1
of
1
I am Not a Brain
Philosophy of Mind for the 21st Century
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 219 ratings, 30 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Hardback
$15500
Unit price
/
Unavailable
International Supplier
This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
I am Not a Brain
$15500
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Latest News
The Team's Long Weekend Reading
With the long weekend upon us, the team is hopefully getting some time in the...
What Actually Makes a Jigsaw Puzzle Difficult?
Does more pieces always mean a harder puzzle? Not necessarily! After Dylan surprised me by...
A Court of Splintered Harmony: How to Get Your Copy on Release Day
A Court of Splintered Harmony is almost here, and we have some exciting news for...
The ACOTAR Countdown Is On, But We Need to Talk…
Last week, things started taking a dark turn. The excitement surrounding the release was suddenly...
Pick up a Graphic Novel for Halloween
Wanting something different for spooky season? Try a horror themed graphic novel! Lizzy has rounded...
See moreMany consider the nature of human consciousness to be one of the last great unsolved mysteries.
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
Many consider the nature of human consciousness to be one of the last great unsolved mysteries. Why should the light turn on, so to speak, in human beings at all? And how is the electrical storm of neurons under our skull connected with our consciousness? Is the self only our brain’s user interface, a kind of stage on which a show is performed that we cannot freely direct?
In I am Not a Brain, philosopher Markus Gabriel challenges an increasing trend in the sciences towards neurocentrism, a notion which rests on the assumption that the self is identical to the brain. Gabriel raises serious doubts as to whether we can know ourselves in this way. In a sharp critique of this approach, he presents a new defence of free will and provides a timely introduction to philosophical thought about the self – all with verve, humour, and surprising insights.
Gabriel criticises the scientific image of the world and takes us on an eclectic journey of self-reflection by way of such concepts as self, consciousness, and freedom, with the aid of Kant, Schopenhauer, and Nagel, but also Dr. Who, The Walking Dead, and Fargo.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
I am Not a Brain by Markus Gabriel is praised for offering a highly engaging and accessible critique of reductive neuroscience, presenting a compelling defence of subjectivity. Critics admire Gabriel's ability to philosophise from first principles, combining lucid arguments with lively examples and references to popular culture, making the book both profound and enjoyable. Renowned voices highlight the book as a bold statement in 21st-century humanism, emphasising Gabriel's unique ability to engage with both specialists and general readers.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781509514755
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 08 September 2017
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Polity Press
Contributors:
- Translated by Christopher Turner
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 28.0mm
Width: 160.0mm
Height: 234.0mm
Weight: 499g
Pages: 240
About the Author
Markus Gabriel was born in 1980 and studied in Heidelberg, Lisbon and New York. Since 2009 he has held the chair for Epistemology at the University of Bonn; and with this appointment he became Germany's youngest philosophy professor. He is also the director of the International Center for Philosophy in Bonn.
Also by Markus Gabriel
View all-
Towards a New Enlightenment - The Case for Future-Oriented Humanities
What role can the humanities play in shaping our common future? What are the values that guide us in the 21st century? How can we unleash the potential the humanities offer in a time of multiple crises? This volume tackles some of these fundamental questions, acknowledging and developing the changing role of academic discourse in a turbulent world. This timely...Paperback$3799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Everything and Nothing
Is it possible for reality as a whole to be part of itself? Can the world appear within itself without thereby undermining the consistency of our thought and knowledge-claims concerning more local matters of fact? This is a question on which Markus Gabriel and Graham Priest disagree. Gabriel argues that the world cannot exist precisely because it is understood to...Paperback$4299Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Fictions
From ancient philosophy to contemporary theories of fiction, it is a common practice to relegate illusory appearances to the realm of the non-existent, like shadows on the wall of Plato’s cave. Contrary to this traditional mode of drawing a metaphysical distinction between reality and fiction, Markus Gabriel argues that the realm of the illusory, fictional, imaginary, and conceptually indeterminate is...Hardback$4299Elsewhere:$8399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Moral Progress in Dark Times
The challenges we face today are unprecedented, from the existential crisis of climate change to the global security threats posed by aggression in Ukraine and elsewhere. Add to this the crisis of liberal democracy, and we seem to be swirling in a state of moral disarray, unsure whether there are any principles to which we can appeal today that would...Hardback$4299Elsewhere:$5999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Neo-Existentialism
In this highly original book, Markus Gabriel offers an account of the human self that overcomes the deadlocks inherent in the standard positions of contemporary philosophy of mind. His view, Neo-Existentialism, is thoroughly anti-naturalist in that it repudiates any theory according to which the ensemble of our best natural-scientific knowledge is able to account fully for human mindedness. Instead, he...Paperback$3599Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Sense, Nonsense, and Subjectivity
A leading German philosopher offers his most ambitious work yet on the nature of knowledge, arguing that being wrong about things defines the human condition. For millennia, philosophers have dedicated themselves to advancing understanding of the nature of truth and reality. In the process, they have amassed a great deal of epistemological theory—knowledge about knowledge. However, negative epistemological phenomena, such...Hardback$9099Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Human Animal
The climate crisis has forced us to recognize that we are not separate from nature but are part of the natural world on which we depend: human beings are animals and we must understand much better our place in nature and our impact on our environment if we are to avoid our own annihilation as a species. And yet we...Hardback$5999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Meaning of Thought
From populist propaganda attacking knowledge as ‘fake news’ to the latest advances in artificial intelligence, human thought is under unprecedented attack today. If computers can do what humans can do and they can do it much faster, what’s so special about human thought? In this new book, bestselling philosopher Markus Gabriel steps back from the polemics to re-examine the very...Hardback$4299Elsewhere:$5999Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
