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Being You
- A New Science of Consciousness
- Narrated by: Anil Seth
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
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Publisher's summary
International Best Seller
"Being You is an exhilarating book: a vast-ranging, phenomenal achievement that will undoubtedly become a seminal text." (The Guardian)
Anil Seth's quest to understand the biological basis of conscious experience is one of the most exciting contributions to 21st-century science.
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.
Now, internationally renowned neuroscience professor, researcher, and author Anil Seth is offers a window into our consciousness in Being You: A New Science of Consciousness. Anil Seth is both a leading expert on the neuroscience of consciousness and one of most prominent spokespeople for this relatively new field of science. His radical argument is that we do not perceive the world as it objectively is, but rather that we are prediction machines, constantly inventing our world and correcting our mistakes by the microsecond, and that we can now observe the biological mechanisms in the brain that accomplish this process of consciousness.
Seth has been interviewed for documentaries aired on the BBC, Netflix, and Amazon and podcasts by Sam Harris, Russell Brand, and Chris Anderson, and his 2017 TED Talk on the topic has been viewed over 11 million times, a testament to his uncanny ability to make unimaginably complex science accessible and entertaining.
This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of charts and illustrations from the book.
Cover photograph of iris courtesy of Eyemazy.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic reviews
“Seth makes a convincing case that perception masquerades as conscious reality.... Fluent and accessible.” (Financial Times)
“Drawing on philosophy, biology, cognitive science, neuroscience and artificial intelligence, he argues that our brains are prediction machines that constantly invent our world and then correct our mistakes, so that our sense of self derives from our body.” (Nature)
“Imaginative and compelling....” (Scientific American)
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What the Bleep Do We Know
- Discovering the Endless Possibilities for Altering Your Everyday Reality
- By: William Arntz, Betsy Chase, Mark Vicente
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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With the help of 14 leading physicists, scientists, and spiritual thinkers, this book guides listeners on a course from the scientific to the spiritual, and from the universal to the personal. Along the way, it asks such questions as: Are we seeing the world as it really is What is the relationship between our thoughts and our world? How can I create my day every day? What the Bleep answers this question and others through an innovative new approach to self-help and spirituality.
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Attacking straw men
- By Henrik on 08-06-11
By: William Arntz, and others
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Philosophy of Mind: Bolinda Beginner Guides
- By: Edward Feser
- Narrated by: Andrea Powell
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
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In this lively and entertaining introduction to the philosophy of mind, Edward Feser explores the questions central to the discipline, and relates them not only to the human brain and its capacity for thought, but also to the increasing sophistication of artificial intelligence. This in-depth primer is an account of all the most important and significant attempts that have been made to answer the riddles of consciousness and thought.
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Author is a Christian apologist, and it shows
- By David Penn on 08-30-15
By: Edward Feser
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Beyond Biocentrism
- Rethinking Time, Space, Consciousness, and the Illusion of Death
- By: Robert Lanza, Bob Berman
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
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In Beyond Biocentrism, acclaimed biologist Robert Lanza and astronomer Bob Berman take the listener on an intellectual thrill ride as they reexamine everything we thought we knew about life, death, the universe, and the nature of reality itself. The first step is acknowledging that our existing model of reality is looking increasingly creaky in the face of recent scientific discoveries.
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Here's the thing
- By Mikal on 11-09-18
By: Robert Lanza, and others
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Entangled Minds
- Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality
- By: Dean Radin PhD
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Is everything connected? Can we sense what's happening to loved ones thousands of miles away? Why are we sometimes certain of a caller's identity the instant the phone rings? Do intuitive hunches contain information about future events? Is it possible to perceive without the use of the ordinary senses? Many people believe that such "psychic phenomena" are rare talents or divine gifts. Others don't believe they exist at all. But the latest scientific research shows that these phenomena are both real and widespread.
