Conscious, Annaka Harris
Conscious, Annaka Harris
16 Rating(s)
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Conscious
A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind

Author: Annaka Harris

Narrator: Annaka Harris

Unabridged: 2 hr 22 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 06/04/2019

Synopsis

2020 Audie Finalist As concise and enlightening as Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, this mind-expanding dive into the mystery of consciousness is an illuminating meditation on the self, free will, and felt experience.What is consciousness? How does it arise? And why does it exist? We take our experience of being in the world for granted. But the very existence of consciousness raises profound questions: Why would any collection of matter in the universe be conscious? How are we able to think about this? And why should we?In this wonderfully accessible audiobook, Annaka Harris guides us through the evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific findings that probe our limited understanding of consciousness. Where does it reside, and what gives rise to it? Could it be an illusion, or a universal property of all matter? As we try to understand consciousness, we must grapple with how to define it and, in the age of artificial intelligence, who or what might possess it.Conscious offers lively and challenging arguments that alter our ideas about consciousness—allowing us to think freely about it for ourselves, if indeed we can.

About Annaka Harris

Annaka Harris is the author of CONSCIOUS: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind. She is an editor and consultant for science writers, specializing in neuroscience and physics, whose work has appeared in the New York Times. Annaka is the author of the children's book I Wonder, a collaborator on the Mindful Games Activity Cards by Susan Kaiser Greenland, and a volunteer mindfulness teacher for the Inner Kids organization. She lives with her husband, the neuroscientist, author, and podcaster Sam Harris, and their two children.annakaharris.com

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ryan on July 17, 2019

The argument is familiar. It begins with an honest account of the mystery of consciousness and how there is, as of yet, no adequate or complete scientific explanation for how subjective experience of the material world can arise from the material world. The subjective experience of seeing the color......more

Goodreads review by Benji on June 05, 2019

What do quantum physics, the hard problem of consciousness, and time have in common? They all get a cursory synopsis by Annaka Harris in her very brief Guide. I was prepared to love this book. While rabid Redditors at r/SamHarris were ready to tear Conscious apart before it even hit the printing press......more

Goodreads review by Morgan on December 04, 2023

GREAT LIL BOOK. Terrific primer on consciousness. However. Harris supports both The Hard Problem of Consciousness, and Panpsychism. No tea no shade. She’s HELLA smart. And I respect her, A LOT. But I (personally, just me) don’t 100% vibe with either of those ways of thinking about consciousness. Any wa......more

Goodreads review by Lloyd on June 18, 2019

The failure of Annaka Harris’s Conscious to meet the lofty goal of accessibility is apparent in the first chapter. Conscious: A Brief Guide to the Fundamental Mystery of the Mind by Annaka Harris is promised to be as “concise and enlightening as Seven Brief Lessons on Physics and Astrophysics for Peo......more

Goodreads review by Chaunceton on September 06, 2019

Excellent examination of our awareness. Delves heavily into ideas about agency and what it means to be along for the ride.......more

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