Cosmos And Mind

Returning home by foot from Lancaster Town Center, I pass Atticus Books and see books displayed in its window. That is how I acquired Mind, Brains And Science by John Searle. Such books are relevant to discussions on this blog which is why I mention them here.

Today, I bought:

Rival Theories Of Cosmology (London, 1960) by H. Bondi, W.B. Bonnor, R.A. Lyttleton and G.J. Whitrow -

- which covers relativistic theories, the steady-state theory, the notion of an electric universe and a discussion of the rival theories.

We can imagine travelers from each of these universes meeting, and arguing about cosmology, in Poul Anderson's inter-cosmic inn, the Old Phoenix.

I also bought:

The Physical Basis Of Mind (Oxford, 1962), edited by Peter Laslett -

- which covers thought, the brain, the mind, calculation, consciousness, speech and the cerebral cortex.

This book may be relevant to any future discussions of AI, a recurrent issue in Anderson's works.

We are not dead yet.