The Mind's I

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Ever wondered who you really are? This collection enlivens this central question in the philosophy of mind. The questions posed in this book are at the heart of all philosophical reasoning. They're the ultimate questions about the self. The Mind's I contains a variety of approaches to answering the question, "Who am I?" Editors Hofstadter & Dennett--leading lights in the study of cognitive science, artificial intelligence & the philosophy of mind--follow each selection with short reflections designed to elaborate on main themes. The Mind's I broadens their fields to a general audience. The book's essays are grouped into six categories, each successively raising the philosophical stakes by introducing new levels of complexity. Ultimately, one confronts some of the thorniest questions in modern philosophy, such as the nature of free will, our place in the metaphysical world & the possibility of artificial intelligence. The book closes with a perplexing piece by Robert Nozick, an adequate summation to The Mind's I . He writes, "Perhaps God has not decided yet whether he has created, in this world, a fictional world or a real one...Which decision do you hope for?"--Eric de Place (edited) Preface Introduction Borges & I/ Jorge Luis Borges On having no head/ D.E. Harding Rediscovering the mind/ Harold J. Morowitz Computing machinery & intelligence/ A.M. Turing The Turing test: a coffeehouse conversation/ Douglas R. Hofstadter The Princess Ineffabelle/ Stanislaw Lem The soul of Martha, a beast/ Terrel Miedaner The soul of the Mark III Beast/ Terrel Miedaner Spirit/ Allen Whellis Selfish genes & selfish memes/ Richard Dawkins Prelude...ant fugue/ Douglas Hofstadter The story of a brain/ Arnold Zuboff Where am I? / Daniel C. Dennett Where was I?/ David Hawley Sanford Beyond rejection/ Justin Leiber Software/ Rudy Rucker The riddle of the Universe & its solution/ Christopher Cherniak The 7th Sally or How Trurl's own perfection led to no good/ Stanislaw Lem Non serviam/ Statislaw Lem Is God a Taoist?/ Raymond M. Smullyan The circular ruins/ Jorge Luis Borges Minds, brains & programs/ John R. Searle An unfortunate dualist/ Raymond M. Smullyan What is it like to be a bat?/ Thomas Nagel An espistemological nightmare/ Raymond M. Smullyan A conversation with Einstein's brain/ Douglas R. Hofstadter Fiction/ Robert Nozick Further Reading Acknowledgments Index