27 Books like The Experience Machine

Surfing Uncertainty

by Andy Clark • 2015

Reality is the brain's best guess, and action is how the body makes it come true.

4.09

381

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🔮 Predictive Processing

Surfing Uncertainty 99%

Reality is the brain's best guess, and action is how the body makes it come true.

by Andy Clark 2015

4.09

381 ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🔮 Predictive Processing

Being You

by Anil Seth • 2020

Your brain does not read reality. It invents it. Every sensation, every self, is a guess.

4.10

5k+

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🪞 Neuroscience Of Self 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind

Being You 98%

Your brain does not read reality. It invents it. Every sensation, every self, is a guess.

by Anil Seth 2020

4.10

5k+ ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🪞 Neuroscience Of Self 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind

Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness

by Patrick House • 2022

Movement built consciousness. Nineteen scientific guesses at how the rest of your mind followed.

3.47

774

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience

Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness Summary

Nineteen Ways of Looking at Consciousness 98%

Movement built consciousness. Nineteen scientific guesses at how the rest of your mind followed.

by Patrick House 2022

3.47

774 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience

The Hidden Spring

by Mark Solms • 2021

Consciousness isn't a cortical achievement: it's a feeling in the brainstem, predicting uncertainty.

4.25

1k+

🧠 Consciousness Studies ❤️ Affective Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

The Hidden Spring 97%

Consciousness isn't a cortical achievement: it's a feeling in the brainstem, predicting uncertainty.

by Mark Solms 2021

4.25

1k+ ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies ❤️ Affective Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

Descartes' Error

by António Damásio • 1994

A railroad foreman's brain injury revealed that reason depends on emotion, not pure logic.

3.95

10k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🦵 Embodied Cognition

Descartes' Error 97%

A railroad foreman's brain injury revealed that reason depends on emotion, not pure logic.

by António Damásio 1994

3.95

10k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🦵 Embodied Cognition

Feeling & Knowing

by António Damásio • 2021

Consciousness begins in the body: feelings, not thought, build the first sense of self.

3.57

2k+

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🤸 Embodied Cognition ❤️ Affective Neuroscience

Feeling & Knowing 97%

Consciousness begins in the body: feelings, not thought, build the first sense of self.

by António Damásio 2021

3.57

2k+ ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🤸 Embodied Cognition ❤️ Affective Neuroscience

The Biological Mind

by Alan Jasanoff • 2018

Your brain isn't a computer: it's an organ shaped by body and neighborhood, not just neurons.

3.70

237

🧠 Embodied Cognition 🔗 Mind-Body Connection 🔬 Neuroscience Critique

The Biological Mind 97%

Your brain isn't a computer: it's an organ shaped by body and neighborhood, not just neurons.

by Alan Jasanoff 2018

3.70

237 ratings

🧠 Embodied Cognition 🔗 Mind-Body Connection 🔬 Neuroscience Critique

The Embodied Mind

by Francisco J. Varela • 1991

No inner pilot exists. Your body enacts a world, and the self evaporates under sustained attention.

4.14

1k+

🧠 Embodied Cognition 🤔 Phenomenology 🧘 Buddhist Philosophy

The Embodied Mind 97%

No inner pilot exists. Your body enacts a world, and the self evaporates under sustained attention.

by Francisco J. Varela 1991

4.14

1k+ ratings

🧠 Embodied Cognition 🤔 Phenomenology 🧘 Buddhist Philosophy

Synaptic Self

by Joseph E. LeDoux • 2002

Your self is built from synapses: how memory, emotion, and consciousness circuits create identity.

4.00

5k+

🧠 Neuroscience Of Self 🔄 Neuroplasticity 📸 Memory And Identity

Synaptic Self 97%

Your self is built from synapses: how memory, emotion, and consciousness circuits create identity.

by Joseph E. LeDoux 2002

4.00

5k+ ratings

🧠 Neuroscience Of Self 🔄 Neuroplasticity 📸 Memory And Identity

Self Comes to Mind

by António Damásio • 2010

The self is a process built from body maps: three layers that turn mind into experience.

