Listen free for 30 days
-
Other Minds
- The Octopus and The Evolution of Intelligent Life
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Science & Engineering, Science
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Listen with a free trial
Buy Now for £8.49
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures
- By: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neither plant nor animal, it is found throughout the earth, the air and our bodies. It can be microscopic, yet also accounts for the largest organisms ever recorded, living for millennia and weighing tens of thousands of tonnes. Its ability to digest rock enabled the first life on land, it can survive unprotected in space and it thrives amidst nuclear radiation. In this captivating adventure, Merlin Sheldrake explores the spectacular and neglected world of fungi: endlessly surprising organisms that sustain nearly all living systems.
-
-
Willingly entangled
- By Paul on 17-11-20
-
Metazoa
- Animal Minds and the Birth of Consciousness
- By: Peter Godfrey-Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Godfrey-Smith, Mitch Riley
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The scuba-diving philosopher and best-selling author of Other Minds explores the origins of animal consciousness. Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins.
-
-
Probably better read with your eyes than your ears
- By Liz on 31-10-20
-
Sapiens
- By: Yuval Noah Harari
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us sapiens? In this bold and provocative audiobook, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here, and where we're going.
-
-
Simplistic nonsense
- By RTx on 14-07-19
-
Animal Societies
- How Co-Operation Conquered the Natural World
- By: Ashley Ward
- Narrated by: Ashley Ward
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join Biologist Ashley Ward as he takes listeners into the intimate worlds of social animals. Journeying from Aysgarth Falls to the Great Barrier Reef, it becomes clear that animals are not so far removed from us as we might imagine. In a time where humans are struggling to navigate cityscapes, isolation and a loneliness epidemic, Ward shows us that studying the social behaviour of animals offers insights valuable in their own right as well as a window into the evolutionary basis of our own species.
-
-
Definitely my book of the year
- By hhj on 09-05-20
-
Kindred
- By: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Narrated by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Kindred, Neanderthal expert Becky Wragg Sykes shoves aside the cliché of the shivering ragged figure in an icy wasteland and reveals the Neanderthal you don’t know, who lived across vast and diverse tracts of Eurasia and survived through hundreds of thousands of years of massive climate change. Using a thematic rather than chronological approach, this book will shed new light on where they lived, what they ate and the increasingly complex Neanderthal culture that is being discovered.
-
-
Was this recorded inside a biscuit tin?
- By hhj on 31-05-21
-
Night School
- Wake Up to the Power of Sleep
- By: Richard Wiseman
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Almost a third of your whole life is spent asleep. Night School uncovers the scientific truth about the sleeping brain - and gives powerful tips on how those hours of apparently ‘dead’ time in the dark can transform your waking life.
-
-
Informative with a quirky sense of humour
- By Laura on 19-05-14
-
Entangled Life
- How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures
- By: Merlin Sheldrake
- Narrated by: Merlin Sheldrake
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Neither plant nor animal, it is found throughout the earth, the air and our bodies. It can be microscopic, yet also accounts for the largest organisms ever recorded, living for millennia and weighing tens of thousands of tonnes. Its ability to digest rock enabled the first life on land, it can survive unprotected in space and it thrives amidst nuclear radiation. In this captivating adventure, Merlin Sheldrake explores the spectacular and neglected world of fungi: endlessly surprising organisms that sustain nearly all living systems.
-
-
Willingly entangled
- By Paul on 17-11-20
-
Metazoa
- Animal Minds and the Birth of Consciousness
- By: Peter Godfrey-Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Godfrey-Smith, Mitch Riley
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The scuba-diving philosopher and best-selling author of Other Minds explores the origins of animal consciousness. Dip below the ocean’s surface and you are soon confronted by forms of life that could not seem more foreign to our own: sea sponges, soft corals and flower-like worms, whose rooted bodies and intricate geometry are more reminiscent of plant life than anything recognisably animal. Yet these creatures are our cousins.
