The Ego Tunnel

The Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self

By: Thomas Metzinger

Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau

We're used to thinking about the self as an independent entity, something that we either have or are. In The Ego Tunnel, philosopher Thomas Metzinger claims otherwise: No such thing as a self exists. The conscious self is the content of a model created by our brain - an internal image, but one we cannot experience as an image. Everything we experience is "a virtual self in a virtual reality".

But if the self is not "real," why and how did it evolve? How does the brain construct it? Do we still have souls, free will, personal autonomy, or moral accountability?

In a time when the science of cognition is becoming as controversial as evolution, The Ego Tunnel provides a stunningly original take on the mystery of the mind.

©2009 Thomas Metzinger (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Metzinger's intended audience is the lay reader, and he does a superb job of presenting his theory and introducing philosophical issues related to consciousness." ( Library Journal)
"Groundbreaking. This sophisticated understanding of the brain as an ego machine accounts remarkably well for the lived experience of being someone, a someone who transforms a bombardment of stimuli into a seamless present while still engaging in off-line planning for the future and reflection on the past." ( Booklist)

Awesome

Still a way ahead of time. The Ego tunnel is a metzingers tour de force. Highly recommended, if you can handle it

Love it

Realist shit I’ve ever heard in my life. What an amazing piece of literature, just liberating and revolutionary, revolutionizing. I feel like a whole brand new person.

Objectively good

The information in the book is good overall, but can feel dry and boring at times.

Excelent

I really enjoy The book and Metzinger's depth un every topic. It was a mind blowing audiobook, very well narrated

Ego Tunnel

What an incredibly fascinating and thought-provoking book. I'm afraid of simplifying the ideas, but for the sake of those trying to decide if they're interested, it's basically saying that our sense of self is a symbolic representation, created by the brain in order to manage and interact with the world around us, which is also represented in the brain (as opposed to being a direct experience of reality, whatever that may be). "I" and "the world" are therefore nothing more than two extremes in a symbolic tunnel. By implication, the self isn't real--we don't actually exist, in other words, at least not in the way we think we do. The basic ideas are elaborated in chapters on dreams and lucid dreaming, artificial intelligence, psychoactive drugs, and experiments having to do with so-called phantom limbs. It ends with a forward-looking discussion about the ethics of consciousness.

The narrator's voice and delivery are just right. He sounds like he could actually be a scientist or a philosopher--nerdy, but impassioned.