental life, and comes to the conclusion that all of this field can be reduced to sensations and imag ...more
A confusing book, originally a series of 15 lectures, in which analytic philosopher Bertrand Russell tries to do two things:
1. Establish his thesis of neutral monism, as applied to the mind.
2. Make his thesis plausible by incorporating all contemporary scientific theories within his framework.
As regards his neutral monism, Russell claims all psychic phenomena - from emotions, will and desire to thinking, reasoning and believing - are built up out of sensations and images alone. The ultimate stu ...more
1. Establish his thesis of neutral monism, as applied to the mind.
2. Make his thesis plausible by incorporating all contemporary scientific theories within his framework.
As regards his neutral monism, Russell claims all psychic phenomena - from emotions, will and desire to thinking, reasoning and believing - are built up out of sensations and images alone. The ultimate stu ...more
Building from the scratch on what is mind, thought, memory, perception etc he has gone in great detail in establishing the truth in various definitions of the same. a very heavy read, but worth its philosophical content.
Not easy to read...I'm going to have to read again sometime. It was interesting though.
This is an excellent book that, as it claims, works to reconcile physics with psychology. I only have two complaints: a.) as with anything written concerning psychology prior to the advent of neuroscience, some of the content is severely dated--the sections on memory and emotion, for instance, and b.) the length, coming in at about 190 pages, seems a bit sparse to justify its high-reaching goal. That is not to say that Russell fails here in his attempt, because I believe he succeeds wholehearted
...more
A bit dry at times but full of deep thoughts on the workings of he mind. Favorite quote on evolving every day was "Any of us confronted by a forgotten letter written some years ago will be astonished to find how much more foolish our opinions were than we had remembered them as being".
His analytical thinking is superb. Reminds me the work of Pinker on mind and language as they reach same conclusion that grammar is the basis of metaphysics. Simplistic as the subject could be but elaborative as a philosopher should do. Brilliant work
Bertrand Russell. – Analyse de l’Esprit ; traduit de l’anglais par M. Lefèvre.
Ce livre, nous dit l’auteur, est né d’une tentative de concilier deux tendances différentes, celle de la psychologie qui devient de plus en plus dépendante de la physiologie, et celle de la physique qui, de son côté, rend la matière de moins en moins « matérielle ». On pourrait croire, à première vue, qu’il s’agit là d’un retour aux conceptions anciennes, dans lesquelles l’esprit et la matière n’étaient point radicale ...more
Ce livre, nous dit l’auteur, est né d’une tentative de concilier deux tendances différentes, celle de la psychologie qui devient de plus en plus dépendante de la physiologie, et celle de la physique qui, de son côté, rend la matière de moins en moins « matérielle ». On pourrait croire, à première vue, qu’il s’agit là d’un retour aux conceptions anciennes, dans lesquelles l’esprit et la matière n’étaient point radicale ...more
فکر میکنم بهتره سه کتاب مسائل فلسفه، علم ما به عالم خارج و تحلیل ذهن به ترتیب خونده بشن. هر چند که من به کتاب دوم دسترسی نداشتم و فقط یک فصلش رو که به صورت مجازی تهیه شده بودم خوندم ولی به نظر میومد که همون یک فصل لب مطلب رو ادا میکرد. در مسائل فلسفه تقریبا تمام مطالب تعارضی با فهم متعارف نداره و به سادگی قابل فهمه. در علم ما به عالم خارج راسل نظرش رو راجع به ماهیت ماده عوض کرده و در تحلیل ذهن به این نتیجه رسیده که تمایز عین و ذهن اونقدرها هم که به نظر میاد نیست و مایه اصلی اونها یکسانه. متاسفان
...more
The first chapters are incredibly helpful in defining the causes of our behavior, instincts, habits, and desires. You can get a different perspective of your character and find patterns, whether good or bad, and, maybe, modify them. It is another view of one's Self, with simple concepts in a friendly writing.
The second half of the book may be tedious, but useful, as well, to those involved in the study of psyque.
In a sort of synthesis, Russell states that reality yields not in matter nor in ...more
The second half of the book may be tedious, but useful, as well, to those involved in the study of psyque.
