Computing the Mind: How the Mind Really Works Review

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Computing the Mind: How the Mind Really Works ReviewThis book is very ambitious introductory text to both cognitive psychology and philosophy of the mind, and is able to integrate the two fields seamlessly. To be quite honest, it contains the best summary of modern, scientifically based philosophy of the mind that I have seen so far. What's more, the book contains ample references to art, music, literature, pop culture, and the history of philosophical and psychological thought, to help put the material in the context of the human experience. The chapters on ethics, happiness, the self, and the future of brains/minds also do an excellent job of exploring the different angles of brains/minds and conscious experience.
With regards to the previous reviewer: this book is a survey text, and it doesn't go as in depth on some issues as would be ideal. But since it was built to be a survey text, the author probably was working within certain confines regarding length and depth of exploration of the topics. For a fuller exploration of the material, the reader will need to rely on the footnotes, citations, and Google searches. However, a course instructor can get around this by supplementing the book with journal articles and other additional material.
There are a number of passages where a lot of information is packed into 3-4 sentences, and the passage needs to be 'unpacked', in a sense, to be fully understood. I don't know if this is simply the authors writing style, or if this was done to meet length requirements set by the publisher. Either way, do not be dismayed if a certain passage takes 4-5 reads to make any sense. Because on that 5th read, you'll finally get it, and then be in awe of just how much insight was tightly packed into the three sentences you just spent 5 minutes on ;).Computing the Mind: How the Mind Really Works OverviewIn a culmination of humanity's millennia-long quest for self knowledge, the sciences of the mind are now in a position to offer concrete, empirically validated answers to the most fundamental questions about human nature. What does it mean to be a mind? How is the mind related to the brain? How are minds shaped by their embodiment and environment? What are the principles behind cognitive functions such as perception, memory, language, thought, and consciousness? By analyzing the tasks facing any sentient being that is subject to stimulation and a pressure to act, Shimon Edelman identifies computation as the common denominator in the emerging answers to all these questions. Any system composed of elements that exchange signals with each other and occasionally with the rest of the world can be said to be engaged in computation. A brain composed of neurons is one example of a system that computes, and the computations that the neurons collectively carry out constitute the brain's mind. Edelman presents a computational account of the entire spectrum of cognitive phenomena that constitutes the mind. He begins with sentience, and uses examples from visual perception to demonstrate that it must, at its very core, be a type of computation. Throughout his account, Edelman acknowledges the human mind's biological origins. Along the way, he also demystifies traits such as creativity, language, and individual and collective consciousness, and hints at how naturally evolved minds can transcend some of their limitations by moving to computational substrates other than brains. The account that Edelman gives in this book is accessible, yet unified and rigorous, and the big picture he presents is supported by evidence ranging from neurobiology to computer science. The book should be read by anyone seeking a comprehensive and current introduction to cognitive psychology.

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