The Self Illusion

Why There Is No "You" Inside Your Head

By: Bruce Hood

Narrated by: Bruce Hood

The Self Illusion provides a fascinating examination of how the latest science shows that our individual concept of a self is in fact an illusion. Most of us believe that we possess a self - an internal individual who resides inside our bodies, making decisions, authoring actions and possessing free will. The feeling that a single, unified, enduring self inhabits the body is compelling and inescapable. But that sovereignty of the self is increasingly under threat from science as our understanding of the brain advances.

©2012 Bruce Hood (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

“Fascinating, timely and important ... Hood's presentation of the science behind our supersense is crystal clear and utterly engaging” ( New Scientist)

“Wonderful. Illuminating. Full of insight, beauty, and humor. Get to know thyself” (David Eagleman, author of Sum)

“Startling and engrossing” (Robin Ince)

A great read!

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!

Incredibly Informative

this was an incredibly informative work. I thought that it was going to include quite a bit more detail into Eastern philosophy and spirituality, but it went on more of a informative psychological direction

Excellent

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.

It’s ok to believe in illusions

What made the experience of listening to The Self Illusion the most enjoyable?

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.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Brain, it is after all your reality generator.

What about Bruce Hood’s performance did you like?

Sounds Great at 2x

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

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

Any additional comments?

You own it to yourself to listen to this book

great book and narration!

my self told me to rate this well and write a review, and I had no choice.

Great book!

Would you consider the audio edition of The Self Illusion to be better than the print version?

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

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Self Illusion?

High quality throughout.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Nope it has chapters of suitable lenghts.

Any additional comments?

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.

Fascinating book.

For anyone interested in the mind, human behaviour and so on, l highly recommend this book. Read by the author, which l usually find more appealing than not. Great book, one l will listen to many more times.

enjoyable subject

Great read. I don't really know who was doing the reading but this illusianary self was literate enough to thoroughly enjoy the insight. Nice new perspective given here by the author and well narrated. Thanks Bruce.

Great for brain science junkies!

First heard Dr Hood on The Brain Science Podcast. The book is a nice discussion of how neuroscience impacts daily life. If you like Pinker, Damasio or Gazzaniga you'll like this.

A solid rehash

This book is solidly written, but it falls into a category of books I am noticing which simply rehashes the same few dozen psychology studies. You get the marshmallow one, the Stanford prison one, the one about intermittent rewards, etc etc etc. I thought this book was going to be a real thunderbolt but it’s more or less average.