-
-
Probably better read with your eyes than your ears
- By Liz on 31-10-20
-
Sapiens
- By: Yuval Noah Harari
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 15 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it. Us. We are the most advanced and most destructive animals ever to have lived. What makes us brilliant? What makes us deadly? What makes us sapiens? In this bold and provocative audiobook, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here, and where we're going.
-
-
Simplistic nonsense
- By RTx on 14-07-19
-
Animal Societies
- How Co-Operation Conquered the Natural World
- By: Ashley Ward
- Narrated by: Ashley Ward
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Join Biologist Ashley Ward as he takes listeners into the intimate worlds of social animals. Journeying from Aysgarth Falls to the Great Barrier Reef, it becomes clear that animals are not so far removed from us as we might imagine. In a time where humans are struggling to navigate cityscapes, isolation and a loneliness epidemic, Ward shows us that studying the social behaviour of animals offers insights valuable in their own right as well as a window into the evolutionary basis of our own species.
-
-
Definitely my book of the year
- By hhj on 09-05-20
-
Kindred
- By: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Narrated by: Rebecca Wragg Sykes
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Kindred, Neanderthal expert Becky Wragg Sykes shoves aside the cliché of the shivering ragged figure in an icy wasteland and reveals the Neanderthal you don’t know, who lived across vast and diverse tracts of Eurasia and survived through hundreds of thousands of years of massive climate change. Using a thematic rather than chronological approach, this book will shed new light on where they lived, what they ate and the increasingly complex Neanderthal culture that is being discovered.
-
-
Was this recorded inside a biscuit tin?
- By hhj on 31-05-21
-
Night School
- Wake Up to the Power of Sleep
- By: Richard Wiseman
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Almost a third of your whole life is spent asleep. Night School uncovers the scientific truth about the sleeping brain - and gives powerful tips on how those hours of apparently ‘dead’ time in the dark can transform your waking life.
-
-
Informative with a quirky sense of humour
- By Laura on 19-05-14
-
Gut
- By: Giulia Enders
- Narrated by: Katy Sobey
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The key to living a happier, healthier life is inside us. Our gut is almost as important to us as our brain or our heart, yet we know very little about how it works. In Gut, Giulia Enders shows that rather than the utilitarian and - let's be honest - somewhat embarrassing body part we imagine it to be, it is one of the most complex, important, and even miraculous parts of our anatomy.
-
-
I have to redress the balance
- By David J James on 13-03-16
-
Marine Biology
- A Very Short Introduction
- By: Philip V. Mladenov
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Very Short Introduction audiobook, marine biologist Philip Mladenov provides an accessible and up-to-date overview of marine biology, offering a tour of marine life and marine processes that ranges from the unimaginably abundant microscopic organisms that drive the oceans' food web to the apex predators that we exploit for food; from polar ocean ecosystems to tropical coral reefs; and from the luxurious kelp beds of the coastal ocean to deep-ocean hydrothermal vents where life exists without the energy of the sun.
-
-
I very much enjoyed tis and learned a great deal.
- By J. H. Mccarthy on 22-10-21
-
Rewild Yourself
- 23 Spellbinding Ways to Make Nature More Visible
- By: Simon Barnes
- Narrated by: Simon Mattacks
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mammals you never knew existed will enter your world. Birds hidden in treetops will shed their cloak of anonymity. With a single movement of your hand you can make reptiles appear before you. Butterflies you never saw before will bring joy to every sunny day. Creatures of the darkness will enter your consciousness. And as you take on new techniques and a little new equipment, you will discover new creatures and, with them, new areas of yourself that had gone dormant. Once put to use, they wake up and start working again.
-
-
Meh
- By SuperCat on 04-04-21
-
Bad Science
- By: Ben Goldacre
- Narrated by: Rupert Farley
- Length: 13 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We are constantly bombarded with inaccurate, contradictory and sometimes misleading information - until now. Ben Goldacre masterfully dismantles the dubious science behind some of the great drug trials, court cases and missed opportunities of our time. He also shows us the fascinating story of how we know what we know, and gives us the tools to uncover bad science for ourselves.
