Other Minds: The Octopus and the Evolution of Intelligent Life
- Downloads：1296
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-04-04 13:56:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Peter Godfrey-Smith
- ISBN：0008226296
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Although mammals and birds are widely regarded as the smartest creatures on earth， it has lately become clear that a very distant branch of the tree of life has also sprouted higher intelligence: the cephalopods， consisting of the squid， the cuttlefish， and above all the octopus。 In captivity， octopuses have been known to identify individual human keepers， raid neighboring tanks for food， turn off lightbulbs by spouting jets of water， plug drains， and make daring escapes。 How is it that a creature with such gifts evolved through an evolutionary lineage so radically distant from our own？ What does it mean that evolution built minds not once but at least twice？ The octopus is the closest we will come to meeting an intelligent alien。 What can we learn from the encounter？
In Other Minds， Peter Godfrey-Smith， a distinguished philosopher of science and a skilled scuba diver， tells a bold new story of how subjective experience crept into being—how nature became aware of itself。 As Godfrey-Smith stresses， it is a story that largely occurs in the ocean， where animals first appeared。 Tracking the mind’s fitful development， Godfrey-Smith shows how unruly clumps of seaborne cells began living together and became capable of sensing， acting， and signaling。 As these primitive organisms became more entangled with others， they grew more complicated。 The first nervous systems evolved， probably in ancient relatives of jellyfish; later on， the cephalopods， which began as inconspicuous mollusks， abandoned their shells and rose above the ocean floor， searching for prey and acquiring the greater intelligence needed to do so。 Taking an independent route， mammals and birds later began their own evolutionary journeys。
But what kind of intelligence do cephalopods possess？ Drawing on the latest scientific research and his own scuba-diving adventures， Godfrey-Smith probes the many mysteries that surround the lineage。 How did the octopus， a solitary creature with little social life， become so smart？ What is it like to have eight tentacles that are so packed with neurons that they virtually “think for themselves”？ What happens when some octopuses abandon their hermit-like ways and congregate， as they do in a unique location off the coast of Australia？
By tracing the question of inner life back to its roots and comparing human beings with our most remarkable animal relatives， Godfrey-Smith casts crucial new light on the octopus mind—and on our own。
Reviews
Marina Buffoli
，
Sex
Ira Therebel
，
Such a great book on an interesting topic。 A book on a mind that is so different from ours。 It is a combination of science and philosophy and it worked very well for me。 Maybe somebody who is more of an expert on cephalopods than me will be less impressed。I loved the chapter on their evolution。 It was written in a really interesting and very clear way。 I love it when such topics are presented in an understandable manner。 Not all of us are biologists！I liked to read on everything that was researc Such a great book on an interesting topic。 A book on a mind that is so different from ours。 It is a combination of science and philosophy and it worked very well for me。 Maybe somebody who is more of an expert on cephalopods than me will be less impressed。I loved the chapter on their evolution。 It was written in a really interesting and very clear way。 I love it when such topics are presented in an understandable manner。 Not all of us are biologists！I liked to read on everything that was researched。 The cuttlefish's skin， octopi abilities to learn etc。 Those were really great。 The anecdotes of his own experiences as well stories from laboratories on how those animals behaved really added to the topic。Some people wish we would find out more from this book but from what I looked up these animals are still not very well understood。 While there are always new discoveries made there are still many questions。 And this is where the author's philosophy comes in。 I am not a philosophy fan but it well fitted into the book where he talked about consciousness and opened my view on what might be studied next 。。。more
Milan
，