The Power of Art
We live in an era of aesthetics. Art has become both pervasive and powerful – it is displayed not only in museums and galleries but also on the walls of corporations and it is increasingly fused with design. But what makes art so powerful, and in what does its power consist? According to a widespread view, the power of art...Paperback$2399Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Doing Good
Doing Good is a bold call for a new social contract in a world buckling under the weight of multiple crises – geopolitical tension, ecological collapse, technological disruption, growing inequality, and the slow erosion of liberal democracy. The promises of modernity, once rooted in the convergence of technoscientific progress and liberal capitalism, have failed to deliver widespread peace and prosperity....Hardback$4799Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks -
Why the World Does Not Exist
Where do we come from? Are we merely a cluster of elementary particles in a gigantic world receptacle? And what does it all mean? In this highly original new book, the philosopher Markus Gabriel challenges our notion of what exists and what it means to exist. He questions the idea that there is a world that encompasses everything like a...Paperback$9700Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks -
Everything and Nothing
Is it possible for reality as a whole to be part of itself? Can the world appear within itself without thereby undermining the consistency of our thought and knowledge-claims concerning more local matters of fact? This is a question on which Markus Gabriel and Graham Priest disagree. Gabriel argues that the world cannot exist precisely because it is understood to...Hardback$13199Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 3-4 weeks
More from Philosophy & Psychology
View all-
Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear is a transformative guide that demonstrates how tiny, incremental changes in behaviour can fundamentally reshape your life. Rather than urging sweeping transformations, Clear advocates for the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions. Whether it’s performing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes earlier, or making a brief, focused phone call, these minuscule adjustments,...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseHow Lucky Am I
The first full book featuring social media sensation Mr. Skelly, with over 5 million global followers, a skeleton who teaches us that life is a gift to be treasured, reminding us how lucky we all are to live in this present moment. For readers of The Book of Gifts and The Little Frog’s Guide to Self Care. In this poignant,...Hardback$4299Elsewhere:$5500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Winner's Formula
The Neuroscience of Peak Performance, Success, and Happiness Why do some people win all the time? Why do others languish? From Olympians to Formula 1 drivers, addicts to billionaires, cognitive neuroscientist Dr Kerry Spackman has spent decades working to help people understand how to succeed. In The Winner's Formula, Kerry explains what goes on in your brain when you are...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Lessons on Living
Bestselling author Nigel Latta's simple psychological toolkit for life's ups and downs. Over thirty years working as a clinical psychologist, Nigel Latta assembled a personal toolkit based on three simple principles. These principles helped him to be more resilient, joyful, and attuned to what matters most. The same principles have helped him through some difficult times as well, such as...Paperback$2900Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy is a profound exploration of life’s universal lessons, delicately illustrated and rich with narrative depth. This heartfelt story introduces readers to four unlikely friends: a curious boy, a tiny yet thoughtful mole, a wary fox, and a wise horse. Together, they find themselves traversing challenging and sometimes treacherous...Hardback$4000Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Creative Act
Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed...Hardback$4400Elsewhere:$5500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
23% off1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four
In the drab and oppressive world of 1984 Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell introduces us to Winston Smith, a man haunted by the omnipresent surveillance and control exercised by the Party and its enigmatic leader, Big Brother. Winston works diligently at the Ministry of Truth, where his job is to alter historical records to fit the ever-changing narrative dictated by the...Paperback$1000Usually:$1299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
21% offAroha
Aroha by Dr Hinemoa Elder is an enlightening exploration of timeless Maori wisdom, intricately woven into a contemporary context. This top-selling non-fiction title from New Zealand in 2021 introduces readers to 52 traditional Maori proverbs, known as whakataukī, each offering a profound lesson for every week of the year. Dr Elder, a respected Maori psychiatrist, delves into these powerful sayings...Hardback$1900Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Strangers
The must-read memoir of the end of a marriage and the start of a personal revolution, based on the iconic Modern Love essay in the New York Times and perfect for fans of Glennon Doyle. "A beautifully written eulogy for the loss of a relationship" — Joyce Carol Oates How do we go on when a loved one betrays us?...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Man's Search For Meaning
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl is a profound, thought-provoking memoir and psychological exploration that delves into the harrowing experiences of life in Nazi concentration camps, intertwined with the author’s groundbreaking theories on existential psychology. The book is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, offering a beacon of hope and a roadmap for finding purpose...Paperback$1800Elsewhere:$2100Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Eat Your Ice Cream
The New York Times bestseller that presents a bold new vision for living well and ageing with purpose from a world-renowned health expert THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From a leading doctor and world-renowned health expert, the simple, uplifting and practical guide to cutting through the wellness noise, living well and ageing with purpose. ‘Essential reading for anyone who...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Godel, Escher, Bach
Godel, Escher, Bach, by Douglas R. Hofstadter, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece that delves into the complex interplay between the works and ideas of three brilliant minds: mathematician Kurt Gödel, artist M. C. Escher, and composer Johann Sebastian Bach. This interdisciplinary treatise embarks on a journey through a labyrinth of mathematical theorems, artful prints, and intricate compositions, weaving them together...Paperback$4200Elsewhere:$4999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