In a sort of synthesis, Russell states that reality yields not in matter nor in ...more
Jan 17, 2013
Nika Mansouri Ghiasi
added it
آقا این سایت ستینگی نداره بگیم نصفه نیمه خوندیم فلان کتابو؟ریا می شه آخه اینطوری!من این کتاب را با امید و انگیزه ی فراوان شروع کردم ولی مخم نکشید ادامه بدم ،یعنی می شد بکشه ها ولی خیلی زمانبر بود
A great one!
Nothing like the joy of Public Domain books.
I'll admit that I haven't read too much philosophy, but this was probably a good choice for me considering my background. I especially enjoyed the lecture on language and will probably look into more linguistic theory in the future. I am familiar with both Behaviorism and Introspection (being more of a Behaviorism fan due to its pragmatic uses), so I appreciate how he builds on, discuses, and refutes certain parts of their theories. I will say that fo ...more
I'll admit that I haven't read too much philosophy, but this was probably a good choice for me considering my background. I especially enjoyed the lecture on language and will probably look into more linguistic theory in the future. I am familiar with both Behaviorism and Introspection (being more of a Behaviorism fan due to its pragmatic uses), so I appreciate how he builds on, discuses, and refutes certain parts of their theories. I will say that fo ...more
Very lucid and enlightening.
Raised a lot of interesting questions: about a psychological theory of the external world (which will probably be more 'true'), the nature of perceptions, beliefs and images, a critique of consciousness, Russell's advocacy of neutral monism, view of mind and matter as mere groupings of phenomena, subjectivity (observation from different perspectives), concept of unconscious as just restlessness until a desire is fulfilled (not a semi-mystical iceberg), an introductio ...more
Raised a lot of interesting questions: about a psychological theory of the external world (which will probably be more 'true'), the nature of perceptions, beliefs and images, a critique of consciousness, Russell's advocacy of neutral monism, view of mind and matter as mere groupings of phenomena, subjectivity (observation from different perspectives), concept of unconscious as just restlessness until a desire is fulfilled (not a semi-mystical iceberg), an introductio ...more
I'm honestly fascinated with this book. I recall having read bits of it for a psychology class and more bits for a philosophy class. However, I never read the entire thing ─ even though I actually have the book on my shelf.
I need to read the book, not listen to it, and take notes. This seems like it could be a great starting point for understanding metacognition and other neuroscience things that often relate to teaching, leadership, and working with people in any capacity.
I need to read the book, not listen to it, and take notes. This seems like it could be a great starting point for understanding metacognition and other neuroscience things that often relate to teaching, leadership, and working with people in any capacity.
الترجمة كانت سيئة للغاية افقدت الكتاب قيمته....
babble
You can say this book is a a treatise on the process of thought making. A psychological book that stimulates our minds to read it and understand the clumsy world of psychology deeply.
dude would have creamed himself if brain imaging had been a thing in 1921. a good analysis, very concerned with the reconciliation of philosophy and physics. historically, mostly wrong, but his analysis of language is interesting.
The book is mind blowing. It gives you insight of how mind works. You will know the more about how we understand, remember, dream, recollect and worry. You can't read fast as it is a mind stretching subject !!!
I wonder if it is even possible to describe some psychological phenomena with physics... from what I can tell the view of consciousness as a illusion has won out.
مجموعة من المحاضرات القاها براند راسل حول الغريزة والكلام واللاوعي والاعتقاد وغيرها من الموضوعات، لم يكن هناك موضوعية في الطرح والامثلة غير موفقة.
Russell is the most accessible of all philosophers that I have read so far.
It's by far the most perplexing, mind-wobbling, difficult book I've ever read! Not an easy pick, but worth the read.
Jan 24, 2012
David
marked it as to-read
marked as "to-read"; referenced in Borges' "La creación y P.H. Gosse"
Nov 21, 2010
Ally Krupar
is currently reading it
My first foray into reading on my iPod Touch. So far, interesting, obviously a seminal author and am looking forward to drawing connections between Russell and more contemporary authors.
Un libro, per me, fondamentale...
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Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS, was a Welsh philosopher, historian, logician, mathematician, advocate for social reform, pacifist, and prominent rationalist. Although he was usually regarded as English, as he spent the majority of his life in England, he was born in Wales, where he also died.
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 "in recognition of his var ...more
He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950 "in recognition of his var ...more
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