Zamislite jednog malog vodenog crvića， ne više od nekoliko milimetara dugačkog， sa dva fotoreceptora na vrhu （ili na kraju） tela。 E， taj crvić koji je živeo pre oko 600 miliona godina je poslednji zajednički predak čoveka i hobotnice， glavne junakinje knjige „Other Minds: The Octopus， the Sea， and the Deep Origins of Consciousness“ australisjkog filozofa nauke， istoričara i pisca Petera Godfrey-Smitha。Od tog crva koji je imao veoma nerazvijen nervni sistem razvili su se člankonošci （mravi， škorp Zamislite jednog malog vodenog crvića， ne više od nekoliko milimetara dugačkog， sa dva fotoreceptora na vrhu （ili na kraju） tela。 E， taj crvić koji je živeo pre oko 600 miliona godina je poslednji zajednički predak čoveka i hobotnice， glavne junakinje knjige „Other Minds: The Octopus， the Sea， and the Deep Origins of Consciousness“ australisjkog filozofa nauke， istoričara i pisca Petera Godfrey-Smitha。Od tog crva koji je imao veoma nerazvijen nervni sistem razvili su se člankonošci （mravi， škorpije， rakovi， insekti）， glavonošci （sipe， lignje， hobotnice…） i kičmenjaci （dinosaurusi， ptice， ljudi， magarci， mazge， političari…）。 Ako izuzmemo člankonošce čiji je nervni sistem slabo razvijen， kičmenjaci i glavonošci imaju veoma razvijen nervni sistem koji je evoluirao nezavisno jedan od drugoga。 I upravo je to nešto što autor ove knjige želi da nam ispriča。 On smatra da su glavonošci， a naročito hobotnice， nešto nama najbliže susretu sa inteligentnim vanzemaljcima。 Inteligencija se， sasvim odvojeno， razvijala na dve strane。 Kod nas i kod hobotnica。 Ovo je knjiga u kojoj se on bavi tim impresivnim i uzbudljivim bićima kakve su hobotnice， da ne kažem evolucijom drugačijeg uma i svesti。 Sjajna knjiga koja nas podseća koliko je biologija zanimljiva， uzbudljiva i fascinantna kada nije deo obrazovnog sistema Srbije。 。。。more
Verónica Fleitas Solich
，
While I think the book loses its focus very soon and ends up explaining many topics that are not unique to octopuses， it is still an interesting read。I wish it had been a bit more concise。It presents more questions than answers， but that's okay， it's an incentive to keep reading。 While I think the book loses its focus very soon and ends up explaining many topics that are not unique to octopuses， it is still an interesting read。I wish it had been a bit more concise。It presents more questions than answers， but that's okay， it's an incentive to keep reading。 。。。more
Adriana
，
On the surface， this book feels like it should be a 30 minute documentary on the life and mind of an octopus， since so much of the research mentioned is openly described as inconclusive and insufficient to make any claims about the inner world of the octopus。 The fun facts and observations of them are delightful， and make this book more than worthwhile。 You leave questioning your concept of human intelligence and the minds of animals （as the title promises）。 I leave wondering about language deve On the surface， this book feels like it should be a 30 minute documentary on the life and mind of an octopus， since so much of the research mentioned is openly described as inconclusive and insufficient to make any claims about the inner world of the octopus。 The fun facts and observations of them are delightful， and make this book more than worthwhile。 You leave questioning your concept of human intelligence and the minds of animals （as the title promises）。 I leave wondering about language development and how much emphasis we place on it as a medium for human expression。 I also loved the concept of imagining cephalopods as “close to alien life as we will get。” By the end， this book also leaves you with a gentle reminder of the environmental damage to the the sea life we read about with fascination。 。。。more
Łukasz Nowaczek
，
Jak to jest być ośmiornicą？
Ruth Hogger
，
A deeply thought-provoking look at the evolution of a completely different neurological system to our own， and the implications for the concept of intelligent life/consciousness。 Godfrey-Smith dives deep into the realms of biology and philosophy， while deftly striking a balance that keeps the reader entertained despite the complexity of theories debated。 Godfrey-Smith lays the foundation for discussing neurology and cognition by sketching the history of evolution， evoking prehistoric ecosystems， A deeply thought-provoking look at the evolution of a completely different neurological system to our own， and the implications for the concept of intelligent life/consciousness。 Godfrey-Smith dives deep into the realms of biology and philosophy， while deftly striking a balance that keeps the reader entertained despite the complexity of theories debated。 Godfrey-Smith lays the foundation for discussing neurology and cognition by sketching the history of evolution， evoking prehistoric ecosystems， and theorising the biological systems that arose out of interaction and competition。 Captivating description of the 'Octopolis' site give us insight into octopus behaviours in an atypical site that necessitates for 'social' （or in some cases， antisocial！） behaviours。 There is also a fascinating section looking at colour change in octopuses and cuttlefish， and the degree to which this may or may not be connected with conscious thought。 If you like books that explore the nature of consciousness/intelligent life， incredible creatures and prehistorical evolution， then I really recommend！ 。。。more
