Jonathan Hockey’s Reviews > The Daemon > Status Update

And without due respect and acknowledgement being given to those who have come before him and basically stated the same thing, or similar that at times is a better metaphor/analogy than his own idea. The problem with his view is that he mishmashes a supposedly psychologically sound theory of the brain with more spiritual elements. Trojan horsing in the spiritual elements with his spurious psychological account.

Don't get me wrong, aspects of the book have been informative, the historical angle on Socrates and Joan of Arc being interesting, and I am always fascinated by some of the things he has to say regarding philip k dick. But it remains the case that there is an element of quackery to what he is doing in this book of a pretence to an authority with his particular pet theory/interpretation that has no solid basis.

Getting slowly more disappointed with this book as it progresses. Spending a lot of time repackaging other better historical ideas in line with his own preferred metaphor while pretending this metaphor is somehow the "reality" these other metaphors were grappling towards. I am not buying it. Each metaphor has its values, and the discussion of these things is good, but it cheapens them to repackage them in this way.