Eduardo Santiago
Fascinating and fun blend of philosophy, science, and rumination. No matter how much you've wondered about consciousness, you haven't thought about it nearly as much as Harris and her interviewees. You will learn. You will wonder. You will probably be confused as heck in some of the talks. (If you're not, you are orders of magnitude smarter than me).
There's something slightly uncomfortable, though, about listening to so many smart people espouse their particular hypothesis about consciousness: none of this is even remotely falsifiable (in the foreseeable future). So it's a little like religion, but with curiosity and awe instead of bigotry, hatred, and stupidity. And, unlike religion, pondering consciousness positions us to be better people: more aware of the felt experience of other beings, hence kinder.
Audiobook-only because it's entirely conversational. This makes it much more engaging, but means that polishing is impossible: occasional clarifications are necessary in the preludes to some chapters. Some parts are awkward, some dense, and in some I feel like Harris inserts herself too heavily into the conversation, drowning the interviewee. And, sadly, I can't highlight or bookmark or make annotations. I wish they provided transcripts to purchasers.
Flaws and all, these are conversations worth listening to again. If I last another five years, I'd like to see how they age... and how my thinking has changed. Recommended.
Fascinating and fun blend of philosophy, science, and rumination. No matter how much you've wondered about consciousness, you haven't thought about it nearly as much as Harris and her interviewees. You will learn. You will wonder. You will probably be confused as heck in some of the talks. (If you're not, you are orders of magnitude smarter than me).
There's something slightly uncomfortable, though, about listening to so many smart people espouse their particular hypothesis about consciousness: none of this is even remotely falsifiable (in the foreseeable future). So it's a little like religion, but with curiosity and awe instead of bigotry, hatred, and stupidity. And, unlike religion, pondering consciousness positions us to be better people: more aware of the felt experience of other beings, hence kinder.
Audiobook-only because it's entirely conversational. This makes it much more engaging, but means that polishing is impossible: occasional clarifications are necessary in the preludes to some chapters. Some parts are awkward, some dense, and in some I feel like Harris inserts herself too heavily into the conversation, drowning the interviewee. And, sadly, I can't highlight or bookmark or make annotations. I wish they provided transcripts to purchasers.
Flaws and all, these are conversations worth listening to again. If I last another five years, I'd like to see how they age... and how my thinking has changed. Recommended.