Siren
，
I like how this book starts with octopuses just being cute derps and ending on existential questions like "how does our mind work" and "what is communication actually" and "how can we live forever？" I just wanted to read about octopuses but damn， I don't mind learning about how the human brain can function without language。 I like how this book starts with octopuses just being cute derps and ending on existential questions like "how does our mind work" and "what is communication actually" and "how can we live forever？" I just wanted to read about octopuses but damn， I don't mind learning about how the human brain can function without language。 。。。more
Effie Simmons
，
Didn't think I would read a book about Octopuses and Cephalapods， or the great history they share and the one they don't。 It is truly remarkable that they developed down an entirely different tree to our own and yet have so many similarities。 A world I previously knew nothing about and am now glad to know just that little bit more。 Didn't think I would read a book about Octopuses and Cephalapods， or the great history they share and the one they don't。 It is truly remarkable that they developed down an entirely different tree to our own and yet have so many similarities。 A world I previously knew nothing about and am now glad to know just that little bit more。 。。。more
Robyn Fidler
，
phenomenal book honestly:）this is the book that really motivated me to read more into philosophy。 The language it uses， the ways it teaches you while leaving you into the unknown， this is in my top three favourite books！x
Andrew Goddard
，
I stan octopuses now。 Did you know that most octopuses only live for 1-2 years （deep-sea octopuses are an exception to this）？ Insane！
Margo
，
More， more， more。
Manu
，
I'm usually not very harsh with my rating system and tend to love most of the books I read but this kind of felt like a broken promise。 I didn't hate it and at the end of the day I did learn things， which I think is the main point in reading non-fiction， but there were a lot of side stories or experiments that I think were weakly tied to the main （or at least sold as the main idea） of comparing octopus and human brains。 I think I would be less critical if it was more honest with it's approach of I'm usually not very harsh with my rating system and tend to love most of the books I read but this kind of felt like a broken promise。 I didn't hate it and at the end of the day I did learn things， which I think is the main point in reading non-fiction， but there were a lot of side stories or experiments that I think were weakly tied to the main （or at least sold as the main idea） of comparing octopus and human brains。 I think I would be less critical if it was more honest with it's approach of the content of the book。 Again still very informative and worth while， but I was really looking forward to something a little different。 。。。more
Holly Dolezalek
，
This was fascinating。 It made me want to read （finally） Soul of an Octopus and watch My Octopus Teacher。
Henrique Iwao
，
Um livro acessível abordando os cefalópodes inteligentes e suas características tão alienígenas， traçadas a uma bifurcação evolutiva milhões de anos atrás， que os separou de nós e os animais que nos cercam。 Com a tese que a consciência é um tipo de processo mental mas não caracteriza a existência de mentes， Godfrey-Smith conta anedotas e experimentos， ligando-os com especulações sobre os processos mentais e a informações instigantes。 "a química da vida é marinha" explicaria nosso funcionamento c Um livro acessível abordando os cefalópodes inteligentes e suas características tão alienígenas， traçadas a uma bifurcação evolutiva milhões de anos atrás， que os separou de nós e os animais que nos cercam。 Com a tese que a consciência é um tipo de processo mental mas não caracteriza a existência de mentes， Godfrey-Smith conta anedotas e experimentos， ligando-os com especulações sobre os processos mentais e a informações instigantes。 "a química da vida é marinha" explicaria nosso funcionamento celular aquático。 As mudanças de cores da pele dos cefalópodes， seu camaleonismo， certamente expressivo， não precisa ser necessariamente comunicativo。 É preciso investigar （os polvos não vêem cores）。 O sistema nervoso disperso implica uma coordenação menos centralizada， mas que articula cooperações entre membros do indivíduo e o cérebro， curiosamente perto do estômago。 Seu corpo maleável e moldável é fascinante， como um animal de adaptação intensa e voltado à criação de soluções inusitadas。