my mind on books

This would make a wonderful gift for anyone interested in Jungian psychology, dreams, or symbolism:

The Book Of Symbols: Reflections On Archetypal Images by the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (Tarcher, 2010)

(link for amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

Reflections on symbols and symbolic imagery
The Book of Symbols combines original and incisive essays about particular symbols with representative images from all parts of the world and all eras of history.The Book of Symbols combines original and incisive essays about particular symbols with representative images from all parts of the world and all eras of history. The highly readable texts and almost 800 beautiful full-color images come together in a unique way to convey hidden dimensions of meaning. Each of the c. 350 essays examines a given symbol’s psychic background, and how it evokes psychic processes and dynamics. Etymological roots, the play of opposites, paradox and shadow, the ways in which diverse cultures have engaged a symbolic image—all these factors are taken into consideration.

Authored by writers from the fields of psychology, religion, art, literature and comparative myth, the essays flow into each other in ways that mirror the psyche’s unexpected convergences. There are no pat definitions of the kind that tend to collapse a symbol; a still vital symbol remains partially unknown, compels our attention and unfolds in new meanings and manifestations over time. Rather than merely categorize, The Book of Symbols illuminates how to move from the visual experience of a symbolic image in art, religion, life, or dreams, to directly experiencing its personal and psychological resonance.

The Book of Symbols sets new standards for thoughtful exploration of symbols and their meanings, and will appeal to a wide range of readers: artists, designers, dreamers and dream interpreters, psychotherapists, self-helpers, gamers, comic book readers, religious and spiritual searchers, writers, students, and anyone curious about the power of archetypal images.

See also: A nice 12-page pdf preview is available through the ARAS website. (Click on “See More” by the book cover.)

Better yet, at the publisher’s website, you can “leaf through” the first 100 pages!

Creativity and Art: Three Roads to Surprise by Margaret A. Boden (Oxford University Press, 2010)

(link for amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

Margaret Boden presents a series of essays in which she explores the nature of creativity in a wide range of art forms. Creativity in general is the generation of novel, surprising, and valuable ideas (conceptual, theoretical, musical, literary, or visual). Boden identifies three forms of creativity: combinational, exploratory, and transformational. These elicit differing forms of surprise, and are defined by the different kinds of psychological process that generate the new ideas. Boden examines creativity not only in traditional fine art, but also in craftworks, and some less orthodox approaches–namely, conceptual art and several types of computer art. Her Introduction draws out the conceptual links between the various case-studies, showing how they express a coherent view of creativity in art.

Found via Discover Magazine (“The Brain Is Ready for Its Close-Up”), where a gallery of images from the book is shown:

Portraits of the Mind: Visualizing the Brain from Antiquity to the 21st Century by Carl Schoonover (Abrams, 2010)

(link for amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

Portraits of the Mind follows the fascinating history of our exploration of the brain through images, from medieval sketches and 19th-century drawings by the founder of modern neuroscience to images produced using state-of-the-art techniques, allowing us to see the fantastic networks in the brain as never before. These black-and-white and vibrantly colored images, many resembling abstract art, are employed daily by scientists around the world, but most have never before been seen by the general public. Each chapter addresses a different set of techniques for studying the brain as revealed through the images, and each is introduced by a leading scientist in that field of study. Author Carl Schoonover’s captions provide detailed explanations of each image as well as the major insights gained by scientists over the course of the past 20 years. Accessible to a wide audience, this book reveals the elegant methods applied to study the mind, giving readers a peek at its innermost workings, helping us to understand them, and offering clues about what may lie ahead.

See also: Author’s website

Thinking Twice: Two Minds in One Brain by Jonathan St. B.T. Evans (Oxford University Press, 2010)

(link for amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

Common sense would suggest that we are in complete control of the actions we perform – that all our actions are the result of considered and conscious preparation. Yet, there are countless examples of this control breaking down, for example, in the case of phobias and compulsive actions. We can all recall those times when, in the ‘heat of the moment’, our actions have been very different to those that would have resulted from calm and considered reflection. In extreme moments of ‘absent-mindedness’ our actions can even have catastrophic consequences, resulting in harm to ourselves or others. So why does this happen – why do apparently rational and intelligent beings make, what appear to be, such fundamental errors in their thinking.

This book explores the idea that humans have two distinct minds within their brains: one intuitive and the other reflective.
The intuitive mind is old, evolved early, and shares many of its features with animal cognition. It is the source of emotion and intuitions, and reflects both the habits acquired in our lifetime and the adaptive behaviours evolved by ancient ancestors.
The reflective mind, by contrast, is recently evolved and distinctively human: it enables us to think in abstract and hypothetical ways about the world around us and to calculate the future consequences of our actions. The evolution of the new, reflective mind is linked with the development of language and the very large forebrains that distinguish humans from other species; it has also given us our unique human form of intelligence. On occasions though, our two minds can come into in conflict, and when this happens, the old mind often wins. These conflicts are often rationalised so that we, conscious persons, are unaware that the intuitive mind is in control.

Written by a leading cognitive scientist, this book demonstrates how much of our behaviour is controlled by automatic and intuitive mental processes, which shape, as well as compete, with our conscious thinking and decision making. Accessibly written, and assuming no prior knowledge of the field, the book will be fascinating reading for all those interested in human behaviour, including students and researchers in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy.

See also: author’s works at PhilPapers

Future Minds: How the Digital Age is Changing Our Minds, Why this Matters and What We Can Do About It by Richard Watson (Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2010)

(link for amazon.co.uk)

Product description from the publisher:

We are on the cusp of a revolution. Mobile phones, computers and iPods are commonplace in hundreds of millions of households worldwide, influencing how we think and shaping how we interact. In the future, smart machines will compete with clever people for employment and even human affection. We are shifting to a world where knowledge will be automated and people will be rewarded instead as conceptual and creative thinkers. Hence being able to think and act in ways that machines cannot will become vital. Ideas are the currency of this new economy and curiosity and imagination are among the key raw materials.

But what happens to the rigor of our thinking in a world where we never really sit still or completely switch off? What are some of the unexpected consequences of digital information on the 100 billion cells and quadrillion connections inside our brains? Future Minds illustrates how to maximize the potential of digital technology and minimize its greatest downside, addressing the future of thinking and how we can ensure that we unleash the extraordinary potential of the human mind.

In this absorbing new book, discover all about:

The sex life of ideas
The rise of the screenager
Generations, gender and geography
Delving deep inside your head
How to clear a blocked brain
Why clever people make dumb mistakes
Why we are so afraid of doing nothing
What we can do to reclaim our brains

See also: Book website