The Self Illusion: Why There Is No "You" Inside Your Head

I began this audiobook with high hopes. Here was a new book arguing for a radical and boldly counterintuitive thesis, namely that the very center of our conscious existence, our sense of self, is an illusion. If there ever was a claim worthy of a book-length defense, this would surely be it.

Sadly, however, the book fell far short of my expectations. In fact, the author spent very little time at all making the (probably very difficult) case for the "self illusion," and instead used this topic as a platform for talking about pretty much anything he seemed interested in, from how the internet is shaping our brains to the psychology of laughter. Basically, the book reads like a low-level tour of psychology, with topics only loosely (and sometimes not at all) connected to the topic of "the self," broadly construed. As a basic introduction to psychology for extremely lay audiences, it succeeds fairly well. As a cogent argument for the illusion of selfhood, it fails abysmally.

Worse still, even if you are looking for an introduction to psychology, I would not waste your credit on this, as most of the material covered has already been covered more thoroughly and more entertainingly in other works, like "Predictably Irrational," "How the Mind Works," "The Happiness Hypothesis," or "The 7 Laws of Magical Thinking."

And as if this weren't enough bad news for "The Self Illusion," Bruce Hood unfortunately succumbed to the "authors make better narrators" fallacy, and the book suffered greatly for it. Hood's voice is dull and plodding, adding very little life to the text, and his faint scottish accent was slightly distracting at times.

I really enjoyed this book. It is really interesting, the author's narrative style is easy to listen to, and afterwards I have a better understanding of my 'self' and others. Enjoyable!

Bruce (also the author) has an excellent voice and keen perspectives.

The brain

It was very exciting, listening to it

Good for anyone wanting psychology or neuroscience information.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well-researched book, and loved the fact that Bruce narrated it himself. I found his arguments compelling throughout the whole book. Highly recommend.

Hood is a great writer I highly recommend the ride into the exploration of the illusion of self. Even if you are well vs in the subject you will find Hood's treatment of the social aspects of self thought provoking, Hood even puts an interesting spin on gender biases, beyond testosterone and estrogen.

The Brain, it is after all your reality generator.

Sounds Great at 2x

No. Your bound to want to reflect. Even coming back to it in a few days is a good idea

You own it to yourself to listen to this book

No idea (just read some interviews and book reviews not the book itself).

High quality throughout.

Nope it has chapters of suitable lenghts.

Great book that cover a variety of topics, the writer is updated on the subjects and a good communicator. Never mind the other review concerning the accent, it is preferable in some (or most I will say) cases to listen to an author rather than an actor. If you are in to quite clever pop-sci this is one obvious pick to listen through.

Hood is a great writer I highly recommend the ride into the exploration of the illusion of self. Even if you are well vs in the subject you will find Hood's treatment of the social aspects of self thought provoking, Hood even puts an interesting spin on gender biases, beyond testosterone and estrogen.

The Brain, it is after all your reality generator.

Sounds Great at 2x

No. Your bound to want to reflect. Even coming back to it in a few days is a good idea

You own it to yourself to listen to this book