Há hipóteses interessantes: com uma combinação fortuita de fatores， a diminuir predação， pode ser que os solitários polvos não sejam tão antissociais。 Sua vida curta pode estar ligada à priorizar mutações ligadas a habilidades imediatas mas que taxam o organismo depois de um tempo （o que é uma teoria do envelhecimento， as consequências de certas adaptações se manifestando tardiamente como decaimento）。 O aprendizado rápido dos polvos e chocos （cuttlefish） e seu comportamente curioso pode ter relação com essa necessidade evolutiva de aceitar habilidades para o agora， mesmo que elas cobrarem no futuro。Ademais， se a consciência é o ápice da resposta lenta， com nossas vozes internas que preparam o espaço para ponderação， voltada para lidar com novidades e imprevistos， é interessante como os cefalópodes podem ter lidado diferentemente com essa necessidade de enfrentar a novidade。 。。。more
Joe Stack
，
This is a fascinating and captivating discourse on evolution and the origins of consciousness。 The enthusiasm of the author for this topic and particularly for octopuses and other cephalopods makes for an engaging text of vivid writing。 Considering how different， how unique， cephalopods are， you can say we have aliens among us。 They live in the sea and their minds are the product of a different line of evolution likely rising from the same origin source as mammals。 What this means for how we und This is a fascinating and captivating discourse on evolution and the origins of consciousness。 The enthusiasm of the author for this topic and particularly for octopuses and other cephalopods makes for an engaging text of vivid writing。 Considering how different， how unique， cephalopods are， you can say we have aliens among us。 They live in the sea and their minds are the product of a different line of evolution likely rising from the same origin source as mammals。 What this means for how we understand what consciousness is and how it evolved is central to this book。 。。。more
Sally Hirst
，
I watched My Octopus Teacher on Netflix on a recommendation a few days ago and that combined with a chance remark about these guys having neurons in their arms set me off （and also made me side track into trying to understand properly what a neuron is which I should probably have done some time ago given that mine are dying off apace）。 He describes what octopuses are and how they even came about （which in itself and all the stuff about evolution was interesting to me and well explained for a 'ne I watched My Octopus Teacher on Netflix on a recommendation a few days ago and that combined with a chance remark about these guys having neurons in their arms set me off （and also made me side track into trying to understand properly what a neuron is which I should probably have done some time ago given that mine are dying off apace）。 He describes what octopuses are and how they even came about （which in itself and all the stuff about evolution was interesting to me and well explained for a 'never really thought about any of it' kind of reader）。 He also intersperses everything with descriptions of octopuses he has watched and that is beautifully presented， but the core of the thing is what is intelligence / consciousness / a mind and to what extent and why we need to interact with the world and how that pushes the development of these things and the fact that octopuses have this dual layer thing going on （with neurons in arms as well as brain - so embodied cognition in a truer sense of the words） fits into thinking about that beautifully。 It also helps you understand the senses better - how someone can lose eyes and still 'see' with other mechanisms and some things about the sense of self （and Hume who I never did really understand at university） and the thought / language dialogue。 。。。more
Senthilkumar
，
If you think octopus as a just another sea creatures， then this book has a lot to offer。But as per the author's note on flap text， if you expect the answers to complex questions about evolution mind of octopus，。 Then you'll be disappointed。Author could have gone little light on references with names， all names and references could be at the end。Nevertheless， very informative。 If you think octopus as a just another sea creatures， then this book has a lot to offer。But as per the author's note on flap text， if you expect the answers to complex questions about evolution mind of octopus，。 Then you'll be disappointed。Author could have gone little light on references with names， all names and references could be at the end。Nevertheless， very informative。 。。。more
esztereszterdora
，
