I Am a Strange Loop

Nonfiction, Computers, Advanced Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Science & Nature, Science, Other Sciences, Philosophy & Social Aspects, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Mind & Body
Cover of the book I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas R. Hofstadter, Basic Books
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Author: Douglas R. Hofstadter ISBN: 9780465008377
Publisher: Basic Books Publication: August 1, 2007
Imprint: Basic Books Language: English
Author: Douglas R. Hofstadter
ISBN: 9780465008377
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication: August 1, 2007
Imprint: Basic Books
Language: English

One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks, where does the self come from--and how our selves can exist in the minds of others.

Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, soul, consciousness, "I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here? I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop"-a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called "I." The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse. How can a mysterious abstraction be real-or is our "I" merely a convenient fiction? Does an "I" exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics? These are the mysteries tackled in I Am a Strange Loop, Douglas Hofstadter's first book-length journey into philosophy since Gödel, Escher, Bach. Compulsively readable and endlessly thought-provoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks, where does the self come from--and how our selves can exist in the minds of others.

Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, soul, consciousness, "I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here? I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop"-a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called "I." The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse. How can a mysterious abstraction be real-or is our "I" merely a convenient fiction? Does an "I" exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics? These are the mysteries tackled in I Am a Strange Loop, Douglas Hofstadter's first book-length journey into philosophy since Gödel, Escher, Bach. Compulsively readable and endlessly thought-provoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind.

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