Tab Article

Ratings: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Genre: Psychology, Neuroscience, Philosophy of Mind, Science, Non-Fiction.

Book Review:
Nicholas Humphrey's ''Soul Dust'' is a dazzling and provocative exploration of the greatest mystery of all: consciousness. With elegance, wit, and deep erudition, Humphrey offers a bold new theory of why and how this magical inner world evolved, and why it matters so much to us.

Humphrey, a distinguished psychologist, argues that consciousness is not a passive by-product of brain activity, but an active and essential adaptation. It is, in his words, a ''magical-mystery show'' that we stage for ourselves inside our own heads. This show transforms the world from a collection of neutral stimuli into a place of meaning, beauty, and value. It makes us feel special, transcendent, and deeply invested in our own lives. And that, Humphrey contends, is precisely its evolutionary function: to make us value our own existence and fight for our survival.

The book is a brilliant synthesis of neuroscience, evolutionary theory, and philosophy. Humphrey draws on a wide range of evidence, from the behavior of animals to the experiences of people with brain damage, to support his case. He explores topics such as the nature of sensation, the origins of the self, the phenomenology of time, and the relationship between consciousness and the sense of the sacred.

''Soul Dust'' is a book that will challenge and delight you. It is written with the elegance and hypnotic quality of a jazz riff, and its arguments are as crystalline and bracing as a perfect martini. As Matt Ridley put it in the Wall Street Journal, ''It's exhilarating to see this crucial question about our existence answered with such intellectual breadth.'' Whether you agree with Humphrey or not, ''Soul Dust'' is an unforgettable intellectual adventure that will change the way you think about your own mind.