Two things after reading this book:1。 I'll never eat anything from the sea ever again except for some dumb fish。 If I see someone eating squid， cuttlefish or octopus， I'm comitting homicide。 （I bet in five years I'll only be eating evil chicken and stupid fish OR waiting for laboratory-grown meat to become mainstream because the more I know about animals， the less I can eat them）。2。 My phobia of octopuses is cured （as a child I had a book with an enormous picture of a giant octopus in it and I w Two things after reading this book:1。 I'll never eat anything from the sea ever again except for some dumb fish。 If I see someone eating squid， cuttlefish or octopus， I'm comitting homicide。 （I bet in five years I'll only be eating evil chicken and stupid fish OR waiting for laboratory-grown meat to become mainstream because the more I know about animals， the less I can eat them）。2。 My phobia of octopuses is cured （as a child I had a book with an enormous picture of a giant octopus in it and I was scared shitless）， from today I'm an octopus stan。 （Catch me peppering in some octo-facts into my cognitive psychology course from the next semester alongside with my all-time favs， corvids）。As a cognitive psychologist with a kick for comparative psychology and philosophy I tremendously enjoyed this book。 It ticked all my boxes， so it was not a big surprise。 What made the experience even more great was the fact that I read Children of Ruin about a year ago （which is also fantastic， go check it out） and I saw all the ways Tchaikovsky incorporated Godfrey-Smith's book into his writing。 Back then I started to like octopuses but seeing the interaction of the two books made me a fan。The conclusion: this book should have been longer （like twice or thrice） and octopuses are rad。 Check out the book to see why and catch me nerding about them in the next few years。 。。。more
M
，
An interesting read but it is a bit all over the place。 It would probably have been easier to follow if the focus would have been narrowed to a few topics。
Ben
，
"The demand for continuity has， over large tracts of science， proved itself to possess true prophetic power。 We ought therefore ourselves sincerely to try every possible mode of conceiving the dawn of consciousness so that it may not appear equivalent to the irruption into the universe of a new nature， non-existent until then。" - William James The Principles of Psychology This is a book of natural philosophy with a well developed and easy to follow discussions on current developments of evoluti "The demand for continuity has， over large tracts of science， proved itself to possess true prophetic power。 We ought therefore ourselves sincerely to try every possible mode of conceiving the dawn of consciousness so that it may not appear equivalent to the irruption into the universe of a new nature， non-existent until then。" - William James The Principles of Psychology This is a book of natural philosophy with a well developed and easy to follow discussions on current developments of evolutionary understanding of cephalopods and a well reasoned argument about intelligence， sentience and consciousness made by a philosopher with first hand experience with the closest thing we have to alien intelligence - an intelligent group of invertebrates whom or latest common ancestors lived before the the Cambrian explosion。This book isn't perfect but it's easy to read and informative and he makes clear what is his own speculation and what is his formal arguments/scientific research and consensus。 I think the speculation weakens the latter but accept that he does not claim to be a marine biologist。It's also pretty short and is free on audible plus。 I started and finished it on my drive to Saint Louis this afternoon。 。。。more
Adrian
，
I always had a terrible phobia of the family of creatures that are the stars of this book - it was severe and if I came across a picture I used to physically jerk and get very breathless and hot - on a couple of occasions automatically running out of a restaurant when something unexpected was placed on the table。。。 Two sessions of EMDR later， as part of some training， that phobia is about 80% gone。 It was a very strange experience and I can’t explain exactly what happened but I don’t get the phy I always had a terrible phobia of the family of creatures that are the stars of this book - it was severe and if I came across a picture I used to physically jerk and get very breathless and hot - on a couple of occasions automatically running out of a restaurant when something unexpected was placed on the table。。。 Two sessions of EMDR later， as part of some training， that phobia is about 80% gone。 It was a very strange experience and I can’t explain exactly what happened but I don’t get the physiological reaction any more， just a slight tension that goes away quickly。 All of which is to say that reading this book was a major milestone for me。 