3.97

3k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

Self Comes to Mind 96%

The self is a process built from body maps: three layers that turn mind into experience.

by António Damásio 2010

3.97

3k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🤔 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

A User's Guide to the Brain

by John J. Ratey • 2001

Perception, movement, and social contact continuously rewire your brain. A guide for taking control.

4.04

2k+

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🏃 Embodied Cognition 👁️ Perception And Consciousness

A User's Guide to the Brain 96%

Perception, movement, and social contact continuously rewire your brain. A guide for taking control.

by John J. Ratey 2001

4.04

2k+ ratings

🧠 Neuroplasticity 🏃 Embodied Cognition 👁️ Perception And Consciousness

Wider Than the Sky

by Gerald M. Edelman • 2004

The mind is not a program. Consciousness is built by neural selection, not by running code.

3.65

421

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Evolutionary Neuroscience

Wider Than the Sky 96%

The mind is not a program. Consciousness is built by neural selection, not by running code.

by Gerald M. Edelman 2004

3.65

421 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Evolutionary Neuroscience

Altered States of Consciousness

by Marc Wittmann • 2018

Time is built from bodily signals. Change consciousness, and it stretches, shrinks, or vanishes.

3.74

194

🧠 Consciousness Studies ⏱️ Time Perception 🌌 Altered States

Altered States of Consciousness 96%

Time is built from bodily signals. Change consciousness, and it stretches, shrinks, or vanishes.

by Marc Wittmann 2018

3.74

194 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies ⏱️ Time Perception 🌌 Altered States

Buddhism

by Damien Keown • 1996

Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?

3.74

3k+

📖 Introductory Buddhism ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy 🛕 Theravada Buddhism

Buddhism 96%

Buddhism has no god, no bible, no pope. What holds its many traditions together?

by Damien Keown 1996

3.74

3k+ ratings

📖 Introductory Buddhism ☸️ Buddhist Philosophy 🛕 Theravada Buddhism

The Brain and the Meaning of Life

by Paul Thagard • 2010

Mental life is brain activity, and meaning is its reward for satisfying three deep human needs.

3.23

128

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Mind Brain Identity 🔬 Neurophilosophy

The Brain and the Meaning of Life Summary

The Brain and the Meaning of Life 96%

Mental life is brain activity, and meaning is its reward for satisfying three deep human needs.

by Paul Thagard 2010

3.23

128 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Mind Brain Identity 🔬 Neurophilosophy

Being There

by Andy Clark • 1996

The mind extends past the skull, looping through body and world. Brains alone cannot think.

4.14

217

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Science 🏃 Embodied Cognition

Being There 96%

The mind extends past the skull, looping through body and world. Brains alone cannot think.

by Andy Clark 1996

4.14

217 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Science 🏃 Embodied Cognition

The New Science of the Mind

by Mark Rowlands • 2010

The mind extends through body and tools because it reveals rather than calculates.

3.69

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Science 🏃 Embodied Cognition

The New Science of the Mind 96%

The mind extends through body and tools because it reveals rather than calculates.

by Mark Rowlands 2010

3.69

45 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Science 🏃 Embodied Cognition

Brain-Wise

by Patricia S. Churchland • 2002

Everything we call mind is brain activity. Once philosophy accepts that, all its questions change.

4.04

140

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Neurophilosophy 💭 Consciousness Studies

Brain-Wise 96%

Everything we call mind is brain activity. Once philosophy accepts that, all its questions change.

by Patricia S. Churchland 2002

4.04

140 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Neurophilosophy 💭 Consciousness Studies

On Intelligence

by Jeff Hawkins • 2004

The brain runs one algorithm for sight, sound, and thought: memory and prediction.