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Boring as all get out but…
- By rebekah higgins on 01-12-20
By: Dean Radin PhD
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The Master and His Emissary
- The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World
- By: Iain McGilchrist
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 27 hrs and 15 mins
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This pioneering account sets out to understand the structure of the human brain - the place where mind meets matter. Until recently, the left hemisphere of our brain has been seen as the "rational" side, the superior partner to the right. But is this distinction true? Drawing on a vast body of experimental research, Iain McGilchrist argues while our left brain makes for a wonderful servant, it is a very poor master.
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The Master and His Emissary
- By Michael on 11-07-20
By: Iain McGilchrist
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Freedom Evolves
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
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Can there be freedom and free will in a deterministic world? Renowned philosopher Daniel Dennett emphatically answers "yes!" Using an array of provocative formulations, Dennett sets out to show how we alone among the animals have evolved minds that give us free will and morality. Weaving a richly detailed narrative, Dennett explains in a series of strikingly original arguments - drawing upon evolutionary biology, cognitive neuroscience, economics, and philosophy - that far from being an enemy of traditional explorations of freedom, morality, and meaning, the evolutionary perspective can be an indispensable ally.
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I knew I was going to like this book
- By Gary on 05-30-14
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Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
- By: Daniel C. Dennett
- Narrated by: Jeff Crawford
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
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Over a storied career, Daniel C. Dennett has engaged questions about science and the workings of the mind. His answers have combined rigorous argument with strong empirical grounding. And a lot of fun. Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking offers seventy-seven of Dennett’s most successful “imagination-extenders and focus-holders” meant to guide you through some of life’s most treacherous subject matter: evolution, meaning, mind, and free will.
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Loved it, but some philosophy background needed.
- By LongerILiveLessIKnow on 11-14-13
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Mind in Motion
- How Action Shapes Thought
- By: Barbara Tversky
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
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In Mind in Motion, psychologist Barbara Tversky shows that spatial cognition isn't just a peripheral aspect of thought, but its very foundation, enabling us to draw meaning from our bodies and their actions in the world. Our actions in real space get turned into mental actions on thought, often spouting spontaneously from our bodies as gestures. Spatial thinking underlies creating and using maps, assembling furniture, devising football strategies, designing airports, understanding the flow of people, traffic, water, and ideas.
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Physically difficult to listen to
- By Claire Hay on 11-08-19
By: Barbara Tversky
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Your Brain Is a Time Machine
- The Neuroscience and Physics of Time
- By: Dean Buonomano
- Narrated by: Aaron Abano
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
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In Your Brain Is a Time Machine, brain researcher and best-selling author Dean Buonomano draws on evolutionary biology, physics, and philosophy to present his influential theory of how we tell and perceive time. The human brain, he argues, is a complex system that not only tells time but creates it; it constructs our sense of chronological flow and enables "mental time travel" - simulations of future and past events.
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Great book on an underrated subject
- By Neuron on 05-09-17
By: Dean Buonomano
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On Intelligence
- By: Jeff Hawkins, Sandra Blakeslee
- Narrated by: Jeff Hawkins, Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
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Jeff Hawkins, the man who created the PalmPilot, Treo smart phone, and other handheld devices, has reshaped our relationship to computers. Now he stands ready to revolutionize both neuroscience and computing in one stroke, with a new understanding of intelligence itself.
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Epiphany
- By James on 03-14-05
By: Jeff Hawkins, and others
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A Beginner’s Guide to Reality
- Exploring Our Everyday Adventures in Wonderland
- By: Jim Baggott
- Narrated by: Victor Bevine
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A unique fusion of philosophy and metaphysics set against the backdrop of contemporary culture. Have you ever wondered if the world is really there when you're not looking? We tend to take the reality of our world very much for granted. This book will lead you down the rabbit hole in search of something we can point to, hang our hats on, and say this is real.
