Being You: A New Science of Consciousness
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- Create Date：2021-10-16 08:52:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Anil Seth
- ISBN：0571337716
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Summary
Anil Seth's radical new theory of consciousness challenges our understanding of perception and reality， doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology。
Consciousness is the great unsolved mystery in our scientific understanding of the brain。 Somewhere， somehow， inscribed in the brain is everything that makes you you。 But how do we grasp what happens in the brain to turn mere electrical impulses into the vast range of perceptions， thoughts and emotions we feel from moment to moment？
Anil Seth， one of Britain's leading neuroscientists， charts the developments in our understanding of consciousness， revealing radical interdisciplinary breakthroughs that must transform the way we think about the self。 Drawing on his original research and collaborations with cognitive scientists， neuroscientists， psychiatrists， brain imagers， virtual reality wizards， mathematicians and philosophers， he puts forward an exhilarating new theory about how we experience the world that should encourage us to view ourselves as less apart from and more a part of the rest of nature。 Seth's revolutionary framework for consciousness will turn what you thought you knew about yourself on its head。
Consciousness is the great unsolved mystery in our scientific understanding of the brain。 Somewhere， somehow， inscribed in the brain is everything that makes you you。 But how do we grasp what happens in the brain to turn mere electrical impulses into the vast range of perceptions， thoughts and emotions we feel from moment to moment？
Anil Seth， one of Britain's leading neuroscientists， charts the developments in our understanding of consciousness， revealing radical interdisciplinary breakthroughs that must transform the way we think about the self。 Drawing on his original research and collaborations with cognitive scientists， neuroscientists， psychiatrists， brain imagers， virtual reality wizards， mathematicians and philosophers， he puts forward an exhilarating new theory about how we experience the world that should encourage us to view ourselves as less apart from and more a part of the rest of nature。 Seth's revolutionary framework for consciousness will turn what you thought you knew about yourself on its head。
Reviews
Alexander
，
I’ll write a complete review later but this was an excellent book on consciousness。 Anil represents all sides of the debate fairly without giving up on his adherence to physicalism。
Chris Boutté
，
I’m typically not a major fan of books on consciousness， but I heard a ton of people talking about this book， so I decided to give it a try， and I’m really glad I did。 Seth could have easily written this book in a way that went way over the average reader’s head， but he made it extremely accessible for a broad audience。 The reason I typically don’t like these types of books is because they get way too philosophical or abstract， and sometimes they dive into science that’s hard to comprehend。 Anil I’m typically not a major fan of books on consciousness， but I heard a ton of people talking about this book， so I decided to give it a try， and I’m really glad I did。 Seth could have easily written this book in a way that went way over the average reader’s head， but he made it extremely accessible for a broad audience。 The reason I typically don’t like these types of books is because they get way too philosophical or abstract， and sometimes they dive into science that’s hard to comprehend。 Anil Seth perfectly organized this book in a way where each section and chapter builds off of previous chapters。 The book covers the science and research around consciousness throughout， and it also dives into our idea of self， machine minds， free will， how we perceive reality， and much more。 So， if you’re curious about the topic， I definitely recommend it。 。。。more
Sam
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I came to this book seemingly prepared by other books on consciousness and neuroscience。 I regret to say that Being You has beaten my brain。 It's well written and enthusiastic and I couldn't follow it。 I am giving it five stars for it's aspirations。 I came to this book seemingly prepared by other books on consciousness and neuroscience。 I regret to say that Being You has beaten my brain。 It's well written and enthusiastic and I couldn't follow it。 I am giving it five stars for it's aspirations。 。。。more
Euan Ross
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4。5* - this and Hoffman’s the case against reality are gr8888。 Both share similar intuitions about controlled hallucinations of objective reality but make wildly different ontological claims。 V good stuff， scotty B u would like this
Arvind
