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The Self Illusion: Why There is No 'You' Inside Your Head
 
 
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The Self Illusion: Why There is No 'You' Inside Your Head [Kindle Edition]

Bruce Hood (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
Print List Price: £8.99
Kindle Price: £5.39 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
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Review

Fascinating, timely and important ... Hood's presentation of the science behind our supersense is crystal clear and utterly engaging--New Scientist

Wonderful. Illuminating. Full of insight, beauty, and humor. Get to know thyself--David Eagleman, author of Sum

Startling and engrossing... --Robin Ince

Book Description

A fascinating examination of how the latest science shows that our individual concept of a self is in fact an illusion.
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› Visit Amazon's Bruce M. Hood Page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable read but a glaring error 2 Sep 2012
By Matthew Hunter
Format:Paperback
I enjoyed reading this book. It is well written and provides excellent stories and research that justify the point of the book that ultimately the self is an illusion. You will be thoroughly entertained and thought provoked by finding out why your identity is made up of a multitude of external and internal factors that you never knew could provide such an influence on who you think you are.

However this is a popular science book and not a journal based literature review and there are obvious instances where Bruce's personal opinions are presented without strong evidence and one could be forgiven for taken that as fact given the research he does display. For example when talking about free will he cites a well known study where the brain has already decided on the choice of pressing a button before the conscious mind has decided. This is great evidence to support an arguement against free will but then concludes that because he can plan for a future event that free will isn't always an illusion. Whether he is right or not is not the point but simply that he makes a conclusion without supporting literary evidence.

The glaring error that the book contains is simply this: Bruce assumes that a self illusion is a good thing. He somehow assumes that its those people with a strong sense of self that are better off. This is true for the minority of people who believe they are confident, smart, successful, or positive. But in my experience (and I have a lot!) is that most people's identity is negative and their sense of self is often seen as weak, unconfident, stressed, sad, unhappy and so on. Bruce doesn't acknowledge that a strong sense self can be bad as well as good. In fact his closing statement is that one needs a strong sense of self to survive.... Read more ›
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking and easy to read 11 May 2012
By Caspar Thomas
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book and found it a pleasure to read (albeit you do need to concentrate in parts). The concept that there is no "self" is a pretty hard one to get your head around, although it certainly makes sense to me - and even more so given the evidence that Bruce Hood outlines.

The reason I haven't given the book 5 stars is that I would like to have seen a section/chapter that explores what the concept of "no self" means for the way that we live our lives. That is to say, the fact that we have no consistent personality and are not much more than our brains, which in turn is a collection of (changing) memories, must be a very valuable piece of information when it comes to informing the way we live our lives. The other small criticism I had of the book is that the version I read (the Kindle version) had quite a number of typos which makes me wonder whether the book had been rather rushed into publication.

However, overall, I would strongly recommend this book. It has proved, to me, to be a great introduction to the otherwise illusive and mystical concept of there being "no self".
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47 of 52 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars No kidding 21 April 2012
By Hande Z TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
This book examines the basic nature of our personal identity from the point of view of neuropsychology. Julian Baggini gave us a fascinating account of it from the point of view of philosophy last year in his book "The Ego Trick". Hood writes an equally fascinating account to address the question, "What (or who) is the `I' that Descartes refers to when he wrote `I think. Therefore I am'"? The inroads into neuroscience is paving the way we look at things, the way we see others, and most importantly, the way we see ourselves. A decade ago the phrase "My brain made me do it" would have brought howls of laughter from people thinking it might be a spoof on criminal conduct. Read Hood and you may see the serious studies in this field.

The competing theories of Galen Strawson (the "pearl view") and Hume's (the "bundle theory") are examined and Hood tells us that modern science is inclining towards the "bundle theory", namely that our "self" emerges not from an accretion of our past experiences - "a bundling together of these experiences". The "pearl theory" holds that our self is a single immovable entity at the core of our existence.

Arising from this, it will become apparent that if the self is a bundling of one's past experiences, then one's memory is an important factor to be studied. Hood tells us that neuroscience shows that possession of memory and identity is what makes us unique individuals. Hood lucidly explains how experiments show this connection that starts with children from about five years of age. He also tells us how the self of the "moment" differs from the self of the "memory".... Read more ›
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Great concept but poorly delivered 10 Jan 2013
By N. BARTLETT
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
My son recommended this book and I'm glad I read it as I was introduced to a concept I was not really aware of. Certainly the author persuaded me of the basic premise: that when born our brains are largely a blank slate. Thus all the experiences we have, shape the kind of person we shall grow up to become.
I think the author had made that theory stand up for the general reader in the first three chapters. After that it got just a bit boring. It was though he had been trawling through all the studies and reports he could find and fetching up gobbets of interesting fact. Some were, some weren't and few were relevant to his general thesis. They were almost universally based on research at North American and European universities, using students as subjects. Hardly representative
Despite all the shortcomings of the book, I shall always be grateful for being introduced to the concept of the 'memory as a compost heap' with graphic examples of false memory.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Makes sense
Very interesting read with stories of case studies and experiments which detail something ive always thought. I am just my brain, everything that is me is just neurons. Read more
Published 22 days ago by S. Godwin
5.0 out of 5 stars No Illusion... This book is great !!!!
An excellent and well researched read. Very thought provoking and I liked the mention of the lady that had OCD cleaning the gutter outside of her house, for hours on end, as I too... Read more
Published 2 months ago by david smith
1.0 out of 5 stars Pointless
This book starts with a nice insight: how consciousness bubbles up when we wake up. However, from there on it is mainly a succession of case studies and old experiments that are... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Manuel Navarro Pastor
4.0 out of 5 stars superb
very speedy service but i havent had time to read the whole book as yet, so cannot comment, I would use this service again
Published 4 months ago by maggie lennie
3.0 out of 5 stars Review
Book seems to end abruptly without pulling together his thoughts. The book was easy to read and free of technical language.
Published 5 months ago by Ian Bowling
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
The Self Illusion: Why There is No 'You' Inside Your Head (Extract)I was hopeful about this book but became disappointed in the first part, at what seemed to be frequent reference... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Dr. D. Nicholls
5.0 out of 5 stars Makes you think!
Get ready to drop your pre-conceptions about self and look at the facts. This is important stuff that should be more widely recognised, and perhaps taught in school.
Published 6 months ago by Blue Wail
1.0 out of 5 stars A non fiction-book, but without actual content
When there was a tangible unit item of actual information (which was seldom) it was lightweight and obvious. Read more
Published 7 months ago by DaveW
4.0 out of 5 stars Self Illusions
Bruce Hoods book The Self Illusion is a great book about the mental constructions that makes us who we are. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Simon Laub
1.0 out of 5 stars Terribly Edited - Shameful
So badly edited that I gave up after 15 pages: missing words, mis-spellings, hopeless punctuation. Massively distracting and disheartening. Read more
Published 8 months ago by The Cat
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