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Mind-Body Problems: Science, Subjectivity & Who We Really Are
Science journalist John Horgan presents an exhilarating new view of life’s knottiest mystery, the mind-body problem, which is the question of what we are, can be and should be. For millennia, prophets, philosophers and poets have told us who we are, but their answers conflict. Modern scientists claim they are on the verge of resolving our primordial identity crisis by finding a single, objectively true solution to the mind-body problem. Mind-Body Problems challenges this claim, arguing that we all face our own mind-body problems and must find our own solutions. Horgan dramatizes this theme by telling the stories of mind-body experts whose views have been shaped by madness, a brain tumor, sexual confusion and the death of loved ones. He weaves these tales into a compelling narrative about human freedom. If the mind-body problem has no final answer, we can discover ourselves, and create ourselves, forever.
258 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 5, 2018
62 people are currently reading
211 people want to read
About the author
John Horgan
45 books56 followersJOHN HORGAN is a science journalist and Director of the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. A former senior writer at Scientific American (1986-1997), he has also written for The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, Slate, Discover, The London Times, The Times Literary Supplement, New Scientist, and other publications around the world. He blogs for the Center for Science Writings and for Bloggingheads.tv (see links at left).
His latest book is Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality, published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin in January 2003 and in paperback by Mariner Books in March 2004.
His latest book is Rational Mysticism: Dispatches from the Border Between Science and Spirituality, published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin in January 2003 and in paperback by Mariner Books in March 2004.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 15, 2019
Less than impressed
Not sure what to expect but was not impressed. It was somewhat thought provoking because I believe there is more to life than what we can merely see or measure. The author and his subjects have less to offer than religion as far as comprehending one’s role, finding a sense of purpose, and providing a direction to life.
Not sure what to expect but was not impressed. It was somewhat thought provoking because I believe there is more to life than what we can merely see or measure. The author and his subjects have less to offer than religion as far as comprehending one’s role, finding a sense of purpose, and providing a direction to life.
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January 30, 2021Engaging, but unexpected. As Horgan himself makes clear, he views the personal stories of the individuals profiled to be essential to how they approach mind body problems. Fair enough, though it does leave one wanting a bit more meat in terms of the individuals' views about the intellectual issues presented.
Something that this approach does make clear is that despite the surface diversity of the views presented, in many ways, the individuals profiled are a lot alike. If those of us in America are products of Henrich's WEIRD (Western Educated Industrialized Democratic) paradigm, then what we have here is an assortment of the very weirdest of the WEIRD. Older academics, at the pinnacle of their fields, are a tiny outlier among an outlier. That said, the personal tragedies and travails of the subjects are deeply relatable. I fear though, that the unusual intellectual and cultural disposition of these people does not always serve them well. Mind body problems are an interesting intellectual exercise, but I sense that lurking beneath the intellectual edifices are attempts to find meaning in the face of suffering. The pursuit of knowledge is noble, but if these assorted seekers hope to find some kind of personal solace through their mind-body solutions, they will ultimately end up disappointed.
Finally, I would just commend Horgan's objectivity. I do not get the sense that he has come at this book with any agenda, beyond presenting the various views of these individuals in a fair manner.
Something that this approach does make clear is that despite the surface diversity of the views presented, in many ways, the individuals profiled are a lot alike. If those of us in America are products of Henrich's WEIRD (Western Educated Industrialized Democratic) paradigm, then what we have here is an assortment of the very weirdest of the WEIRD. Older academics, at the pinnacle of their fields, are a tiny outlier among an outlier. That said, the personal tragedies and travails of the subjects are deeply relatable. I fear though, that the unusual intellectual and cultural disposition of these people does not always serve them well. Mind body problems are an interesting intellectual exercise, but I sense that lurking beneath the intellectual edifices are attempts to find meaning in the face of suffering. The pursuit of knowledge is noble, but if these assorted seekers hope to find some kind of personal solace through their mind-body solutions, they will ultimately end up disappointed.
Finally, I would just commend Horgan's objectivity. I do not get the sense that he has come at this book with any agenda, beyond presenting the various views of these individuals in a fair manner.
June 7, 2021
The mind-body problem remains to be extremely far from converging to a common agreement on what is consciousness. It is a very evasive problem that none from neuroscience, physics, computer science, evolutionary biology, psychology, philosophy, has yet get to a comprehensive answer. I like this book because it tackles the problem using an empiric approach, disserted in a journalist style, from the angle of the life experiences of personalities. So instead of being a profound discursive theoretical and technical book, it is an easy-to-read book, with an aggregate of biographies and memoirs of relevant personalities, which makes it more enjoyable.
At the end none of the mind-body experts agree on much. So, it is up to you, to make your choice, and come up with your own idea of the mind-body problem, taking out from the experts whatever makes match with you. You must figure that out for yourself. For me, some of the stories were more interesting and attractive than others, but all of them are remarkable. It is a good book, with a fresh collective perspective by mind-experts on the mind-body problem.