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Fabulous。 Ideal supplement to what should have followed part 1 of Jeff Hawkins work on cortical columns and generative maps。 The surprising， or rather humbling realization from some of these modern researches and works is how strikingly accurate the Pali canon （in particular） has been over 2 milennia ago in describing internal reality。 Vast sections of this book have a direct 1:1 map with the Abhidhamma and Paticcasamuppada， barring the problem of a clear glossary for the rich and highly specifi Fabulous。 Ideal supplement to what should have followed part 1 of Jeff Hawkins work on cortical columns and generative maps。 The surprising， or rather humbling realization from some of these modern researches and works is how strikingly accurate the Pali canon （in particular） has been over 2 milennia ago in describing internal reality。 Vast sections of this book have a direct 1:1 map with the Abhidhamma and Paticcasamuppada， barring the problem of a clear glossary for the rich and highly specific vocabulary therein。 Andrew Olendzski's works do a fabulous job of bridging this gap and if consumed as a pre-read make this book all the more relatable and enjoyable。 。。。more
Alessandro Perilli
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UnconvincingThis book offers a lot and has two great merits。 The first merit is that it's one of the most comprehensive overviews of past and modern perspectives about consciousness， providing countless references to neuroscientific theories， philosophical positions， historical contexts， and even artistic framings。 Anil Seth shows an impressive display of interdisciplinary knowledge， culture， and global networking。 You can tell that there's an enormous effort behind this work。 And thanks to that UnconvincingThis book offers a lot and has two great merits。 The first merit is that it's one of the most comprehensive overviews of past and modern perspectives about consciousness， providing countless references to neuroscientific theories， philosophical positions， historical contexts， and even artistic framings。 Anil Seth shows an impressive display of interdisciplinary knowledge， culture， and global networking。 You can tell that there's an enormous effort behind this work。 And thanks to that effort， anybody hoping to start a deep journey into neuroscience would have myriads of options after reading this book。 For this， the book would deserve four stars。 Not five because， curiously， the author barely mentions （if at all） some of the most important names linked to consciousness or brain theory in both neuroscience （e。g。， Jeff Hawkins） and philosophy （e。g。， Daniel Dennett）。The second merit is that Anil Seth excels at explaining complex concepts in a language accessible to most readers。 Having read many books about neuroscience， consciousness， and artificial intelligence （discussed in the last chapter）， I can say that "Being You" is one of the easiest to follow。 That said， the book is disappointing in some fundamental ways。The first problem is that the richness of references mentioned above makes the logic hard to follow。 In a journey from A to B， the provided context is so overwhelming that the reader might forget why she has reached B in the first place。 Sometimes the references are not even strictly related to the main problem of consciousness， resulting in a lack of focus that is disorienting。 It happens over and over throughout the book， making the narrative unnecessarily convoluted。The second problem， and certainly the most important， is that the reader won't get a straight answer about what consciousness is and how it works。 In the middle of a sea of references， the author presents his theory， called Beast Machine。 It offers a high-level explanation of why consciousness exists， but it doesn't get into the details of what brain processes enable consciousness and how they act。 While it's good that the book doesn't present the complexity of an academic paper， the narrative ends up more towards the philosophical angle than the neuroscientific one。The third problem is that， at times， the author takes absolute positions that are difficult to justify without further explanations。 For example， the book states that intelligence and consciousness are not the same things。 Perhaps， but to justify that conclusion， the reader would have needed first a deeply articulated explanation of what we think intelligence is。Mainly because of the second problem mentioned above， I rate this book a three out of five。 Readers should consider reading Jeff Hawkins's A Thousand Brains （only Part 1 is necessary） to compare the approach。 While it's still an incomplete theory， it offers the "what" and the "how" of a unifying theory of the brain， intelligence， and consciousness。I'd also recommend reading Daniel Dennett's From Bacteria to Bach and Back for a wholly different and more philosophical perspective on consciousness。 。。。more
Lou
，
