The Four Realms of Existence

A New Theory of Being Human

De: Joseph LeDoux

Narrado por: Graham Rowat

One of the world's leading experts on mind and brain takes us on an expedition that reveals a new view of what makes us who we are.

Humans have long thought of their bodies and minds as separate spheres of existence. The body is physical—the source of aches and pains. But the mind is mental; it perceives, remembers, believes, feels, and imagines. Although modern science has largely eliminated this mind-body dualism, people still tend to imagine their minds as separate from their physical being. Even in research, the notion of the "self" as somehow distinct from the rest of the organism persists. Joseph LeDoux argues that we have hit an epistemological wall—that ideas like the self are increasingly barriers to discovery and understanding. He offers a new framework of who we are, theorizing four realms of existence—bodily, neural, cognitive, and conscious.

The biological realm makes life possible. Hence, every living thing exists biologically. Animals, uniquely, supplement biological existence with a nervous system. This neural component enables them to control their bodies with speed and precision unseen in other forms of life. Some animals with nervous systems possess a cognitive realm, which allows the creation of internal representations of the world around them. These mental models are used to control a wide range of behaviors. Finally, the conscious realm allows its possessors to have inner experiences of, and thoughts about, the world.

Together, LeDoux shows, these four realms make humans who and what we are. They cooperate continuously and underlie our capacity to live and experience ourselves as beings with a past, present, and future. The result, LeDoux shows, is not a self but an "ensemble of being" that subsumes our entire human existence, both as individuals and as a species.

©2023 Joseph LeDoux (P)2023 Recorded Books

Content is outstanding. Narration, not so much.

I should have listened to the audible preview first before purchasing. This narrator is difficult to listen to and I find his delivery and voice distracting. I would have chosen a different narrator for the content this book represents.

A Reasonable Theory of The Self bogged down in Source Material

The fundamental theory of the Four Realms comes across very clearly in LeDoux’s book. Unfortunately, for the Lay Reader, he spends an inordinate amount of time laying out the context and history of everyone else’s theory and defending his. This may be necessary and appropriate for a pH.D thesis but less necessary for a Popular Science work.

I was hoping for a greater focus on the Fourth Realm, Consciousness. And LeDoux should have handed off the narration to a Professional. His nasal declamatory style wears thin very quickly. Three Stars. ***

1970's radio broadcast

Don't be fooled by the narrator, this book was actually released October 2023 ! ;)