000			01346nam a2200205Ia 4500
008			160127s9999 xx 000 0 und d
020			_a9780465030781
082			_a153 _bHOF
100			_aHofstadter, Douglas R
245			_aI am a strange loop
260			_bBasic Books _aNew York _c2007
300			_axix, 412 pages: illustrations; 25 cm.
365			_a1765.00
520			_a"Hofstadter's long-awaited return to the themes of Gödel, Escher, Bach--an original and controversial view of the nature of consciousness and identity. What do we mean when we say "I"? Can a self, a soul, a consciousness, an "I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here? This book argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. Deep down, a human brain is a chaotic soup of particles, on a higher level it is a jungle of neurons, and on a yet higher level it is a network of abstractions that we call "symbols." The most central and complex symbol in your brain or mine is the one we both call "I." But how can such a mysterious abstraction be real--or is our "I" merely a convenient fiction?."
650			_aConscience
650			_aConsciousness Intelligence
650			_aNonfiction Self (Philosophy)
650			_aSoul
942			_2ddc _cB
999			_c565797 _d565797