The Mind: A User's Manual

By John G. Taylor

Book Overview

Our minds are subtle, beautiful and complex things. John Taylor explores how the mind works and shows us how to understand ourselves, how we can develop our minds to their full potential and how to keep them running smoothly. 'Based on his sustained scientific investigations, John Taylor takes us on a fascinating and erudite journey of what it is that our minds do for us. This is an important addition to the library of anyone who has pondered how the brain conjures up our every thinking moment'. Igor Alexander, Professor in Neutral Systems Engineering, Imperial College, University of London 'The book is such a fascinating, daring, gentle and thoughtful work that when you finish it it's like losing a friend or a dear child leaving home... I can only try to convey some of the emotional enjoyment, coupled with a sense of discovery. I felt while reading it... John Taylor's mind really does reach out to so many people, young, middle-aged and old'. Nicolas Roeg, Film Director

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0470022221
• ISBN13: 9780470022221
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.2" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Bold and challenging

This is a bold and brave attempt to address a fundamental question: how is it that we feel a sense of presence in the world rather than being merely an elaborate input/output device, optimised by evolution for survival and reproduction but in essence still a 'zombie'? Why are we conscious beings? Some authors sidestep this question by either relegating consciousness to an irrelevant epiphenomenon or by denying that it can be explained by science at all. Others give overly simplistic explanations that do not match the richness and complexity of our inner experience. John Taylor does none of these things. His explanation of consciousness as arising from the neuronal circuitry underpinning the movement of attention is a convincing one that is well-supported by experimental evidence, and which moreover has the subtlety to account for the feeling of 'what it is like to be'. This is not always an easy read; it is challenging and demands committment from the reader, but those who persevere will be well-rewarded by the insights that the book has to offer.