Being You is a fascinating， accessible and highly readable exploration of consciousness， and Seth's quest to understand the biological basis of conscious experience is one of the most exciting contributions to twenty-first-century science I feel I have encountered。 Consciousness is the great unsolved mystery in our scientific understanding of the brain。 Somewhere， somehow， inscribed in the brain is everything that makes you you。 But how do we grasp what happens in the brain to turn mere electric Being You is a fascinating， accessible and highly readable exploration of consciousness， and Seth's quest to understand the biological basis of conscious experience is one of the most exciting contributions to twenty-first-century science I feel I have encountered。 Consciousness is the great unsolved mystery in our scientific understanding of the brain。 Somewhere， somehow， inscribed in the brain is everything that makes you you。 But how do we grasp what happens in the brain to turn mere electrical impulses into the vast range of perceptions， thoughts and emotions we feel from moment to moment？ Anil Seth， one of Britain's leading neuroscientists， charts the developments in our understanding of consciousness， revealing radical interdisciplinary breakthroughs that must transform the way we think about the self。 Drawing on his original research and collaborations with cognitive scientists， neuroscientists， psychiatrists， brain imagers， virtual reality wizards， mathematicians and philosophers， he puts forward an exhilarating new theory about how we experience the world that should encourage us to view ourselves as less apart from and more a part of the rest of nature。 Seth's revolutionary framework for consciousness will turn what you thought you knew about yourself on its head。 An unprecedented tour of consciousness thanks to new experimental evidence， much of which comes from Anil Seth's own lab。 His radical argument is that we do not perceive the world as it objectively is， but rather that we are prediction machines， constantly inventing our world and correcting our mistakes by the microsecond， and that we can now observe the biological mechanisms in the brain that accomplish this process of consciousness。 Seth's work has yielded new ways to communicate with patients previously deemed unconscious， as well as promising methods of coping with brain damage and disease。 Being You sheds light on the future of AI and virtual/augmented reality， adds empirical evidence to cutting-edge ideas of how the brain works， and ushers in a new age in the study of the mystery of human consciousness。 This book is a life-changing existential insight into being you。 Rich in anecdotal evidence and full of intriguing information from cover to cover， Seth has written a riveting book on an invariably intriguing philosophical subtopic and brings it bang up to date。 Highly recommended。 。。。more
Brian Clegg
，
The trouble with experts is they often don't know how to explain their subject well to ordinary readers。 Reading Anil Seth's book took me back to my undergraduate physics lectures， where some of the lecturers were pretty much incomprehensible。 For all Seth's reader-friendly personal observations and stories， time after time I got bogged down in his inability to clearly explain what he was writing about。 It doesn't help that the subject of consciousness is itself inherently difficult to get your The trouble with experts is they often don't know how to explain their subject well to ordinary readers。 Reading Anil Seth's book took me back to my undergraduate physics lectures， where some of the lecturers were pretty much incomprehensible。 For all Seth's reader-friendly personal observations and stories， time after time I got bogged down in his inability to clearly explain what he was writing about。 It doesn't help that the subject of consciousness is itself inherently difficult to get your head around - but I've read plenty of other books on consciousness without feeling this instant return to undergraduate confusion。There are two underlying problems I had with the book。 One was when complex （and， frankly， rather waffly） theories like IIT （Integration Information Theory） were being discussed。 As the kind of theory that it's not currently possible to provide evidence to support， this is something that in other fields might be suggested not to be science at all yet。 But that's not the issue - it's that it is really hard to put across what these theories say and why someone thinks they are correct to a non-specialist， and for me， Seth fails to do so clearly enough。The second problem is a lot more basic and straightforward - and it's the point at which I lost any enthusiasm for the book。 This is when psychology comes up against physics - for me， physics has to win。 Seth tells us 'colour is not a definitive property of things-in-themselves。。。 