L. K.

Wide-ranging exploration of the biggest questions.

Revisado: 07-16-17

Any additional comments?

A wonderful journey through very fundamental questions. The lecturer takes the time to deal with so many angles of every issue that one feels truly "introduced" to what the title promises: Big Questions of Philosophy. Of particular interest are questions of personhood and identity, free will, abductive reasoning, political philosophy and the meaning of life. The only possible weakness is excessive emphasis on religion — not that the problem of evil or the question of soul ontology are not interesting. However, given the clearly non-theistic position of the lecturer, perhaps somewhat less time may have been devoted to religious models. Still, I highly recommend this course.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Not bad but not striking either.

Revisado: 06-18-16

Any additional comments?

The lecturer is very good at delivery and speaks clearly. He is no doubt an expert whose passion for his subject appears undeniable. I have learned quite a few interesting things about the history of food across continents and time periods. However, too much attention is given to relatively insignificant detail, such as ingredients and recipes. Not enough attention is given, at times, to the historical and social significance of food — either as a reflection of major trends, changes and ideas or as a motor of historical progress. Still, it's a worthwhile course. But I would say the first half is more exciting than what follows.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Interesting... in parts

Revisado: 05-02-16

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The presenter does have some interesting insights to contribute, but the lectures are uneven. He appears to be largely unaided by written text, and it shows. Space-fillers, such as "sort of" and "kind of" abound, creating the impression of lacking precision and ad-libbing. The ideas are often not well-supported to empirical research, and even attempts are made to adopt a social constructionist approach (although the latter happens without much conviction). The author's criticism of evolutionary psychology is weak, and no mention is made of Margaret Mead's groundless attempt to prove that jealousy is an entirely socially-constructed emotion. There may be intimations of racism although this never crystallizes to a significant extent. Still, the lectures are worthwhile to a certain extent.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 14 personas

Intriguing

Revisado: 04-18-16

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This is a very interesting book in many parts, but I am not sure everyone will appreciate the detailed accounts of medical case histories. For me the latter was the book's weakness. However, if you fast-forward the case histories and cut to the chase, the theories of persecution, the evolutionary approach, the connections with modern (urban) life — all these elements make for insightful listening. I am going through it a second time around and discovering many things that I missed. I recommend this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Mostly disappointing

Revisado: 11-13-15

Any additional comments?

The premise here is based on a very shaky link between quantum mechanics and the mind. It's an attempt to smuggle Cartesian dualism back into the world through the back door of physics. Most neuroscientists dismiss the quantum brain theory which boils down to the following claim: the mind is not produced by the brain but by quantum states. This borders on magic. Apart from the first couple of chapters on mindfulness and attention, which I found interesting, the author creates an argument that is a huge stretch. He delves into enormous and unnecessary detail, like an account of animal cruelty in a lab. I don't recommend this book. Another Audible book - The Ravenous Brain - does a great job debunking the quantum mind theory, and that's where I would direct other Audible clients.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Mind-blowing course (pardon the pun)!

Revisado: 06-18-15

If you could sum up Philosophy of Mind: Brains, Consciousness, and Thinking Machines in three words, what would they be?

Professor Grim explains philosophy of mind better than anyone I have ever heard or read on the topic. The subject-matter can be challenging, but the course makes everything clear. I have yet to encounter a more enlightening Great Course in the series. In fact, in my own research I have found this course to be so helpful that I have pursued the topics covered by Dr. Grimm further on my own. The result was an academic article written by me for my own discipline on the basis of what I learned from this course. I listened to this treasure trove of ideas many times over in the course of a month. The amount of valuable material is so great here that I could listen for another month. I sincerely recommend this course to anyone who wants to understand what thinking and feeling, perceiving and being human are all about.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Weak course.

Revisado: 05-30-15

Would you try another book from The Great Courses and/or Professor Daniel N. Robinson?

A very weak "not so great" course. The lecturer does not go into enough detail and fails to use clear and concrete examples for rather complex issues. Take Searle's famous Chinese Room scenario or Turing's Imitation Game. Both of these merit a detailed explanation to make sense in the context of the speaker's conceptual system. However, I understood these two concepts only because I had listened to a much better philosophy of mind course (Philosophy of Mind by P. Grimm — a truly "great course"). Much of what professor Robinson says in this course may be quite worthwhile, but he does not make himself clear enough. The only worthwhile chapters are 1, 10 and 11.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 7 personas

Very enlightening

Revisado: 10-18-14

What was one of the most memorable moments of Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity?

The notion of energy flows and emergent properties unifying different systems of complexity made me see the extent to which everything is interconnected from the Big Bang all the way to modern human sociality.

Any additional comments?

This is an excellent story of complexity formation. I have seen the connections between complexity at the atomic, galactic, stellar, cellular, geologic and social levels. The only criticism is that the speaker tends to be rather redundant. But overall, this course is a fascinating ride through time, space, history and ideas. I highly recommend it.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Coherent, organized, well-balanced, informative!

Revisado: 08-18-14

Where does Origins of the Human Mind rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 5%.

What did you like best about this story?

The lecturer truly invests himself in the course and manages to cover an amazing amount of ground. The insights I have gained into the development of personality, the interaction of environmental and genetic influences, diseases of the mind and life stages have profoundly influenced by understanding of the human condition.

What does Professor Stephen P. Hinshaw bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The lecturer is convincing, yet not overwhelming or opinionated. All of this is conveyed very effectively through intonation, pacing and emotional warmth. The personal story at the end is told with such emotional engagement that the lecturer's voice is still with me as I recall every detail. This biographical detail was truly welcome in an otherwise impersonal corpus.

Any additional comments?

I have listened to this course three times now and still feel that I need to repeat the experience. There is so much to take in and so much to think about.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 14 personas