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Maps of the Mind: Charts and Concepts of the Mind and its Labyrinths
Presents and assesses more than fifty concepts of how the mind works and attempts to assimilate them into an overall theory
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 14, 2018
Hampden-Turner romps, but carefully and instructively, through a century’s worth of psychological insight and theorising. Towards the end, as he began wrapping one map around another in his own somewhat Byzantine cybernetic synthesis, I was unable to keep up, but his gloss on some thinkers with whom I was already familiar was never less than interesting.
December 23, 2009
The strength of this book also contains within it its main weakness. The book lays out a variety of "maps of the mind," views as to how the brain acts. The author notes that (Page 8): "This book brings together in visual form numerous ways in which mind has been conceived." The book looks at different levels of ideas about mind--from narrower to broader concepts. Level 1, for example, examines (Page 10): "Here the human mind is struggling to emancipate itself from servitude to the gods or the laws of Newtonian mechanics. . . ." The highest, Level 9, notes (Page 11): "At its most inclusive mind is seen is inhering in the structure of myth, institutions, and cultures."
Some examples of maps appearing throughout this volume.
Map 21, level 3 represents Paul MacLean’s "triune brain," in which three parts of the brain, each building upon older parts of the brain, structure human consciousness and behavior. The reptilian brain is conceived to be characterized by hidebound following of instinctive urges. The limbic system overlays this with emotion. Finally, the cerebral cortex provides new ways of learning and coping.
Map 25, level 3: Karl Pribram's Holographic Mind. Pribram wanted to understand consciousness in terms of new experience with preexisting memories. He used the metaphor of the hologram to explain how new experiences interacted with extant memories.
Map 54, level 8 focuses on the structure of scientific revolution and tries to wed Thomas Kuhn (with his idea of scientific paradigms) with Allan Buss' view of psychological adaptation.
Thus, there are many "maps" discussed. The downside? Only a few pages are devoted to each. Thus, the book gains breadth at the cost of depth. However, if one wants a sense of differing views of the mind at the time of the book's publication, it still serves a useful practice.
Some examples of maps appearing throughout this volume.
Map 21, level 3 represents Paul MacLean’s "triune brain," in which three parts of the brain, each building upon older parts of the brain, structure human consciousness and behavior. The reptilian brain is conceived to be characterized by hidebound following of instinctive urges. The limbic system overlays this with emotion. Finally, the cerebral cortex provides new ways of learning and coping.
Map 25, level 3: Karl Pribram's Holographic Mind. Pribram wanted to understand consciousness in terms of new experience with preexisting memories. He used the metaphor of the hologram to explain how new experiences interacted with extant memories.
Map 54, level 8 focuses on the structure of scientific revolution and tries to wed Thomas Kuhn (with his idea of scientific paradigms) with Allan Buss' view of psychological adaptation.
Thus, there are many "maps" discussed. The downside? Only a few pages are devoted to each. Thus, the book gains breadth at the cost of depth. However, if one wants a sense of differing views of the mind at the time of the book's publication, it still serves a useful practice.
December 8, 2021
The text is dense,
the pictures are immaculate,
and it is not the type of book you read once. I am sure this book will come in handy many times during my life. It is a must read for anyone who wants a brief overview of many of the famous philosopher's/psychologist's/psychiatrist's/linguist's ideas about the mind. Famous names such as Jung, Sartre, Freud and Kierkegaard show up, among a whole host of others.
Take a nosedive into the book and extract all you can from the pages. It overlapped with my current field of study (medicine) and dipped into my future specialty (psychiatry), not to speak of all the other fields (Cybernetics and Psycho-biology) it takes under it's umbrella.
the pictures are immaculate,
and it is not the type of book you read once. I am sure this book will come in handy many times during my life. It is a must read for anyone who wants a brief overview of many of the famous philosopher's/psychologist's/psychiatrist's/linguist's ideas about the mind. Famous names such as Jung, Sartre, Freud and Kierkegaard show up, among a whole host of others.
Take a nosedive into the book and extract all you can from the pages. It overlapped with my current field of study (medicine) and dipped into my future specialty (psychiatry), not to speak of all the other fields (Cybernetics and Psycho-biology) it takes under it's umbrella.
March 5, 2008
I've had this book for a long time and still find it to be one of the very best presentations of various ways of seeing the workings of the mind. Edward Tufte would be pleased with the visual depictions (I certainly am!), which add immeasurably to the accessibility of the book. Even though it was published in 1982, it's still a worthwhile and very enlightening read!
January 3, 2021
I found the book entertaining and amusing - like an old and visually engaging map - map of our mainly reptilian brains. A map, although labyrinthian, we will continue to study and try to understand - just to prove to ourselves that all scientific theories are wrong. The amount of research associated with very often conflicting theories and ideas about the human mind is astonishing and mind-boggling - done 22 years before Google became a publicly-traded company...
March 20, 2021
amazing images, very nice picture book...oh wait
April 23, 2008
love it.
May 8, 2010
The best and most comprehensive book dealing with history ideas and of human thought.
December 15, 2012
Essential comparative study of various concepts of the human mind.
December 31, 2015
Fabulous. I want to create a poster out of all the maps.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews