emiann2023's review against another edition
5.0
Every time I close a book by Mr. Damasio, I am reminded of both how little I know, and yet how incredible it is that I know the things I do.
His books are a bit difficult for a casual read, and so it usually takes me a couple of read-throughs (or listens) for me to grasp the full jist of their content. But that actually only enhances my enjoyment, because I am better able to make connections that I did not the first time.
His books are a bit difficult for a casual read, and so it usually takes me a couple of read-throughs (or listens) for me to grasp the full jist of their content. But that actually only enhances my enjoyment, because I am better able to make connections that I did not the first time.
holodoxa's review against another edition
2.0
The Strange Order of Things is an ambitious and provocative mess of a work. At its center, the book posits that foundational thermodynamic processes instantiated homeostatic mechanisms in living things which in turn creates a subjective state that provokes the action of life. However, Damásio shows only a passing interest in developing the argument for his heterodox view of life's origins nor does he really address what the purported issues are with the orthodox theory of life (i.e. the RNA world hypothesis paired with the gene's eye view of evolution and endosymbiosis). There is a flippant dismissal that the energetics don't work in the orthodox theory, but this is inconsistent with the empirical work on this topic (e.g. RNA self-catalysis, RNA spontaneous polymerization with clay catalysts, etc). Ultimately, a lot of the scientific claims and philosophical musings (lot more of the latter) are rendered uninformative or contradictory or even misleading.
Despite the half-baked and somewhat sloppy nature of The Strange Order of Things, it was still periodically an interesting or engaging read. The third part of the book was sort of a grab-bag commentary on various contemporary phenomena or ideas. He's particularly critical of transhumanist and techno-utopian thought; some of his opining is interesting, but it appears he may be right for the wrong reasons on some issues.
All together, I don't strongly recommend as there are a lot of better books out there (apparently even by this same author according to the other Goodreads reviews I perused).
Despite the half-baked and somewhat sloppy nature of The Strange Order of Things, it was still periodically an interesting or engaging read. The third part of the book was sort of a grab-bag commentary on various contemporary phenomena or ideas. He's particularly critical of transhumanist and techno-utopian thought; some of his opining is interesting, but it appears he may be right for the wrong reasons on some issues.
All together, I don't strongly recommend as there are a lot of better books out there (apparently even by this same author according to the other Goodreads reviews I perused).
chrisyakimov's review against another edition
5.0
While parts of the third quarter of this book felt a bit too opinion based and flimsy to me, there's nobody better at reimagining human beings through the lens of complexity than Antonio Damasio. There are paradigm shifting sentences in this book, and the last chapter alone will educate many, all by itself.
sofirrix's review against another edition
3.0
It is difficult to write about so many heavy scientific, biological, religious, cultural, artistic and technological topics in a structured and cohesive manner in a few hundred pages. That is why the book feels a little bit rushed but at the same time repetitive, since the author needs to keep coming back to the primary point and importance of homeostasis.
I found his conclusion to be humble and well written, since the author admits that his own critiques and outlooks are subject to revision and that in the end, there is still so much we don't know about the strange order of things, or even life itself.
I found his conclusion to be humble and well written, since the author admits that his own critiques and outlooks are subject to revision and that in the end, there is still so much we don't know about the strange order of things, or even life itself.
rpmiller's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent book, the third of Damasio's books I have read. I decided to take up this book to investigate how feelings affected consciousness, and the depth of my understand has improved, although Damasio is my primary source for this angle. I have read other authors who pointed out the evolutionary development of the universe, life and human consciousness, particularly the theme of homeostasis, usually with different terminology, anti-entropy, for example. My first intuition on the issue of feelings for consciousness was thoughts about natural chemicals in the body that modulate mental processes and their relationship to the so-called hard problem of consciousness (see David Chalmers) which is a popular topic in philosophy of mind in these times. I should also add that my original motivation for study of mind and consciousness was political, which relates to social, and perhaps cultural issues in general. A significant portion of this book describes Damasio's views on human culture, how it developed, how it relates to homeostasis in individual human beings, and what might be next. This was a bonus for me.
kim_hoag's review against another edition
4.0
This is the third book I have read by this top neuroscientist. I guess that shows I really admire him. Consciousness is making many breakthroughs with both Stanislas Dehaene and Michael Gazzaniga writing books on the subject. This is less about consciousness than it is the evolutionary history of our reasoning abilities and culture...and consciousness. Spoiler alert: it all began with bacteria 3.5 billion years ago. There is throughout the book a lot of repeat. I don't mind that so much as Damasio is being very careful to lay down his reasoning to show that humans are not a singularity, either in their culture or their imagination. Fascinating concepts! I enjoyed the first two parts more than the third part on consciousness, which has a lot of the repeat. As a storyteller, there are some things here that I can mine for the biology of storytelling research. Damasio is the first I have seen to put “storytelling” in the book and index instead of “narrative,” which I always thought a too-careful cop-out.
mirasturdivant's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook one weekend while painting my hallways. It wasn't a waste of time or anything - I just don't think his arguments about homeostasis and feelings are very convincing.
I don't care enough to write a lot about it, though! I just think he took a lot of liberties in conveniently simplifying some things and stretching other things to shoehorn things, including creating a definition of "feelings" that is hard to accept, into the homeostasis theory.
All I can say is "eeehhhh....."
I did read from other reviews that his other books are far more susbstantial and I'm more than willing to give them a try. I really do appreciate a science author who readily admits that human life is special and unique.
I don't care enough to write a lot about it, though! I just think he took a lot of liberties in conveniently simplifying some things and stretching other things to shoehorn things, including creating a definition of "feelings" that is hard to accept, into the homeostasis theory.
All I can say is "eeehhhh....."
I did read from other reviews that his other books are far more susbstantial and I'm more than willing to give them a try. I really do appreciate a science author who readily admits that human life is special and unique.
sophronisba's review against another edition
Abandoned as I simply could not connect with it. I blame my subpar science education.
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