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Body Am I: The New Science of Self-Consciousness
How the way we perceive our bodies plays a critical role in the way we perceive stories of phantom limbs, rubber hands, anorexia, and other phenomena.
The body is central to our sense of identity. It can be a canvas for self-expression, decorated with clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, tattoos, and piercings. But the body is more than that. Bodily awareness, says scientist-writer Moheb Costandi, is key to self-consciousness. In Body Am I , Costandi examines how the brain perceives the body, how that perception translates into our conscious experience of the body, and how that experience contributes to our sense of self. Along the way, he explores what can happen when the mechanisms of bodily awareness are disturbed, leading to such phenomena as phantom limbs, alien hands, and amputee fetishes.
Costandi explains that the brain generates maps and models of the body that guide how we perceive and use it, and that these maps and models are repeatedly modified and reconstructed. Drawing on recent bodily awareness research, the new science of self-consciousness, and historical milestones in neurology, he describes a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders that result when body and brain are out of sync, including not only the well-known phantom limb syndrome but also phantom breast and phantom penis syndromes; body integrity identity disorder, which compels a person to disown and then amputate a healthy arm or leg; and such eating disorders as anorexia.
Wide-ranging and meticulously researched, Body Am I (the title comes from Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra ) offers new insight into self-consciousness by describing it in terms of bodily awareness.
The body is central to our sense of identity. It can be a canvas for self-expression, decorated with clothing, jewelry, cosmetics, tattoos, and piercings. But the body is more than that. Bodily awareness, says scientist-writer Moheb Costandi, is key to self-consciousness. In Body Am I , Costandi examines how the brain perceives the body, how that perception translates into our conscious experience of the body, and how that experience contributes to our sense of self. Along the way, he explores what can happen when the mechanisms of bodily awareness are disturbed, leading to such phenomena as phantom limbs, alien hands, and amputee fetishes.
Costandi explains that the brain generates maps and models of the body that guide how we perceive and use it, and that these maps and models are repeatedly modified and reconstructed. Drawing on recent bodily awareness research, the new science of self-consciousness, and historical milestones in neurology, he describes a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders that result when body and brain are out of sync, including not only the well-known phantom limb syndrome but also phantom breast and phantom penis syndromes; body integrity identity disorder, which compels a person to disown and then amputate a healthy arm or leg; and such eating disorders as anorexia.
Wide-ranging and meticulously researched, Body Am I (the title comes from Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra ) offers new insight into self-consciousness by describing it in terms of bodily awareness.
216 pages, Hardcover
Published October 4, 2022
About the author
Moheb Costandi
6 books16 followersMoheb Costandi, trained as a neuroscientist, is a science writer based in London whose work has appeared in publications including Nature, Science, New Scientist, and Scientific American. He is the author of Neuroplasticity (MIT Press) and 50 Human Brain Ideas You Really Need to Know.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 1, 2022
Thank you, MIT Press, for the advance reading copy.
I would say this is a much advance reading talking in details about research, published papers and descriptions related to our body which tries to give a brief description on different phenomena like phantom limbs and such.
I would say this book is much more science even though some of us might expect it to be a little more towards the spiritual or philosophical aspect as it focuses on self-consciousness.
The book is short yet I would suggest you to take your time while reading.
If you find some parts difficult to understand or digest, there are reliable sources and references with description of the terms used given towards the end.
A very informative, up-to-date read.
I would say this is a much advance reading talking in details about research, published papers and descriptions related to our body which tries to give a brief description on different phenomena like phantom limbs and such.
I would say this book is much more science even though some of us might expect it to be a little more towards the spiritual or philosophical aspect as it focuses on self-consciousness.
The book is short yet I would suggest you to take your time while reading.
If you find some parts difficult to understand or digest, there are reliable sources and references with description of the terms used given towards the end.
A very informative, up-to-date read.
