This landmark text introduces the novice reader to what great thinkers think about thought. Unlike most texts, authors Jay Friedenberg and Gordon Silverman use a theoretical, rather than empirical, approach to examine the most important theories of mind from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. While experiments are discussed, they are used primarily to illustrate the specific characteristics of a model.
My first foray into a 'real' cogsci textbook. Basic but broad introduction work. Some of the chapters were better developed than others. If you have a good background in Philosophy of Mind and 4E cognitive science pass on this and find a more specific tome (neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, neurobiology, et cetera) suited to your needs. Or do what I will do next, although your mileage may vary here:
Read Kandel's 5th edition of Principles of Neural Science. The alleged classic work but a whopping 1760 pages. It will be slow, necessarily need-to-know-this-now chapter sampling, and bound to be frustrating at times.
Read that next to Bear, Paradiso, and Connors (2015) Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain. That is only a bit more than half the pages of Kandel at 975.
In my case I will keep combining reading neuroscience with empirical studies and articles and books on the ongoing engagement with these from a philosophical standpoint (embodied embedded enacted extended cognition).
An easy read. I enjoyed reading this book. Though author's view on animals and evolution was inaccurate, misleading, and outdated. It also can use a bit of textbook structure to help studying the material.
Not an easy read, basically a textbook. It’s a really good choice however to get an insight into each subfield of cognitive science and to how they’re connected to each other.