-
-
Making science truly entertaining
- By Marcus on 26-03-10
-
Utopia for Realists
- By: Rutger Bregman
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live in a time of unprecedented upheaval, when technology and so-called progress have made us richer but more uncertain than ever before. We have questions about the future, society, work, happiness, family and money, and yet no political party of the right or left is providing us with answers. So, too, does the time seem to be coming to an end when we looked to economists to help us define the qualities necessary to create a successful society. We need a new movement.
-
-
Why not do it?
- By kieronmayers on 22-11-18
-
A Guide to the Good Life
- The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy
- By: William B. Irvine
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the great fears many of us face is that despite all our effort and striving, we will discover at the end that we have wasted our life. In A Guide to the Good Life, William B. Irvine plumbs the wisdom of Stoic philosophy, one of the most popular and successful schools of thought in ancient Rome, and shows how its insight and advice are still remarkably applicable to modern lives. In A Guide to the Good Life, Irvine offers a refreshing presentation of Stoicism, showing how this ancient philosophy can still direct us toward a better life.
-
-
To the non-stoic reviewers...
- By Anonymous User on 20-01-20
-
The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Simon Shepherd
- Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A quirky, entertaining and thought-provoking tour of the unexpected connections between words, read by Simon Shepherd. What is the actual connection between disgruntled and gruntled? What links church organs to organised crime, California to the Caliphate, or brackets to codpieces? The Etymologicon springs from Mark Forsyth's Inky Fool blog on the strange connections between words.
-
-
Brilliant and hilarious book
- By Sally Hawes on 06-01-13
-
The Blind Watchmaker
- Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe Without Design
- By: Richard Dawkins
- Narrated by: Richard Dawkins, Lalla Ward
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Blind Watchmaker, knowledgably narrated by author Richard Dawkins, is as prescient and timely a book as ever. The watchmaker belongs to the 18th-century theologian William Paley, who argued that just as a watch is too complicated and functional to have sprung into existence by accident, so too must all living things, with their far greater complexity, be purposefully designed. Charles Darwin's brilliant discovery challenged the creationist arguments; but only Richard Dawkins could have written this elegant riposte.
-
-
Intelligent design my rear!
- By Balor of the Evil Eye on 14-02-14
-
There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important than Kindness
- By: Carlo Rovelli
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 6 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of our most beloved scientists, a fearless free spirit, Carlo Rovelli is also a masterful storyteller. In this collection of writings, the logbook of an intelligence always on the move, he follows his curiosity and invites us on a voyage through science, literature, philosophy and politics. Written with his usual clarity and wit, these pieces, most of which were first published in Italian newspapers, range widely across time and space....
-
-
How joined up science can improve the world
- By papapownall on 28-11-20
-
I Contain Multitudes
- The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life
- By: Ed Yong
- Narrated by: Charlie Anson
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Your body is teeming with tens of trillions of microbes. It's an entire world, a colony full of life. In other words, you contain multitudes. These microscopic companions sculpt our organs, protect us from diseases, guide our behaviour and bombard us with their genes. They also hold the key to understanding all life on earth. In I Contain Multitudes, Ed Yong opens our eyes and invites us to marvel at ourselves and other animals in a new light, less as individuals and more as thriving ecosystems.
-
-
Very enjoyable read
- By Millymagpie on 14-09-16
-
Last Ape Standing
- The Seven Million-Year Story of How and Why We Survived
- By: Chip Walter
- Narrated by: Bernard Clark, Teresa DeBerry
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why did the line of ancient humans who eventually evolved into us survive when the others were shown the evolutionary door? Chip Walter draws on new scientific discoveries to tell the fascinating tale of how our survival was linked to our ancestors being born more prematurely than others, having uniquely long and rich childhoods, evolving a new kind of mind that made us resourceful and emotionally complex; how our highly social nature increased our odds of survival; and why we became self aware in ways that no other animal seems to be.
