The Embodied Mind

Cognitive Science and Human Experience (MIT Press)

By: Francisco J. Varela, Evan Thompson, Eleanor Rosch

Narrated by: Toby Sheets

A new edition of a classic work that originated the "embodied cognition" movement and was one of the first to link science and Buddhist practices.

This classic work, first published in 1991, was one of the first to propose the "embodied cognition" approach in cognitive science. It pioneered the connections between phenomenology and science and between Buddhist practices and science - claims that have since become highly influential. Through this cross-fertilization of disparate fields of study, The Embodied Mind introduced a new form of cognitive science called "enaction", in which both the environment and first-person experience are aspects of embodiment.

However, enactive embodiment is not the grasping of an independent, outside world by a brain, a mind, or a self; rather, it is the bringing forth of an interdependent world in and through embodied action.

Although enacted cognition lacks an absolute foundation, the audiobook shows how that does not lead to either experiential or philosophical nihilism. Above all, the audiobook's arguments were powered by the conviction that the sciences of mind must encompass lived human experience and the possibilities for transformation inherent in human experience.

©1991, 2016 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

“A thoroughly original integration of cognitive science, continental philosophy, and Buddhist thought, and in its transpersonal dimension, rather beautiful.” (Gordon G. Globus, professor of psychiatry and human behavior, University of California, Irvine)

“An important book with wide ranging implications...engagingly written, presenting difficult ideas and complex research programs with grace, lucidity, and style." (American Book Review)

Challenging and rewarding

I very much enjoyed this journey into the theory of mind, articulated by Francisco Varela, Evan Thompson, and Eleanor Roche. Thompson‘s introduction to the latest edition was also helpful. This book makes a serious contribution to the philosophy of mind, and offers a way forward through the quagmires that Western models have let us into. For me, the first few chapters were the most slow going, and the last chapters were the most rewarding.

Unfortunate narration.

Should have chosen a narrator that understood what he was reading, not just a fast reading excercise. Extremely poor narration for a deep reflective text.

Read the book. Unfortunate narration.

An Essential Work in Cognitive Science

The Embodied Mind is an undisputed classic of cognitive science and one of the founding documents of embodiment and the enactive approach to consciousness. See many excellent reviews of the book elsewhere - I will focus on the audiobook. The performance is very good and I am puzzled by the earlier negative reviews. The narrator reads at a comfortable pace and clearly grasps what he is reading. I have listened to a number of dense technical and philosophical works on audiobook and it is perfectly reasonable to expect to listen to certain sections more than once to fully grasp them. This is not a deficiency in the narrator but a necessity of the work and a limitation of the listener. This is a strong performance of a complex work and I am very pleased that this essential work has finally been produced in audiobook format.

Academic, theoretical and non-applicable

Wordy introductions, indeed, lots of flowery words without ever suggesting ways one might use the cognitive mind or the human experience to practical benefit. If you're after lengthy, academic, philosophical discussion, you've come to the right place; otherwise, look elsewhere.