4.11

7k+

🧠 Predictive Processing 🤖 Brain Inspired Ai 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

On Intelligence 96%

The brain runs one algorithm for sight, sound, and thought: memory and prediction.

by Jeff Hawkins 2004

4.11

7k+ ratings

🧠 Predictive Processing 🤖 Brain Inspired Ai 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

The Master and His Emissary

by Iain McGilchrist • 2009

Your brain's two halves build opposing worlds. Western civilization chose the wrong one.

4.36

4k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🔮 Consciousness Studies 👁️ Embodied Cognition

The Master and His Emissary 96%

Your brain's two halves build opposing worlds. Western civilization chose the wrong one.

by Iain McGilchrist 2009

4.36

4k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🔮 Consciousness Studies 👁️ Embodied Cognition

Then I Am Myself the World

by Christof Koch • 2024

No matter how smart AI becomes, it will never be sentient. Consciousness is not computable.

3.98

388

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🪞 Subjectivity And Self

Then I Am Myself the World 96%

No matter how smart AI becomes, it will never be sentient. Consciousness is not computable.

by Christof Koch 2024

3.98

388 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🪞 Subjectivity And Self

The Mind's Past

by Michael S. Gazzaniga • 1998

Your brain acts, then invents a story about why. Your conscious self gets the press release.

3.77

115

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 👁️ Consciousness Studies ⚡ Unconscious Processing

The Mind's Past 96%

Your brain acts, then invents a story about why. Your conscious self gets the press release.

by Michael S. Gazzaniga 1998

3.77

115 ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 👁️ Consciousness Studies ⚡ Unconscious Processing

A Thousand Brains

by Jeff Hawkins • 2021

Every cortical column in your brain learns a full model of the world. Then they vote.

4.05

7k+

🧠 Neural Architecture 🗺️ Spatial Cognition 🕸️ Distributed Cognition

A Thousand Brains 96%

Every cortical column in your brain learns a full model of the world. Then they vote.

by Jeff Hawkins 2021

4.05

7k+ ratings

🧠 Neural Architecture 🗺️ Spatial Cognition 🕸️ Distributed Cognition

The Ravenous Brain

by Daniel Bor • 2012

Consciousness is a biological trick evolution built, and its failures reveal mental illness.

3.91

427

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

The Ravenous Brain 96%

Consciousness is a biological trick evolution built, and its failures reveal mental illness.

by Daniel Bor 2012

3.91

427 ratings

🧠 Consciousness Studies 🔬 Cognitive Neuroscience 💭 Philosophy Of Mind

Looking for Spinoza

by António Damásio • 2001

A neuroscientist discovers a 17th-century philosopher already mapped the biology of joy and sorrow.

3.96

2k+

🧠 Affective Neuroscience 🏛️ Neurophilosophy 🤝 Social Emotions

Looking for Spinoza 96%

A neuroscientist discovers a 17th-century philosopher already mapped the biology of joy and sorrow.

by António Damásio 2001

3.96

2k+ ratings

🧠 Affective Neuroscience 🏛️ Neurophilosophy 🤝 Social Emotions

The Forgetting Machine

by Rodrigo Quian Quiroga • 2017

Your memory stores roughly 125 MB. The real marvel is what your brain decides to forget.

3.74

1k+

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧠 Constructive Memory

The Forgetting Machine 96%

Your memory stores roughly 125 MB. The real marvel is what your brain decides to forget.

by Rodrigo Quian Quiroga 2017

3.74

1k+ ratings

🧠 Cognitive Neuroscience 🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🧠 Constructive Memory

Connections

by Karl Deisseroth • 2021

What mental illness reveals about the brain, from the psychiatrist who invented optogenetics.

3.78

285

🧠 Clinical Neuroscience 🐒 Evolutionary Psychology 📋 Patient Case Studies

Connections 96%

What mental illness reveals about the brain, from the psychiatrist who invented optogenetics.

by Karl Deisseroth 2021

3.78

285 ratings

🧠 Clinical Neuroscience 🐒 Evolutionary Psychology 📋 Patient Case Studies

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