Science · Similar reads
Books like Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness
The best books like Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness are Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness, and A Short History of Nearly Everything. Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith is about consciousness, evolution, animal cognition. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
01
Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are?
Frans de Waal · Science
Frans de Waal's central argument is that we've spent most of the last century asking the wrong questions about animal intelligence.
Shares evolution and animal cognition with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.
Read the summary → - The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
02
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
Sy Montgomery · Science
Sy Montgomery is a naturalist and author who began spending time at the New England Aquarium to get to know a giant Pacific octopus named Athena.
A kindred science read.
Read the summary → - A Short History of Nearly Everything
03
A Short History of Nearly Everything
Bill Bryson · Science
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's attempt to understand the scientific story of everything — from the Big Bang to the emergence of modern humans — by spending three years talking to scientists and reading science history.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary →
- The Selfish Gene
04
Richard Dawkins · Science
The Selfish Gene reframes evolution from the organism's point of view to the gene's.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
05
Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking
Daniel Dennett · Philosophy
Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking is Daniel Dennett's handbook for thinking well — a collection of seventy-odd conceptual tools assembled across a long career in philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and evolutionary theory.
Shares consciousness and evolution with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.
Read the summary → - From Bacteria to Bach and Back
06
From Bacteria to Bach and Back
Daniel C. Dennett · Science
Daniel Dennett's 2017 book is his most comprehensive attempt to explain how minds — conscious, intentional, creative minds — could have evolved from mindless matter without any homunculus, soul, or top-down designer.
Shares consciousness and evolution with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.
Read the summary → - Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
07
Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon
Daniel C. Dennett · Philosophy
Breaking the Spell is Daniel Dennett's case that religion is a natural phenomenon — one that can and should be studied using the methods of evolutionary biology, cognitive science, and anthropology.
Shares evolution and philosophy of mind with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.
Read the summary → - Consciousness Explained
08
Daniel C. Dennett · Philosophy
Consciousness Explained is Daniel Dennett's attempt to replace what he calls the Cartesian Theater — the intuitive picture of consciousness as a single unified stream of experience observed by a self — with a model he calls Multiple Drafts.
Shares consciousness and philosophy of mind with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.
Read the summary → - Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain
09
Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain
Lisa Feldman Barrett · Psychology
Lisa Feldman Barrett wrote this short book — genuinely short at under thirty thousand words — as an accessible introduction to seven core findings of modern neuroscience, each presented as a lesson that overturns something most people believe.
Shares consciousness and evolution with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.
Read the summary → - The Mind's I
10
Douglas Hofstadter & Daniel Dennett · Philosophy
The Mind's I is a collaborative anthology edited by Douglas Hofstadter and Daniel Dennett, two of the most influential thinkers on consciousness and mind of the late twentieth century.
Shares consciousness and philosophy of mind with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness.
Read the summary → - A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
11
A Crack in Creation: Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution
Jennifer A. Doudna and Samuel H. Sternberg · Science
A Crack in Creation is Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg's account of how CRISPR-Cas9 works, what it can do, and why its possibilities should give everyone pause.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary → - Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
12
Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst
Robert M. Sapolsky · Science
Behave is Robert Sapolsky's attempt to explain why humans do what they do — the violence, the altruism, the tribalism, the heroism — by working through every layer of biology that contributes to a single act.
Both dig into evolution.
Read the summary →
Books like Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness: quick answers
What are the best books like Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness?
The best books like Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith are Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel Dennett, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness, such as consciousness, evolution, animal cognition.
What should I read after Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness?
A natural next read after Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness is Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal. Shares evolution and animal cognition with Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness. Other strong choices are The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins.
What books are similar to Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness by Peter Godfrey-Smith?
Other Minds: The Octopus, the Sea, and the Deep Origins of Consciousness centers on consciousness, evolution, animal cognition. Books with a similar feel include Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? by Frans de Waal, The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery, A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins, Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel Dennett, From Bacteria to Bach and Back by Daniel C. Dennett — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