When I have the subjective experience of seeing a red chair in the corner of the room， this doesn't mean that the chair actually is red - because what could it even mean for a chair to possess a phenomenological property like redness？ Chairs aren't red， just as they aren't ugly or old-fashioned or avant-garde。'This is just putting psychology above physics， which simply doesn't work。 Of course a chair can be red。 If it absorbs white light and remits light with wavelengths of 650 nm， plus or minus around 30， it is red。 Of course whether a human being perceives it as red， or assigns red associations to it is a subjective assessment。 But that doesn't take away the fact that the chair is red。 Seth refers to Kant's 'Ding an sich' concept explicitly in that quote above - admittedly Kant doesn't allow for us to know the 'thing in itself' fully， but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist。Although I struggled on， and found some bits more interesting， it was reluctantly。 Some people will love this book。 And Seth clearly knows his stuff。 He is indeed an expert in his field。 But Being You just didn't work for me as someone who should have been solidly in its readership profile。 。。。more
Lais Atilano
，
Being You is a fascinating book that aims to explain not why consciousness exits in the first place， but how our subjective experiences of being conscious and having consciousness relate to our physical and psychological reality， and our need （and goal as living beings） to stay alive。 The book can be a slightly challenging read， with philosophical， mathematical and scientific concepts， and it might even require a second reading in order to be better understood。 Moreover， Seth’s ‘beast machine’ t Being You is a fascinating book that aims to explain not why consciousness exits in the first place， but how our subjective experiences of being conscious and having consciousness relate to our physical and psychological reality， and our need （and goal as living beings） to stay alive。 The book can be a slightly challenging read， with philosophical， mathematical and scientific concepts， and it might even require a second reading in order to be better understood。 Moreover， Seth’s ‘beast machine’ theory turns common sense on its head， stating that the function perception， including the experience of being a conscious， unified self， is not to represent or perceive the world as it is， but to guide action and ensure our survival。 Of course I couldn’t possibly summarise his whole theory here， and nor will I attempt to—reading the book will suffice as Seth is an eloquent writer， able to provide plenty of examples， analogies and anecdotes to illustrate his theory， constantly recapping his proposals， and always contextualising new concepts。 For those interested in debates of consciousness， intelligence， free-will， and the ethical implications of being a conscious versus an intelligent being， this is certainly a recommended read。 。。。more
Debra Feldman
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A fabulous read about consciousness。 Well explained and really makes you think。 I love this subject and was excited to be able to read and review this book。 Highly recommended
Katarina Janoskova
，
Excellent read！I was looking forward to this since I watched Anil's wonderful TED Talk （and his various podcast appearances， including on the TED Interview， Making Sense etc）。Did not disappoint。 I love the concept of 'beast machine'， funnily enough， I recently saw a theatre production （at Young Vic， London） that has attempted to c0-write a play with GPT-3 and when asked to come up with the story for the play， GPT-3 wrote a near future description of the world where AI exists with beast-men and b Excellent read！I was looking forward to this since I watched Anil's wonderful TED Talk （and his various podcast appearances， including on the TED Interview， Making Sense etc）。Did not disappoint。 I love the concept of 'beast machine'， funnily enough， I recently saw a theatre production （at Young Vic， London） that has attempted to c0-write a play with GPT-3 and when asked to come up with the story for the play， GPT-3 wrote a near future description of the world where AI exists with beast-men and beast-women who are turning wilder every day in the much changed landscapes after a disaster that it did not elaborate on。I especially loved Anil's succinct chapter on the （problem of） free will。 Excellently summarised， I should memorise it really for my next arguments on this！ 。。。more
Jeff