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A real great listen on the nature of reality
- By Patrick Mabry, Jr. on 07-30-14
By: Jim Baggott
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The Landscape of History
- How Historians Map the Past
- By: John Lewis Gaddis
- Narrated by: Jack Chekijian
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
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What is history, and why should we study it? Is there such a thing as historical truth? Is history a science? One of the most accomplished historians at work today, John Lewis Gaddis, answers these and other questions in this short, witty, and humane book. The Landscape of History provides a searching look at the historian's craft as well as a strong argument for why a historical consciousness should matter to us today.
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Excellent Book!
- By Billy on 09-15-18
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In this accessible, fascinating look at the science of remembering, you'll learn how we turn perceptions into memories, how language shapes our experiences, and the crucial role forgetting plays in human recollection. You'll see how electricity, chemistry, and abstraction combine to form something more than the human brain - the human mind. And you'll gain surprising insight into what our brains can tell us about who we are.
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What listeners say about Being You
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tristan
- 11-22-21
Not engaging, nothing new
I am a big fan of books on the brain and consciousness. I was really looking forward to an update on the relevant science. However, I didn't find much new in this book, and I found it so boring I couldn't make it through. (Perhaps the good stuff came later).
Here are better books on the same subjects:
- On the brain as a prediction engine: Jeff Hawkins, On intelligence. Don't let the 2005 publication date dissuade you. The book remains highly relevant.
- On different levels of consciousness, and the biosignatures of consciousness: Stanislas Dehaene, Consciousness and the Brain. While Seth adds some signatures that he himself has researched, Dehaene gives a much more comprehensive survey of current progress.
- On the various theories of consciousness: Anika Harris, Consciousness.
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34 people found this helpful
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- SelfishWizard
- 10-26-21
Broad Multi-Disciplinary Overview of Consciousness
Anil Seth's comprehensive review of consciousness science and theory is an excellent overview of the tumultuous and widely divergent approaches to understanding consciousness. Seth touches all the bases and reviews most of the well known experiments in the field (Libbett, etc.) and adds a few ideas of his own. The author gets a good deal right and some things wrong but on balance I highly recommend his thoughtful discussion. Seth narrates the book himself and does it well
As for his ideas, Seth is a physicalist and believes in an objective reality that can never be apprehended but can be approached by scientific investigation. He believes consciousness itself is a "controlled hallucination" (Seth's own pet term which he promotes as a signature catch phrase in all his talks as well as throughout the book). I don't find this a useful explanatory term. A better one might be that our perceptions are subjective constructions. We each create our own self-interested experience of reality.
Seth writes that the purpose of consciousness is survival. This falls back on the old shibboleth of evolutionary biology (survival). In his view consciousness is a controlled hallucination used by the self for the purpose of survival. This isn't precise enough. We use consciousness for everything we do, not just survival. Mostly it we use it to navigate the world and to determine what we want and how to get it. Only a tiny part of conscious effort involves survival. All of it involves self-interest which is a much better descriptor.
Seth correctly argues that intelligence and consciousness are not synonymous in order to demonstrate that machine intelligence is not and probably cannot be made to be conscious. And he is right in being skeptical of general artificial intelligence which may never be possible despite all the hype. However, he misses the point that any intelligent living being must be conscious even though an intelligent machine need not be.
Seth also correctly dismisses the nonsensical concept of "philosophical zombies" as inconceivable, thus disposing of a silly and irrelevant idea that has longed confused philosophical discussions of consciousness. However, he adopts a somewhat confused idea of the self as an ever-changing internal perception of each person's identity which is itself part of the "controlled hallucination" of consciousness. A more useful concept would be to treat the self as the whole organism. That is after all what consciousness is interested in preserving.
Seth also is obviously right in saying that all mammals are conscious but is hesitant to say that all living organisms are conscious. He is too cautious here. We know that insects and bacteria clearly act and react to stimuli in their own self-interested ways. Just try catching a fly in the palm of your hand. It will outwit you 95% of the time. Living beings must either be conscious or they are just mechanisms (in other words philosophical zombies) an idea that seems absurd and anachronistic on its face.
