Hofstadter--who won a Pulitzer for his 1979 book, "Gdel, Escher, Bach"--blends a surprising array of disciplines and styles in his continuing rumination on the nature of consciousness.
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Hofstadter--who won a Pulitzer for his 1979 book, "Gdel, Escher, Bach"--blends a surprising array of disciplines and styles in his continuing rumination on the nature of consciousness.
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Add this copy of I Am a Strange Loop to cart. $3.75, fair condition, Sold by Goodwill Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hillsboro, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Basic Books.
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Add this copy of I Am a Strange Loop to cart. $5.18, good condition, Sold by Goodwill Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hillsboro, OR, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Basic Books.
Add this copy of I Am a Strange Loop to cart. $5.18, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Colorado rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Basic Books (AZ).
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This item is in overall good condition. Covers and dust jackets are intact but may have minor wear including slight curls or bends to corners as well as cosmetic blemishes including stickers. Pages are intact but may have minor highlighting/ writing. Binding is intact; however, spine may have slight wear overall. Digital codes may not be included and have not been tested to be redeemable and/or active. Minor shelf wear overall. Please note that all items are donated goods and are in used condition. Orders shipped Monday through Friday! Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Orders shipped Monday through Friday. Your purchase helps put people to work and learn life skills to reach their full potential. Thank you!
Add this copy of I Am a Strange Loop to cart. $5.24, fair condition, Sold by Solr Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Skokie, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Basic Books.
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Fair. The pages show normal wear and tear. Pages are clean! There is a lot of wear and tear on the cover Some corner dings. There are stains or residue on the cover The dust jacket is missing. There is staining on the text block edges The book is slightly cocked There are some tears on the corners of the spine but doesn't effect biding Fast Shipping-Each order powers our free bookstore in Chicago and sending books to Africa!
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Good. Size: 88x4x136; tight, uncreased spine, pages clear and bright except for a few highlights, shelf and edge wear, cover curl, corners bumped, packaged in cardboard box for shipment, tracking on U.S. orders.
Add this copy of I Am a Strange Loop to cart. $8.38, good condition, Sold by Goodwill of Greater Milwaukee rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Milwaukee, WI, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Basic Books.
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Good. The cover has visible markings and wear. The dust jacket shows normal wear and tear. The pages show normal wear and tear. There is writing discoloration or markings on the edges of the pages. Codes or product keys that accompany this product may not be valid. Fast Shipping in a Standard Poly Mailer!
The author is brilliant but I found most of the book difficult and pointless. The author gets personal about two-thirds through the book and I found that chapter moving. His construction of the human identity from feedback we get from others is excellent as far as it goes. But he doesn't posit anything beyond the ego, which I find shallow.
eclecticreader2
Dec 13, 2007
Read this book only if you like mathematics
This book outlines Hofstadter's theory of consciousness. The book is well written, but I found it difficult to read the first part, even though I have an affinity with math, due to the amount of mathematical theory used as a metaphor to illustrate Hofstadter's concepts. What follows is an excerpt from a critical summary paper I wrote for one of my classes in graduate school. Hofstadter uses the terms ?consciousness,? ?inner light,? ?I?, and ?soul? interchangeably. He theorizes that each human is born with a blank slate of consciousness or essentially ?no soul.? Over time, our brains categorize the phenomena we take in with our senses into symbols. Symbols are structures housed within our brain cells and they represent ?concepts.? Symbols are then grouped into categories or successively more complex patterns of structures, ad infinitum. Eventually, the human develops a sense of ?self? or ?I? which is the sum of his or her concepts of ?hopes,? ?dreams,? ?experience,? etc. According to Hofstadter, the ?I? is an illusion; his entire theory of consciousness is built on the laws of physics. There is no ?duality? of belief in some extraordinary, non-physical essence that makes each of us an ?I.? Hofstadter uses analogy and metaphor throughout the book to substantiate his ideas. His theory is not based on scientific evidence ? it is presented as a logical argument ? he even uses a dialog format in two of his chapters. Hofstadter defines a macro-level view and a micro-level view of consciousness. At a micro-level, the brain operates mechanically through a process of ?squirting chemicals? through synapses, neurotransmitters and other physical components. All activities of thought and consciousness come from these mechanical activities. From a macro-level perspective, symbols, which represent concepts, are housed in structures within the brain and combinations of these structures form ?multilevel systems." Hofstadter says there?s no physical location for the ?I? structure, it is somehow present across the entire brain, but he doesn?t link them to the micro-level view. I see this as a flaw in his argument that we are essentially mechanical beings because he can?t describe the linkage between micro and macro views. Hofstadter briefly references traditional psychology twice in the text. He references two books <this review editing program won't allow me to put the author's name here because it thinks her name is a bad word> Our Inner Conflicts (1945), and Self-Analysis (1942) and suggests readers be reminded ?of the immense psychological complexity that lies at the core of all human existence." I believe the text needs a more comprehensive discussion of psychological and human development concepts including theories and how they do or don?t apply to Hofstadter?s claims. Overall, this book will challenge your thinking and cause you to question and understand your definitions of "soul" and "self."