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Intriguing Look At Evolving Science。 Thirty years ago， if you asked someone to show you the scientific basis for consciousness - human or otherwise - they'd have laughed in your face because the concept was that much of a joke。 Now， Seth is among the researchers actually pursuing the inquiry - and they've made some solid strides。 In this text， Seth lays out what we now know via evidentiary science and can also posit via a range of philosophical approaches。 He readily explains how both prongs of Intriguing Look At Evolving Science。 Thirty years ago， if you asked someone to show you the scientific basis for consciousness - human or otherwise - they'd have laughed in your face because the concept was that much of a joke。 Now， Seth is among the researchers actually pursuing the inquiry - and they've made some solid strides。 In this text， Seth lays out what we now know via evidentiary science and can also posit via a range of philosophical approaches。 He readily explains how both prongs of research feed off each other， and his explanations are sufficiently technically complicated to speak with some degree of precision。。。 without being so technically complicated that you basically need to be working in his lab to understand a word of what he is saying。 （Though don't get me wrong， even as someone with a BS in Computer Science and who reads similar books on consciousness， cognition， and perception a few times a year。。。 this one was still technical enough that I readily admit I don't fully understand it， even now。） Absolutely a fascinating topic and a well written explanation of it from someone actively engaged in furthering the field， and it is very much recommended。 。。。more
Roy Kenagy
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DMPL ON ORDER / HOLD 8/25/21Being You by Professor Anil Seth review – the exhilarating new science of consciousness: Our world and the self are constructions of the brain， a pioneering neuroscientist argues @guardianhttps://bitly。com/2WnstXA DMPL ON ORDER / HOLD 8/25/21Being You by Professor Anil Seth review – the exhilarating new science of consciousness: Our world and the self are constructions of the brain， a pioneering neuroscientist argues @guardianhttps://bitly。com/2WnstXA 。。。more
Kelly
，
See below my NetGalley review for this book！I read “Being You” by Anil Seth and wow， what a read！ It was detailed， comprehensive， and informative。 I particularly enjoyed Chapter 12， which spoke of animal consciousness。 Interestingly， pigs were tried in court for committing， aiding and abetting crimes！ “Being You” explores what makes humans conscious。 Seth provides interesting stories about historical and scientific attempts to understand what really makes us human。 This book touches on a variety See below my NetGalley review for this book！I read “Being You” by Anil Seth and wow， what a read！ It was detailed， comprehensive， and informative。 I particularly enjoyed Chapter 12， which spoke of animal consciousness。 Interestingly， pigs were tried in court for committing， aiding and abetting crimes！ “Being You” explores what makes humans conscious。 Seth provides interesting stories about historical and scientific attempts to understand what really makes us human。 This book touches on a variety of topics， including visual perception， Descartes and Cartesian Dualism， the Turing test， artificial intelligence， and neuroscience。 I would recommend this book for anyone who has some education in neuroscience， visual perception， philosophy and psychology。 Although Seth explained the concepts quite well and in detail， I found the book quite meaty and I needed to take some breaks between chapters to really grasp the concepts。 Definitely not a light read！ Thank you to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for providing me with this copy in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
GONZA
，
I have been reading books on consciousness for a long time because it has always been a subject that has particularly interested me since， long ago， I found myself almost by chance at a lecture by Giulio Tononi。 Since then I think I have read quite a lot and I particularly appreciated the clear way in which this book illustrates both medical and philosophical theories and above all the excursus into the future and the "risk" of artificial intelligence。 Leggo da tempo libri sulla coscienza perché I have been reading books on consciousness for a long time because it has always been a subject that has particularly interested me since， long ago， I found myself almost by chance at a lecture by Giulio Tononi。 Since then I think I have read quite a lot and I particularly appreciated the clear way in which this book illustrates both medical and philosophical theories and above all the excursus into the future and the "risk" of artificial intelligence。 Leggo da tempo libri sulla coscienza perché é sempre stato un argomento che mi ha particolarmente interessato， da quando， in tempi non sospetti， mi ritrovai quasi per caso ad una conferenza di GIulio Tononi。 Da quel momento credo di aver letto parecchio e di questo libro ho apprezzato particolarmente il modo chiaro di illustrare teorie sia mediche che filosofiche e soprattutto l'excursus nel futuro ed il "rischio" delle intelligenze artificiali。 I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review。 。。。more
Nicola Michelle
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