In summary, Seth gets a lot of things right that many other writers get wrong. But he still holds onto some rather unclear ideas regarding the self as an internal changeable identity that is itself a perception of the conscious mind. There is no reason to look for an internal self when consciousness is embodied and includes the whole organism. The concept of an internal self that excludes the body (e.g., similar to the ancient discredited concept of a soul) simply makes no sense.
The book's biggest self-contradiction is perhaps unavoidable and comes from Seth's assertion that all our perceptions are constructed and controlled hallucinations but that we can nevertheless get closer to the objective reality we can never apprehend through science. If everything we see is a hallucination, that can't be the case because we can never know whether we are getting closer or farther away from objective reality which something that will always be inaccessible to us. The most we can do is achieve a scientific consensus about how we think things work. And that should more than enough.
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18 people found this helpful
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- Crucible
- 01-23-22
I understand me - a bit more
What a great book, nicely done. I’m adding this to my list of must read books. As a man, I think reading this book, Iron John, and Mans Search for Meaning (all excellent Audible reads) is like a suit of Armor for navigating life. Highly recommended.
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- PMonaco
- 02-13-22
The best book on consciousness
I have been studying the science of consciousness for decades. This book has it all.
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4 people found this helpful
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- jacob Yeager
- 12-05-21
disappointed
this book takes forever to get nowhere. it takes a step forward, then sideways, then backwards, then just kinda stops. it has a few moments where it shines bright but quickly fades back into it's usual dull dim glow. i learned absolutely nothing new about consciousness from this book, nor did i have any insights on old ideas. regret buying, couldn't at all recommend it. disappointed.
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- See Reverse
- 04-28-22
Not as Approachable as the TED Talk
After a compelling "Your brain hallucinates your conscious reality" TED talk in 2017, I was excited to dig in to the details and the rest of the story. Rather than diving in to the story from the point of the TED talk, Being You starts with the philosophical basis for the hard problem, and real problem of Consciousness.
It took a while for me to get comfortable with the background, and the vocabulary, but ultimately this book follows through on the promise of the topic of consciousness and highlights some of the profound ramifications of these theories. By destructing "consciousness" into it's components and tossing out the superfluous, this is an important book providing some framework for the inevitable path forward in multiple domains of science, religion, and philosophy.
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- KMendoza
- 11-01-21
BEST BOOK of 2021
Fascinating, eye-opening, remarkable, captivating, outstanding! Anil delivered and went way beyond any expectation. I already know that I will be talking about this book to everybody as I always do when I come across a great, wondrous read. I also know that I will be re-reading this many times in the future. Required reading for all. Topshelf.
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- Thomas James Wright
- 04-24-22
One of the only useful writings on consciousness
this is easily one of the most interesting, useful, and thoughtful books on the topic of consciousness. I highly recommend it.
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- Bram V. Lutton
- 11-08-21
A must read for those interested in consciousness.
Not just for scientists and not just for contemplatives, Seth‘s new science of consciousness is for everyone interested in consciousness. After teaching the philosophy and science of consciousness with a colleague, I found this to be perhaps the most enlightening source of information from the perspective of science. The other text we used was waking, dreaming, being… By Evan Thompson. Together, the two books offer all there is to know, which may never be enough, about the phenomenon of consciousness.
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- Experienced Buyer
- 02-12-23
Complex and Clear
Mind bending; complex yet clear. Anil lays out his theory of consciousness in an orderly manner. He connects theories and stories from various fields including philosophy, psychiatry, computer sciences, etc in a manner that is well integrated.
As an expert in none of these subjects, I had to rewind several times to understand as much as I could but was well worth it. You don't have to be convinced by all of his ideas; just learning the background from which he deduces these is quite fascinating.
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