-
A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Short History of Nearly Everything is Bill Bryson's fascinating and humorous quest to understand everything that has happened from the Big Bang to the rise of civilization. He takes subjects that normally bore the pants off most of us, like geology, chemistry, and particle physics, and aims to render them comprehensible to people who have never thought they could be interested in science. In the company of some extraordinary scientists, Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way most of us have never seen it before.
-
-
Long listen, needs concentration!
- By Helen on 16-11-07
Summary
A philosopher dons a wet suit and journeys into the depths of consciousness.
Peter Godfrey-Smith is a leading philosopher of science. He is also a scuba diver whose underwater videos of warring octopuses have attracted wide notice. In this audiobook he brings his parallel careers together to tell a bold new story of how nature became aware of itself.
Mammals and birds are widely seen as the smartest creatures on earth. But one other branch of the tree of life has also sprouted surprising intelligence: the cephalopods, consisting of the squid, the cuttlefish, and above all the octopus. New research shows that these marvellous creatures display remarkable gifts.
What does it mean that intelligence on Earth has evolved not once but twice? And that the mind of the octopus is nonetheless so different from our own? Combining science and philosophy with firsthand accounts of his cephalopod encounters, Godfrey-Smith shows how primitive organisms bobbing in the ocean began sending signals to each other and how these early forms of communication gave rise to the advanced nervous systems that permit cephalopods to change colours and human beings to speak.
By tracing the problem of consciousness back to its roots and comparing the human brain to its most alien and perhaps most remarkable animal relative, Godfrey-Smith's Other Minds sheds new light on one of our most abiding mysteries.
More from the same
What listeners say about Other Minds
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 12-03-18
stunning look at the evolution of thinking...
loved every word of it. great subject lovingly narrated. For any one interested in thought, neuroscience and potentilly for bionics/robotics some great ideas to traverse andcombine. Why? all great structures and strategies are first invented in nature - if it's not broken..? So here is the fundemental patterning of thought through evolution. A demonstration of thought patterning in animals up to and including human minds. Interested to know where and who runs with these ideas and grows them forward in diffrent ways, especially in robotics...thanks to both Peters for bringing this to life
20 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- countrymuso
- 18-02-20
An Alternative Intelligence Model
I have studied spider behaviour for nigh on 4 decades and gladly did not get 'locked' into just observing them. One particular group really fascinated me behaviourally and these are the Salticidae: jumping spiders. All spiders have smitten me but this family shows so much plasticity in its behaviour I came to notice it relies of memory and intelligence. Salticids have the best eyesight of any land invertebrate and their behaviour, whilst not totally reliant on that magnificent sense, is affected by having such good vision
THE best eyesight of any invertebrate goes to the Octopus. Once again we see behavioural placity that is advanced, requires learning and memory, coupled with mischief and tremendous abilities to recognise people. They too have always had me in awe.
This book looks at their evolutionary development and posits several up to date theories regarding their intelligent and behaviour. I have got ME now and this reducing my reading concentration so finding the book on Audible has made it possible for me to finally imbibe myself even more on their capabilies. Layperson or topscientist will get something out of this book if they have not lost the child like ability to ask about the world and the creatures inhabiting it.
I dare you not to take away some respect and admiration for these magnificent creatures after hearing this book. The myths and superstitions, just like spiders, that surround them are abundant. But truth is stranger than fiction and no animal on this Earth shows an alternative intelligence as well as Octopusses. One could not blame an alien visitor, seraching for intelligence in lifeforms on Earth, for picking the Octopus as the true hold of the number one place!
What I do find sad is that Octopusses do not live very long in comparison to other invertebrates. Two years and their life is over whilst Homo sapiens has evolved to live to 90 years, destroying the planet as it goes.Not very clever are they?