At the end none of the mind-body experts agree on much. So, it is up to you, to make your choice, and come up with your own idea of the mind-body problem, taking out from the experts whatever makes match with you. You must figure that out for yourself. For me, some of the stories were more interesting and attractive than others, but all of them are remarkable. It is a good book, with a fresh collective perspective by mind-experts on the mind-body problem.
Want to read
September 10, 2024----------------------
- Scientific American: What God, Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness Have in Common
- Scientific American: What God, Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness Have in Common
December 26, 2022
I thought the nine chapters of this book would have worked best as separate, self-contained essays, each of them interesting in its own right. Great choice of subjects! But the chapters didn't really hang together as a book, and the mind-body theme that purported to do so felt contrived. No doubt, had this book been submitted to a publisher, an editor would have pushed aggressively to create greater cohesion. That's a danger with self-published books-- they may be more faithful to what the author envisions, but an editor's hand can contribute a lot, leading to a final product that better connects with readers.
October 28, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. It made me feel comfortable in my metaness; in my unsatiable curiosity; and in my conviction that totally conviction about mind-body problems is bunk. The chapters which are part profiles of individuals, and part musings and streams-of-consciousness. The online presentation with meta-footnotes, and audio clips, and ease of navigation is peak-2019.
I can't pick a favorite profile, because all were totally engrossing and fascinating, but I think I will think about Elyn Saks and Diedre McCloskey for the rest of my life.
Must read.
I can't pick a favorite profile, because all were totally engrossing and fascinating, but I think I will think about Elyn Saks and Diedre McCloskey for the rest of my life.
Must read.
August 21, 2025
Absolute garbage. Less coherent than if it was randomly generated. Kind of thrilling, in a horrific sort of way. So this is what Ivy league philosophy majors talk about. Reading this book made me feel like anthropologists must feel -- unable to prevent Chicxulub.
August 2, 2024
I first became acquainted with Horgan’s writing when reading the epilogue to his book (After War), which offered a Corlis Lamont-like defense of free will from the perspective of “intuitionism” sans inference or rigorous argumentation.
It was based on this sample of his writing that I decided to purchase Mind Body Problems…a self-published book, a book that I believe is free (open access) on Horgan’s webpage. If I had known that prior to purchasing the book, and began reading it as a free PDF, I most likely would not have finished it…
The book claims to pursue the thorny and persistent issue of the mind-body problem, which the author quite rightly explains, has (1) yet to be satisfactorily solved (resolved) and (2) should really be re-conceived in terms of “problems” – and not reduced to "problem", e.g., in terms of issues of consciousness, free will, moral responsibility, religion, etc.
Horgan is a talented and well-informed writer and researcher; he writes for Scientific American, and his connections allow him to hob-knob with and so secure interviews with internationally renowned scientists and academics such as Koch, Gopnik, Flanagan, Trivers, and more. The author’s interaction with these scientific and philosophical giants is, to a greater and lesser degree, well worth reading.
The book unfolds through biography, autobiography, and what qualitative researchers classify as “ethnography” – it’s a paradigmatic example of the conceptual research lens of “narratology,” and it deals with the mind-body issue related to diverse areas of study such as child psychology, evolutionary biology, literature, law, economics, and philosophy.
However, to my disappointment, the book is more focused on the way major academics and intellectuals research and live – instantiate – the mind-body problem than it is focused on presenting and analyzing their solutions to the problem in detail. In addition, it offers something of a veiled psychoanalysis of the professors that Horgan interviews. It’s most definitely interesting and insightful but it left me somewhat unsatisfied, this reaction based on the title and the book’s description. For example, the sections of the book devoted to elucidating the many proposed solutions to the mind-body dichotomy are thin and superficial, for as stated, the real focus is on the emotional struggles that the academics Horgan interviews endure in their private and professional lives!
The last chapter is an extended reflection on the introduction, and it is an unnecessary addition to the book, this because the author explains clearly in the introduction why the book necessitated self-publishing. Although I do not often agree with editors, in this case, I side with Horgan on the issue of publication with a major commercial press – the book, as it stands, and the author admits this, is simply too difficult to market – it resists rigid classification (but this, it seems, is precisely what the author wanted).
James M. Magrini
Former: Philosophy & Ethics/College of Dupage
It was based on this sample of his writing that I decided to purchase Mind Body Problems…a self-published book, a book that I believe is free (open access) on Horgan’s webpage. If I had known that prior to purchasing the book, and began reading it as a free PDF, I most likely would not have finished it…
The book claims to pursue the thorny and persistent issue of the mind-body problem, which the author quite rightly explains, has (1) yet to be satisfactorily solved (resolved) and (2) should really be re-conceived in terms of “problems” – and not reduced to "problem", e.g., in terms of issues of consciousness, free will, moral responsibility, religion, etc.
