RE: Favorite Non-fictions
March 31, 2011 at 1:26 pm
(This post was last modified: March 31, 2011 at 1:38 pm by Rayaan.)
Yes, the main subject of the book is about the relationship between consciousness and self-reference. The author argues that self-reference is the key element for a collection of inanimate matter to become aware of itself, or to perceive itself, and this is what he means by a "strange loop" because such a loop exists inside all of our heads at an abstract level which are based on symbols and self-referential "loops." He believes that these abstract symbols in our head begin to point toward themselves, at a certain time of human development, and they become more and more self-referential and this what allows consciousness to emerge. I also personally find this idea very interesting and a good one, too. More in this article.
Quote:According to Hofstadter, self-awareness, the quality of having a "soul," a "self," an "I," is itself the result of a particular kind of self-reference in the "programming" of the human mind. This special self-reference, which he calls the "Strange Loop," is information that references itself, but in such a way as to bring in new information before referencing itself again.
