And indeed, it is impossible to come away from this book without having introduced elements of. I am a strange loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the strange loop a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Pdf godels proof step by step from douglas hofstadters. Aug 26, 2019 douglas hofstadter i am a strange loop pdf i am a strange loop on free shipping on qualifying offers. What is the central thesis of douglas hofstadters book i. Review i am a strange loop is thoughtful, amusing and infectiously enthusiastic. The idea of i am a strange loop is that we develop a sense of self from self reference. And indeed, it is impossible to come away from this book without having introduced elements. Review of i am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter 2007. Our idea of consciousness is somewhat taken for granted as we know others are conscious and babies born will become conscious somewhere in their developme. The concept of a strange loop was originally developed in his 1979 book godel, escher, bach in the end, we are selfperceiving, selfinventing, lockedin mirages that are little miracles of selfreference.
In 1993 hofstadters wife carol died suddenly of a brain tumor at only 42, leaving him with two young children to care for. Hofstadters essential claim is that the ego is a strange loop in the mind, and by strange loop he means a feedback loop or pattern that reflects on itself. He truly provides no concrete reasons to believe only assertions, which are worth pondering if not agreeing with. A tangled hierarchy is a hierarchical consciousness system in which a strange loop appears. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 in new york, new york is an american academic. Strange loops may involve selfreference and paradox. As kurt godel with his unexpected strange loops gave us a deeper and subtler vision of what mathematics is all about, so the strangeloop characterization of our essences gives us a deeper and subtler vision of what it is to be human. Scott oreilly loops the loop with douglas hofstadter. Delaware county district library ohio scanned in china. Review of i am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter 2007 michael starks.
What is the general feeling about douglas hofstadters. I am a strange loop is a work of rigorous thinking. The i in the title refers to the concept of the i in all of us. Apr 08, 2018 please consider supporting my videos on patreon. Jun 19, 2019 what this story lacks is an understanding of how a unique pointofview makes the self what it is. Douglas hodstadter i am a strage loop, perseus books. May 10, 2007 does hofstadter explain consciousness away, or not. I am a strange loop is a 2007 book by douglas hofstadter, examining in depth the concept of a strange loop to explain the sense of i. I am a strange loop is a 2007 book by douglas hofstadter, examining in depth the concept of. In donald douglas hofstadters preface to his book i am a strange loop, he says that he didnt like how geb was received, and that this new book was to be a somewhat rehashing of the central idea of geb. I read douglas hofstadters new book i am a strange loop, which argues that consciousness happens spontaneously after a system of dynamic patterns is sufficiently complex. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and. Mar 26, 2007 i read hofstadter s metamagical themas many years ago and was fascinated by the author s vast area of expertise. Has hofstadters concept of strange loop been given a more.
Pdf latest sermon from the church of fundamentalist naturalism by pastor hofstadter. Not so fast, protests pulitzer prizewinning cognitive scientist douglas hofstadter in i am a strange loop the thoughtful companion to godel, escher, bach, his. The concept of a strange loop was proposed and extensively discussed by douglas hofstadter in godel, escher, bach, and is further elaborated in hofstadters book i am a strange loop, published in 2007. Hofstadter approaches the mind from the perspective of the computer sciences, in that there are both hardware and software aspects of human intelligence. Hofstadters longawaited return to the themes of godel, escher. Nonetheless, i am a strange loopcontains many profound and unique insights on the question of who we are. This gives the strange loop the character of quantum uncertainty. Godel s proof step by step from douglas hofstadter s i am a strange loop. I am a strange loop should not be taken to mean douglas hofstadter is a strange loop. So, a mirage that only exists because it perceives itself. Hofstadter, a professor of cognitive science at indiana university, is best known for his pulitzer prize winning godel, escher, bach, or geb as he likes to call it.
Pulitzerprize winner douglas hofstadter takes on some weighty and wonderful questions in i am a strange loop among them, the size of a soul and the vagaries of thoughtand proposes persuasive answers that surprised me both with their simplicity and their sense of optimism. As in his other books, hofstadter has written a deeply. But this is not necessarily a bad thing this actually makes it a good first book for the uninitiated. Douglas hodstadter i am a strage loop, perseus books, 2007, pg. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter issue 78. I just finished hofstadter s i am a strange loop and was thoroughly disappointed. His new book, as brilliant and provocative as earlier ones, is a colorful mix of speculations with passages of autobiography. Louis is a conference for software developers covering programming langs, databases, distributed systems, security, machine learning, creativity, and more. Hofstadters longawaited return to the themes of godel, escher, bachan original and controversial view of the nature of consciousness and. In hofstadters wife carol died suddenly of a brain tumor at only 42, leaving i am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. Strange loop is a multidisciplinary conference that brings together the developers and thinkers building tomorrows technology in fields such as emerging languages, alternative databases, concurrency, distributed systems, security, and the web. Pdf download i am a strange loop free unquote books. I am a strange loop scales some lofty conceptual heights, but it remains very personal, and its deeply colored by the facts of hofstadters later life.
Dec, 2019 i am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. Een strange loop is een structuur welke op een of andere manier door een. But much more could have been said in hofstadter s book in terms of relating his own ideas to others involved in mainstream philosophy of mind. Douglas hofstadters i am a strange loop on the self.
Strange loops of selfawareness existing on multiple levels as in godels famous proof create hallucinations of a hallucination, and so an i forms. Dec 29, 2019 in hofstadters wife carol died suddenly of a brain tumor at only 42, leaving i am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. Compulsively readable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is the book hofstadter s many readers have long been waiting for. It never crosses hofstadters mind that both strange and loop are out of. Douglas hofstadters i am a strange loop on the self april 9, 20 by mark linsenmayer 8 comments from our lacan episode and my comparison of lacan with sartre, you might think that this no self deal was just a continental idea. Pdf godels proof step by step from douglas hofstadter. He is probably best known for his book godel, escher, bach. Douglas hofstadter i am a strange loop pdf i am a strange loop on free shipping on qualifying offers. I am a strange loop tales from the loop hook, loop n lock. Does an i exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics. But much more could have been said in hofstadters book in terms of relating his own ideas to others involved in mainstream philosophy of mind. And there is some new material, prompted by the untimely death of hofstadter s beloved wife in 1993. Nonetheless, i am a strange loop contains many profound and unique insights on the question of who we are. Welted sheaths with snap fastener and mexican loop big loop maps, mountain bike trail map.
Download pdf i am a strange loop free usakochan pdf. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called i. How has hofstadters i am a strange loop been received. This posting will discuss the views of douglas hofstadter who is professor of computer science and cognitive science at indiana university. A strange loop hierarchy, however, is tangled hofstadter refers to this as a heterarchy, in that there is no well. And the book does an excellent job of presenting his views on just how the i forms in a brain, what kind of hardware may be necessary for an i, what kinds of i am out there, and on. I would also claim that hofstadters equating consciousness, the i, and the ego as all one equivalent thing is nothing more than an assertion. Review of i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadter adam westra douglas hofstadter is an author worth reading. The concept of a strange loop was originally developed in his 1979 book godel, escher, bach.
I read godel escher bach as a teenager, i dont think this work is his best, because while it is fine as literature, the main theorem is mystified rather than explained, and the main thesis is murky and isnt so deep when unraveled. Is it strange loops and tangled hierarchies as in escher, in hofstadters own forthcoming book, i am a strange loop, and elsewhere. I am a strange loop is overlywordy and jammed with a few too many analogies and painful puns, but i enjoyed the intellectual challenge. You would not find the boundaries of the soul no matter how many paths you traveled, so deep is its measure.
Douglas hodstadter i am a strage loop, perseus books, 2007. Read online now i am a strange loop douglas r hofstadter ebook pdf at our library. One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks, where does the self come fromand how our selves can exist in the minds of others. So i was just curious how it has been received by philosophers of mind, as his take on the concept of i, and what being. This book inspired thousands of students to begin careers in computing and artificial intelligence. Douglas hofstadter am strange loop pdf i am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. Strangely wrongi must suggest something blasphemously arrogant. One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind. Hofstadters new book, as brilliant and provocative as earlier ones, is a. Godels proof step by step from douglas hofstadters i am a strange loop. In the end, we are selfperceiving, selfinventing, lockedin mirages that are little miracles of selfreference. The i is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the. Hofstadter s first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Does hofstadter explain consciousness away, or not.
These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Can self, soul, consciousness, i arise out of mere matter. Apr 03, 2015 these are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas r. Bloomberg news i am a strange loop is vintage hofstadter. I am a strange loop by douglas hofstadter scott oreilly loops the loop with douglas hofstadter. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, analogymaking, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics. Get i am a strange loop douglas r hofstadter pdf file for free from our online library pdf file. Is it in the patterns, puzzles, paradoxes, puns, poetry, and programming that we see throughout hofstadters work. Hofstadter agrees with buddhism that the self is an illusion, but he offhandedly says striving to get past the illusion as buddhism suggests is a pointless, deadend pursuit. The most recent, published this year by basic, is douglas. Douglas richard hofstadter is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research focuses on consciousness, thinking and creativity. A strange loop is a hierarchy of levels, each of which is linked to at least one other by some type of relationship.
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