October 13, 2022
In this book you’ll learn about: a man who wanted a perfectly healthy leg amputated, a fisherman who felt like his hands were crab claws, a woman who felt she wasn’t responsible for the actions of her hand, various people who’ve experienced “Alice in Wonderland Syndrome” [i.e. feeling one has shrunk or stretched,] and about many other issues stemming from the body’s sensory and motor integration with what we think of as the mind. For most of us, the most powerful take-away to be gained from this book is just how wonderful and awe-worthy it is that we have bodies that are so well integrated and coordinated that we can go about life engaging in all sorts of fascinating and productive activities.
While this isn’t the only book that addresses this subject, I think it’s a topic worth learning more about and reflecting upon in depth. We can get so out of touch with the fact that our body is integrated with our mental and sensory experiences that we take “brain in a vat” scenarios as a given for the near future, as if one is the sum of one’s neuronal connections. This book will disabuse one this notion. In fact, the final chapter (Ch. 10) questions the proposition that copying consciousness is a matter of mastering such neuronal mapping. It’s easy to miss how much of our emotional experience is rooted in what’s happening in our guts and heart, and how much all the non-central nervous system parts of the body play in our conscious experience of the world.
I learned a great deal from this book and would highly recommend it.
While this isn’t the only book that addresses this subject, I think it’s a topic worth learning more about and reflecting upon in depth. We can get so out of touch with the fact that our body is integrated with our mental and sensory experiences that we take “brain in a vat” scenarios as a given for the near future, as if one is the sum of one’s neuronal connections. This book will disabuse one this notion. In fact, the final chapter (Ch. 10) questions the proposition that copying consciousness is a matter of mastering such neuronal mapping. It’s easy to miss how much of our emotional experience is rooted in what’s happening in our guts and heart, and how much all the non-central nervous system parts of the body play in our conscious experience of the world.
I learned a great deal from this book and would highly recommend it.
December 11, 2022
(Only read to chapters but I see the good content coming)
I've been suffering from Hair Pulling Disorder. Trying to do some research on mindfulness and behavior awareness, and that led me to this book.
The examples of different performances of bodily awareness shocked me. I was introduced to the Shell Shock, one's sense of existence of their already amputated organs...
I feel like I was bombarded by the content. Very educational. Might not recommend it to those who are looking for something spiritual and philosophical but it has helped me understand the relationship between my spiritual, social and physical being.
I've been suffering from Hair Pulling Disorder. Trying to do some research on mindfulness and behavior awareness, and that led me to this book.
The examples of different performances of bodily awareness shocked me. I was introduced to the Shell Shock, one's sense of existence of their already amputated organs...
I feel like I was bombarded by the content. Very educational. Might not recommend it to those who are looking for something spiritual and philosophical but it has helped me understand the relationship between my spiritual, social and physical being.
April 24, 2023
An examination of the cortical map of the body built up by the brain, describing such phenomena as "phantom limb syndrome", neuroplasticity, and body dysmorphia. A bit too dry for my level of interest, but still worth a read. It's very male-orientated - females only really get talked about in a short section on anorexia nervosa - and I was horrified by details of the brutal mutilations inflicted on animals, (of their time I suppose but still unpleasant).
The most interesting part is a short section at the end on integrating new prostheses into the amputee's body image so they can move and manipulate them as if they were actual flesh and blood. Fascinating.
The most interesting part is a short section at the end on integrating new prostheses into the amputee's body image so they can move and manipulate them as if they were actual flesh and blood. Fascinating.
December 7, 2022
A book about the way we perceive our bodies and the neurological processes related to self-perception. This was good, but it was an advance copy and the formatting was really wonky and made it hard to get into a good flow of reading. I enjoyed it but didn't actually finish the whole thing. 3 stars.
December 10, 2022
I found this fascinating, i have never given too much thought to how I perceive my own self. It was so interesting to read about these cases and see how some of the science developed. I would definitely recommend to a wide range of people because I think it had a wide range of appeal.
May 14, 2022
Fascinating deep dive into the science of self-consciousness. Synthesizes relevant research and connects lessons learned to interesting case studies.
May 14, 2023
Fantastic book. Very interesting, if somewhat dense. Not for everyone. Includes good clinical overview of body dysmorphia.
June 2, 2024
Got a bit too technical for me to follow at times but so so interesting
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews