He argues that the self changes according to the circumstances and our influences. But that sovereignty of the self is increasingly under threat from science as our understanding of the brain advances. Why there is no you inside your head kindle edition. The illusion of the self an interview with bruce hood. Most of us believe that we are unique and coherent individuals, but are we. In his excellent new book, the self illusion, he seeks to understand how.
Bruce hood, phd, is professor of developmental psychology in society at the university of bristol. And in early buddhist texts the buddha uses the term anatta, which means not self or the illusion of the self. Hoods thesis is that the self is an illusion, but what this means is not clear. The self illusion hardcover bruce hood oxford university press. The self illusion is about the science of self the truth behind the illusion that we all share, that we exist as individuals inside our bodies and are in control of our own thoughts and behaviours.
He says, not only is the self a product of others influence on us, but we try and learn to become others. Bruce hood is the director of the cognitive development centre at the university of bristol. He has been a research fellow at cambridge university and university college london, a visiting. The self illusion by bruce hood, 9781780338729, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Buy the self illusion book online at best prices in india on. Buy self illusion book online at low prices in india. How the social brain creates identity by bruce hood. I purchased my paperback copy from amazon in 2016, and i continually go back to it. Recent developments in neuroscience tell us that we are a multitude of unconscious mechanisms interpreting the world but largely under the. This book ventures into unchartered territory to explain how the idea of the. What could it mean to say that the self is an illusion. Bruce hood gives us a crash course of sorts on all major aspects of the psychology of the mind.
What benefit, if any, can a reader expect to gain from your book. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the self illusion. The self illusion by bruce hood, 9781780330075, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. In his book bruce hood argues, that the popular notion of a coherent self living inside us is an illusion. Hood s voice is dull and plodding, adding very little life to the text, and his faint scottish accent was slightly distracting at times. Second, as the philosopher gilbert ryle pointed out, in searching for the self, one cannot simultaneously be the hunter and the hunted, and i think that is a dualistic problem if we think we can. Bruce hood is currently the director of the bristol cognitive development centre in the experimental psychology department at the university of. How the social brain creates identity, bruce hood offers a social. He is currently based at the university of bristol and his major research interests include the cognitive processes behind adult magical thinking. David hume made a similar point, saying the self is merely a collection of experiences see box in chris durantes article. He spends most of his time engaging with the pubic in one way or another.
Bruce hoods the self illusion is a thoroughly researched and skillfully organised account of the developments in psychology and neuroscience that are helping to substantiate this unsettling vision of selfhoodelhood is well placed to tackle all this. Those who embrace the self as an individual in the west, or a member of the group in the east, feel fulfilled and purposeful. The self illusion how the social brain creates identity bruce hood. The self illusion how the social brain creates identity book. Provides the controversial argument that the self is an illusion weve created. He explains that self is the product of our relationships and interactions with others, and it exists only in our brains. Bruce hood, a psychologist at the university of bristol, picks up where woolf and the modernists left off. Bruce hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. Creates identity by bruce hood, american journal of clinical. Hood is a developmental cognitive neuroscientist and he explains how the brain can create the illusion of a self in control through experiences the body has with its environment. Bruce hood is currently the director of the bristol cognitive development centre at the university of bristol. He has been a research fellow at cambridge university and university college london, a visiting scientist at mit, and a faculty professor at harvard.
Bruce hood is looking to appeal to a wide audience painfully obvious in the chapter on the internet and the self when he explains what things like twitter and blogs are. Our consciousness of the self in the here and now is the i and most of the. Bruce hood, a psychologist at the university of bristol, picks up where. Professor bruce hood is the professor of developmental psychology in society in the. The self illusion why theres no you inside your head.
Of course it is true that nothing in the universe is enduring and permanent, since even the universe is not. The meme machine 1999 has been translated into 16 other languages. He explains that self is the product of our relationships and interactions with. Heres bruce hood, author of the new book the self illusion, in an interview at sam harris joint. I was born in toronto, canada, and my middle name is macfarlane. This sense of our self may seem incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that it is not what it seemsit is all an illusion. His written popular science books broadly based on this research interests including the origins of supernatural thinking, the illusion of self, the social domestication of. The self illusion most of us believe that we are an independent, coherent self an individual inside our head who thinks, watches, wonders, dreams, and makes plans for the future. Bruce macfarlane hood is a canadianborn british experimental psychologist who specialises in developmental cognitive neuroscience.
The best archive and collection of books available absolutely free for reading online. In the self illusion, bruce hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. Paperback of the successful hardcover that sold over 4,400 copies in the us alone in its first eight months. How the social brain creates identity by bruce hood 2012, hardcover at the best online prices at. Paperback of the successful hardcover that sold over 4,400 copies in the us alone in its first. In fact, it may not be a useful concept to call the felt self an illusion. If youre already versed on the topic, you can probably skip this book, unless you just want to find out what bruce hood thinks. Why there is no you inside your head ebook written by bruce hood. Offers a fascinating glimpse into the ways that social networking is changing our sense. How the social brain creates identity, is probably the best book i have ever read on the subject of our sense of self, our sense of identity. The feeling that a single, unified, enduring self inhabits the body is compelling and inescapable.
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