Horgan is a talented and well-informed writer and researcher; he writes for Scientific American, and his connections allow him to hob-knob with and so secure interviews with internationally renowned scientists and academics such as Koch, Gopnik, Flanagan, Trivers, and more. The author’s interaction with these scientific and philosophical giants is, to a greater and lesser degree, well worth reading.
The book unfolds through biography, autobiography, and what qualitative researchers classify as “ethnography” – it’s a paradigmatic example of the conceptual research lens of “narratology,” and it deals with the mind-body issue related to diverse areas of study such as child psychology, evolutionary biology, literature, law, economics, and philosophy.
However, to my disappointment, the book is more focused on the way major academics and intellectuals research and live – instantiate – the mind-body problem than it is focused on presenting and analyzing their solutions to the problem in detail. In addition, it offers something of a veiled psychoanalysis of the professors that Horgan interviews. It’s most definitely interesting and insightful but it left me somewhat unsatisfied, this reaction based on the title and the book’s description. For example, the sections of the book devoted to elucidating the many proposed solutions to the mind-body dichotomy are thin and superficial, for as stated, the real focus is on the emotional struggles that the academics Horgan interviews endure in their private and professional lives!
The last chapter is an extended reflection on the introduction, and it is an unnecessary addition to the book, this because the author explains clearly in the introduction why the book necessitated self-publishing. Although I do not often agree with editors, in this case, I side with Horgan on the issue of publication with a major commercial press – the book, as it stands, and the author admits this, is simply too difficult to market – it resists rigid classification (but this, it seems, is precisely what the author wanted).
James M. Magrini
Former: Philosophy & Ethics/College of Dupage
October 25, 2024
this was a really interesting, unexpected approach, one that I wasn't really expecting. took me a while to adjust. once it clicked, I found the larger point quite convincing - essentially, that the answer to the mind-body problem is more reflective of the individual than of objective reality. this is a fascinating idea, one that is relevant to many areas of ambiguity. while it's tempting to assume science is "better" than this, it seems apparent that this is not really the case.
the anecdotes themselves are also interesting, a tour of many perspectives from a well rounded group of individuals, all of which (or most? hard to remember, I finished this a couple weeks ago) are quite successful as academics and therefore have credibility on the subject. it's cool to hear all the different theories for what may ultimately be an inherently mysterious phenomenon.
really enjoyed this despite some clear downsides from independent publishing. Horgan always has an interesting and unique perspective, and that's beautifully represented here.
the anecdotes themselves are also interesting, a tour of many perspectives from a well rounded group of individuals, all of which (or most? hard to remember, I finished this a couple weeks ago) are quite successful as academics and therefore have credibility on the subject. it's cool to hear all the different theories for what may ultimately be an inherently mysterious phenomenon.
really enjoyed this despite some clear downsides from independent publishing. Horgan always has an interesting and unique perspective, and that's beautifully represented here.
September 21, 2021
It was quite good, but after the first few chapters it went from biography mixed with an explanation of different mind body /consciousness theories to biographies and stories of people whose lives might reveal something about the mind body problem. Interesting but not quite what I was expecting. Not at all keen on the 'conclusions' at the end either, especially because what was effectively 'freedom is the most important thing of all and capitalism saves the world' is not a radical or interesting or even ethical conclusion in this day and age. It is not very self aware as a white well-off, well-educated American to come to a conclusion like that. Because it was self published, the book by the end felt a little self indulgent and in need of a good edit.
October 3, 2023
John Horgan tapaa tässä kirjassa tutkijoita, joilla on erilaisia näkökulmia mielen toimintaan. Kukin tapaaminen kerrotaan elävästi ja tutkijoiden persoonat kuvaillaan mainiosti. Pidin tästä lähestymistavasta, on virkistävää lukea tekstiä, jossa tutkijoiden persoonat ja ajatukset yhdistyvät. Tästä tosin seuraa se, että lopputulos ei ole systemaattinen katsaus eikä kirjassa varsinaisesti päästä mihinkään selkeän johtopäätökseen. Tämä ei minua lukiessani haitannut, koska kirjasta sai paljon hyviä ideoita. Horgan kirjoittaa sujuvasti ja viihdyttävästi, tätä oli ilo lukea.
August 28, 2020
Various perspectives on the Mind-Body problem. Some approaches are too esoteric and the author is also very biased by his perspective. Missing some much more relevant insights from relevant people such as Damasio, Churchland, Doya, or LeDoux.
Nonetheless, it was a very pleasant and captivating read.
Nonetheless, it was a very pleasant and captivating read.
August 23, 2025
Thanks to Madison Blake, I discovered this book, and I’m grateful for it. Horgan’s exploration of the mind-body problem is both deeply intellectual and emotionally moving. The personal stories he shares give the book a human touch that makes the science feel alive.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2022
I read the online version, which starts at:
https://www.mindbodyproblems.com
…and I found it fascinating.
https://www.mindbodyproblems.com
…and I found it fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews