A very cool book with some wonderful stories, thought experiments, and arguments. You will encounter Borges, Lem, Nagel, Smullyan, Hofstadter, Dennett, and many others! I especially liked Dennett's "Where am I?" and Hofstader's "Einstein's Brain".

I just finished this book… im so so proud!!!

I read some or much of this when I was in high school, 20 years ago or more. I continue to enjoy Hofstadter and Dennett, and it's certainly an interesting re-read now that we have LLMs--which have very much altered my perspective on the Turing test, the Chinese room, and other thought experiments covered in this book. The material remains as relevant and ever, and it's just a matter of seeing some of these old tales in a somewhat new light.

One selection that I didn't remember from my previous read was "The Riddle of the Universe and its Solution" by Christopher Cherniak. The premise is similar to the great David Langford stories "BLIT" and "comp.basilisk FAQ", which were written a bit later. Ultimately I think Langford improved on the genre by leaning into the horror.

The BEST read of my life.But, I am a sucker for the knick-knacks, ornaments and trinkets that comprise the human mind so I am biased.
It is however brilliant in its conception, its selection of essays and the questions it raises are absolutely worth the trouble.

If you cannot be bothered by the entire read and it can be unpalatable, don't deprive yourself of the following essays.
Chapter 2: On Having No Head
Chapter 6: The Princess Ineffa-belle
Chapter 11: Prelude . . . Ant Fugue
Chapter 12: The Story of a Brain
Chapter 13: Where am I?
Chapter 14: Where was I?
Chapter 20: Is God a Taoist?

It will not be easy but it is a book that will change the way you think about thinking.

I first read "The Mind's I" in high school and regularly reread its various essays.

Even with a quarter-century of age, it hasn't lost any of its luster. Indeed, with advances in cognitive science and neuroscience giving more empirical underpinning to at least a few of the speculations in this book, its mental value has actually increased.

Although you may not agree with the philosphical angle of each essay, you won't be able to honestly disagree without having your own cognition and philosophical views deeply scratched and stimulated.

This is a dense read that can be overwhelming at points. The organization of an essay followed by a reflection makes it easier to understand, but there are some points that are still a bit unclear to me. That being said, this book raises a lot of questions regarding what the self is, how to define consciousness, and how to think of the world around us, using thought experiments as an aid.

This book changed the way I perceive the self and consciousness, and sparked my interest in exploring it further, which is why I’m giving it 5 stars. It’s accessible, but it can be tough at points. Very well worth it, really enlightening.

I saw this book on shelves when it was first released. I was interested in it because I'd read Douglas Hofstadter's "Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" shortly after it was first released. To my embarrassment I didn't get the book until I spotted a clean copy at a library sale this summer.

It's a fascinating collection of essays and excerpts from various authors' works each followed by reflections by one (or both) editors on what the piece reveals about the mind.

It's the sort of think I love, but may not be for everyone's tastes. I'm leaning toward giving it five stars and adding to the list of books I revisit.
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4.5 stars. I 'll read it again because it may merit 5 stars.

Honestly this changed my way of thinking on several levels.

very good - but not as good a GEB :-)

delightful set of essays on personal identity, consciousness, and the possibility of machine intelligence. though the reflections did leave a little something to be desired--a bit more synthesis beyond a few cursory references to other selections

6.5/10

Provocative.