The Self Illusion
Why There Is No "You" Inside Your Head
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The Self Illusion
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Narrated by:
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Bruce Hood
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By:
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Bruce Hood
About this listen
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 LtdListeners also enjoyed...
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Losing the self
- By Laimis on 03-01-24
By: Jay L. Garfield
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A User's Guide to the Brain
- Perception, Attention, and the Four Theaters of the Brain
- By: John J. Ratey
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
John Ratey, best-selling author and clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, lucidly explains the human brain's workings, and paves the way for a better understanding of how the brain affects who we are. Ratey provides insight into the basic structure and chemistry of the brain, and demonstrates how its systems shape our perceptions, emotions, and behavior. By giving us a greater understanding of how the brain responds to the guidance of its user, he provides us with knowledge that can enable us to improve our lives.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great book, mediocre narration
- By Dr. B on 09-25-18
By: John J. Ratey
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SuperSense
- Why We Believe in the Unbelievable
- By: Bruce M. Hood
- Narrated by: Kerin McCue
- Length: 11 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 25
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 24
Director of the Bristol Cognitive Development Centre at the University of Bristol, Bruce M. Hood has been a research fellow at Cambridge, a visiting scientist at MIT, and a professor at Harvard. SuperSense is a fascinating exploration of the forces that shape people’s beliefs in the irrational - and also a compelling look at how these beliefs bind humans together in society.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Wired for Experiencing a Spiritual Reality
- By Donald P. Jane on 10-04-17
By: Bruce M. Hood
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The Case Against Reality
- Why Evolution Hid the Truth from Our Eyes
- By: Donald Hoffman
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 829
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 684
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Story4 out of 5 stars 680
Challenging leading scientific theories that claim that our senses report back objective reality, cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman argues that while we should take our perceptions seriously, we should not take them literally. How can it be possible that the world we see is not objective reality? And how can our senses be useful if they are not communicating the truth? Hoffman grapples with these questions and more over the course of this eye-opening work.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Don't buy - visual examples missing, no pdf
- By Richard Pickett on 08-26-19
By: Donald Hoffman
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Incognito
- The Secret Lives of the Brain
- By: David Eagleman
- Narrated by: David Eagleman
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,447
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,988
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,960
In this sparkling and provocative new book, the renowned neuroscientist David Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious brain to illuminate surprising mysteries. Taking in brain damage, plane spotting, dating, drugs, beauty, infidelity, synesthesia, criminal law, artificial intelligence, and visual illusions, Incognito is a thrilling subsurface exploration of the mind and all its contradictions.
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1 out of 5 stars
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The author is NOT a good reader
- By MaryEllen on 06-17-11
By: David Eagleman
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Consciousness Explained
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Paul Mantell
- Length: 21 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 525
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 445
The national bestseller chosen by The New York Times Book Review as one of the ten best books of 1991 is now available as an audiobook. The author of Brainstorms, Daniel C. Dennett replaces our traditional vision of consciousness with a new model based on a wealth of fact and theory from the latest scientific research.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Confuses Consciousness with Ego
- By Rahul Yadav on 07-11-19
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Being You
- A New Science of Consciousness
- By: Anil Seth
- Narrated by: Anil Seth
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 381
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 323
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 317
What does it mean to “be you” - that is, to have a specific, conscious experience of the world around you and yourself within it? There may be no more elusive or fascinating question. Historically, humanity has considered the nature of consciousness to be a primarily spiritual or philosophical inquiry, but scientific research is now mapping out compelling biological theories and explanations for consciousness and selfhood.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Not engaging, nothing new
- By Tristan on 11-22-21
By: Anil Seth
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The Mind Club
- Who Thinks, What Feels, and Why It Matters
- By: Daniel M. Wegner, Kurt Gray
- Narrated by: David Marantz
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 758
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 668
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 671
Nothing seems more real than the minds of other people. When you consider what your boss is thinking or whether your spouse is happy, you are admitting them into the "mind club". It's easy to assume other humans can think and feel, but what about a cow, a computer, a corporation? What kinds of minds do they have? Daniel M. Wegner and Kurt Gray are award-winning psychologists who have discovered that minds - while incredibly important - are a matter of perception.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Who is the self in me? Am I part of something bigger?
- By Philomath on 03-24-16
By: Daniel M. Wegner, and others
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Free Will
- By: Sam Harris
- Narrated by: Sam Harris
- Length: 1 hr and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,267
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,547
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,462
A belief in free will touches nearly everything that human beings value. It is difficult to think about law, politics, religion, public policy, intimate relationships, morality—as well as feelings of remorse or personal achievement—without first imagining that every person is the true source of his or her thoughts and actions. And yet the facts tell us that free will is an illusion.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wrong Question
- By Jennifer on 11-15-14
By: Sam Harris
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Determined
- A Science of Life Without Free Will
- By: Robert M. Sapolsky
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 861
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 770
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 770
Robert Sapolsky’s Behave, his now classic account of why humans do good and why they do bad, pointed toward an unsettling conclusion: We may not grasp the precise marriage of nature and nurture that creates the physics and chemistry at the base of human behavior, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Now, in Determined, Sapolsky takes his argument all the way, mounting a brilliant (and in his inimitable way, delightful) full-frontal assault on the pleasant fantasy that there is some separate self telling our biology what to do.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Abridged - no Appendix!
- By Amazon Customer on 11-02-23
What listeners say about The Self Illusion
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Claire Wallace
- 12-23-12
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!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Christopher E Lane
- 10-04-24
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
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- NickM
- 10-29-12
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.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 06-04-12
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
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- sarah Makarem
- 09-08-24
great book and narration!
my self told me to rate this well and write a review, and I had no choice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 06-27-12
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.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gregor
- 11-06-15
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 04-22-17
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dr. B
- 11-23-16
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.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Kyle W.
- 11-20-18
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.
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8 people found this helpful