And I loved it！ Less so the more theoretical sections on the evolution of minds， though I enjoyed the idea that the mind was born in the sea， and we brought the sea with us inside our bodies when we came into land。 But certainly the social and individual descriptions were the highlights。 It seems that octopuses are bit like the cats of the sea - wilful， sometimes playful， sometimes spiteful。 So if you’re trying to get them to do scientific experiments， they’re more likely to spend their time breaking the machinery， escaping from their tanks， and squirting water at the experimenters than completing their assigned tasks。 It seems like they have a lot of character and it was a lot of fun to read about them。 I still kept the book face down on my bedside table though。 。。。more
Sophie Pesek
，
This book is an amazingly in-depth exploration of evolution and philosophy！ Many of the weirdest "why" questions I've had are addressed This book is an amazingly in-depth exploration of evolution and philosophy！ Many of the weirdest "why" questions I've had are addressed 。。。more
Conrad
，
Really enjoyed this one。 Great mix of science， philosophy， nature， evolution and consciousness discussion。 Easy to read too。 Recommended。
Andi
，
This is a wonderful deep dive （pun intended） into the origin of cephalopods， their similarities and differences to humans， and how we can understand their role in evolution by better understanding our own。 I learned so much by reading this book， and am more in awe of and amazed by cephalopods than ever。
Ella Holmes
，
I'd like to beUnder the seaIn an octopus' gardenIn the shade I'd like to beUnder the seaIn an octopus' gardenIn the shade 。。。more
Cicely Gallagher
，
Completely fascinating and yet still approachable as a non-scientist
Isabel Arjmand
，
The existence of octupuses is wild。 Like， among other things: they seem to be colorblind but they can change colors in complicated ways， they can fully change shape， and their arms are connected to their brains but also sort of have brains of their own！"The evolution of cephalopods yielded， in the octopus， a body of pure possibility。" I first heard of Other Minds shortly after it was published， and for the last few years have often thought about how many forms of intelligence might actually or hy The existence of octupuses is wild。 Like， among other things: they seem to be colorblind but they can change colors in complicated ways， they can fully change shape， and their arms are connected to their brains but also sort of have brains of their own！"The evolution of cephalopods yielded， in the octopus， a body of pure possibility。" I first heard of Other Minds shortly after it was published， and for the last few years have often thought about how many forms of intelligence might actually or hypothetically exist， and how unfathomable they might be to us， given how difficult we find it to grasp the meaning of the octopuses behavior。 I picked up the book because of this review， and my expectations were off; I expected more about the peculiar intelligence of cephalopods and what it might mean about other "alien" forms of intelligence， while that's a relatively small part of the book compared to the evolutionary history。I admire that Godfrey-Smith doesn't overpromise – he doesn't get into the wildly speculative or imply that cephalopods are any smarter than we know them to be， as tempting as that is to believe。 Godfrey-Smith makes complex evolutionary and biological processes understandable to a lay audience， even as the book remains dense with science。 But honestly， I had trouble keeping track of all the early lifeforms Godfrey-Smith covers。"When animals did crawl onto dry land， they took the sea with them。 All the basic activities of life occur in water-filled cells bounded by membranes， tiny containers whose insides are remnants of the sea。" Within the discussion of the lifespan of cephalopods is a lucid explanation of why we age and why some creatures age faster than others: "why we can live for about a century， a nondescript fish can live for twice as long， a pine tree's life can run from John the Baptist's to your own， and a giant cuttlefish—with its wild colors and friendly curiosity—arrives and is gone in a couple of summers。"It would be hard to come away from this book without an increased sensitivity to the wellbeing of our fellow animals。 As Godfrey-Smith says in a discussion of consciousness， "you can still doubt that these animals feel anything， yes。 But you can doubt that about your next-door neighbour。"4。5 / 5 stars 。。。more
Sarah
，
Amazingly appealing information about cephalopods， anecdotes， wandering around the topic of evolution。 Some rambling about philosophy and consciousness。。。but it was genial rambling。
Cait
，