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Lulubeth
- 24-08-18
Sentience and wonder
This is a wonderful book about the often underestimated genius of the seas that is the octopus. Complex, beautiful, private and highly intelligent creatures with boneless bodies which move more gracefully through the sea than any other marine creature, the octopus is here celebrated as the marvel it truly is in aesthetic as well as scientific terms. An absolute joy to read. The kind of book that should make a difference to this creature's survival and, with luck, an end to their being hunted for food.
12 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Hendy
- 18-12-18
The extraordinary octopus
A profoundly fascinating and thought provoking study of this group of animals, based on close personal observation in the oceans and scientific understanding. It provides lessons that apply to the future of he human race and all species.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- lucy costelloe
- 28-06-18
Mind Opening....
I am delighted by the narration by Peter Noble and that was my primary reason for listening - to his voice. Then l was captivated by the unfolding story of the mind or rather the intelligence of Octapus and cuttlefish. I learnt such a lot. If you are interested in the amazingness of evolution then this is a compulsive listen. It is rather technical but in an easy to absorb flow.
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K-Diddy
- 06-12-18
A cephalopod love story
It's clear that Peter Godfrey-Smith holds a special place in his heart for these unusual and enigmatic creatures.
The book discusses the science of intelligence through our relationship to cephalopods. It's interesting, enlightening and often challenges our preconceptions.
I cant speak for the writer's scientific rigour; he definitely allows himself to personify these animals to a certain extent... that being said, these colourful desriptions are always backed up with an academic discussion.
All in all I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in natural science.
8 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ann
- 19-12-18
A great read with a wide variety of thoughts.
Loaded with factual detail and historical references but also added occasional narratives on real life encounters and experiences. Challenging and thought provoking. So good I would read it again one day!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Yanklank
- 07-10-18
Amazing
Well researched and perfectly presented. A fascinating combination of evolutionary biology (not my interest at all but the author managed to make it very interesting) and philosophy of mind and their intersection occurring in the sea and ourselves. With crazy anecdotes and stories it makes for a terrific listen/read
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- ls822
- 27-08-18
extraordinary & relatable creatures
"Octopuses are not monogamous, have sporadic sex lives and do not appear to be particularly social." That description had me hooked and it just went uphill from there rly.
The narration is great, the writing is accessible, stylish and funny and the subject fascinating. One of my new fav audiobooks.
6 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Stanley Hopea
- 01-09-18
Other-mind-blowing
Excellent & well-flowing history of intelligence in the ocean. I had no idea octopuses and their cephalopod cousins had such depth. Highly recommended. 🐙
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Tomasf
- 17-08-21
Eye opening and mind-stretching, you’ll never look at octopuses the same way again
A really interesting and mind-stretching book. Among other questions, the author explores ‘what’s it like to be an octopus?’ And the evolutionary origin of the intelligence and the mind. Octopuses form the focus of this exploration as they are one of a small number of animals with large nervous systems and they evolved very separately from other animals we know to be intelligent, like some mammals and birds. I found it really informative on the nature of intelligence, consciousness and evolution and i will never look at these fascinating creatures the same way again. It was a touch dry at some points but as a whole super interesting and enlightening.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Matt
- 04-08-20
An interesting and thought provoking book.
I have been thinking about some of the topics and ideas from this book since starting it and I expect for some time. I feel much better informed about cephalopods, and this book fit well my my general interest in consciousness. the narrator was an excellent choice.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Chris C
- 24-10-18
amazing world of the octopus
You wouldn't think we'd have that much in common with something that lives in the ocean but the reality is we absolutely do.
This is beautifully written and read, it's compelling and curious with a wonderful.
You can learn a lot about humanity and evolution from this book and I recommend it.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Al
- 27-03-17
A Cephalopod Love Story
Some quite interesting info in parts of the text. Generally too speculative and wishy washy to receive a higher score. A philosopher's work of science rather than a scientist's work of science. Comes across as someone playing at being Edward O. Wilson out of an emphatuation with octopi but lacking the expertise to pull it off.
1 person found this helpful