Listen free for 30 days
-
Out of Our Minds
- What We Think and How We Came to Think It
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Health & Wellness, Psychology & Mental Health
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 £24.99
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...
-
Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization
- By: Samuel Gregg
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This sharp commentary on the rise and current decline of Western Civilization touches on historical moments - including the building of early universities in the Middle Ages and the American Revolution - and figures - including Augustine, Acquinas, Edmund Burke, and Adam Smith - that exemplify the faith-reason synthesis at the heart of Western Civilization, as well as the modern villains that threaten to destroy it.
-
A Political Philosophy
- Arguments for Conservatism
- By: Roger Scruton
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this timely new edition of his classic book A Political Philosophy, celebrated conservative philosopher Roger Scruton interrogates contemporary values, virtues and morality. What principles should govern our relations to animals, the nation state, the environment and other ways of life? What does modern marriage look like? What is Enlightenment, and how has its inheritance made itself known? How should we approach religion, evil and death? What explains the rise of totalitarianism, and how should we respond to nihilism?
-
The Idea of the Brain
- A History
- By: Matthew Cobb
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of our quest to understand the most mysterious object in the universe. Today we tend to picture the brain as a computer. Earlier scientists thought about it in their own technological terms: as a telephone switchboard, or a clock, or all manner of fantastic mechanical or hydraulic devices. Could the right metaphor unlock the brain's deepest secrets once and for all? Galloping through centuries of wild speculation and ingenious, sometimes macabre anatomical investigations, scientist and historian Matthew Cobb reveals how we came to our present state of knowledge.
-
-
Stunning overview and history of neuroscience
- By Coolade on 10-04-20
-
Pocket Guide to Postmodernism
- By: Andrew Colgan PhD, Stephen R. C. Hicks PhD
- Narrated by: Scott R Smith
- Length: 1 hr and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Pocket Guide to Postmodernism, author Andrew Colgan, PhD, explores the fundamental premises and ideas of postmodernism by summarizing and interpreting Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault by Stephen Hicks, PhD. In his discussion of the philosophical foundations of this intellectual movement, Colgan presents a concise guide into the views of one of the most influential schools of the 20th century and its real-life consequences.
-
The Stuff of Thought
- Language as a Window into Human Nature
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Pinker looks at how the relationship between words and thoughts can help us understand who we are. Why do so many swear words involve topics like sex, bodily functions, or the divine? Why do some children's names thrive while others fall out of favour? Why do we threaten and bribe and seduce in such elaborate, often comical ways? How can a choice of metaphor damn a politician or start a war? And why do we rarely say what we actually mean?
-
-
Great for language enthusiasts!
- By Marie Čechová on 17-11-19
-
Heidegger: Philosophy in an Hour
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the two major philosophical traditions of the 20th century was linguistic analysis, derived largely from Wittgenstein. The other, diametrically opposed, came from Heidegger, and its fundamental question was: ‘What is the meaning of existence?’ For Heidegger, this was not a query that could simply be ‘analysed away’ - it was beyond the reach of logic or reason. This was the primary ‘given’ of every individual life. To confront it, Heidegger needed to develop an entirely new form of philosophy. Here is a concise, expert account of Heidegger’s life and philosophical ideas that is entertainingly written and easy to understand.
-
-
Just a biography
- By G.F.P. on 10-04-16
-
Reason, Faith, and the Struggle for Western Civilization
- By: Samuel Gregg
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 6 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This sharp commentary on the rise and current decline of Western Civilization touches on historical moments - including the building of early universities in the Middle Ages and the American Revolution - and figures - including Augustine, Acquinas, Edmund Burke, and Adam Smith - that exemplify the faith-reason synthesis at the heart of Western Civilization, as well as the modern villains that threaten to destroy it.
-
A Political Philosophy
- Arguments for Conservatism
- By: Roger Scruton
- Narrated by: Kris Dyer
- Length: 9 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this timely new edition of his classic book A Political Philosophy, celebrated conservative philosopher Roger Scruton interrogates contemporary values, virtues and morality. What principles should govern our relations to animals, the nation state, the environment and other ways of life? What does modern marriage look like? What is Enlightenment, and how has its inheritance made itself known? How should we approach religion, evil and death? What explains the rise of totalitarianism, and how should we respond to nihilism?
-
The Idea of the Brain
- A History
- By: Matthew Cobb
- Narrated by: Joe Jameson
- Length: 14 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of our quest to understand the most mysterious object in the universe. Today we tend to picture the brain as a computer. Earlier scientists thought about it in their own technological terms: as a telephone switchboard, or a clock, or all manner of fantastic mechanical or hydraulic devices. Could the right metaphor unlock the brain's deepest secrets once and for all? Galloping through centuries of wild speculation and ingenious, sometimes macabre anatomical investigations, scientist and historian Matthew Cobb reveals how we came to our present state of knowledge.
-
-
Stunning overview and history of neuroscience
- By Coolade on 10-04-20
-
Pocket Guide to Postmodernism
- By: Andrew Colgan PhD, Stephen R. C. Hicks PhD
- Narrated by: Scott R Smith
- Length: 1 hr and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this Pocket Guide to Postmodernism, author Andrew Colgan, PhD, explores the fundamental premises and ideas of postmodernism by summarizing and interpreting Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault by Stephen Hicks, PhD. In his discussion of the philosophical foundations of this intellectual movement, Colgan presents a concise guide into the views of one of the most influential schools of the 20th century and its real-life consequences.
-
The Stuff of Thought
- Language as a Window into Human Nature
- By: Steven Pinker
- Narrated by: John Chancer
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Steven Pinker looks at how the relationship between words and thoughts can help us understand who we are. Why do so many swear words involve topics like sex, bodily functions, or the divine? Why do some children's names thrive while others fall out of favour? Why do we threaten and bribe and seduce in such elaborate, often comical ways? How can a choice of metaphor damn a politician or start a war? And why do we rarely say what we actually mean?
-
-
Great for language enthusiasts!
- By Marie Čechová on 17-11-19
-
Heidegger: Philosophy in an Hour
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 1 hr and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the two major philosophical traditions of the 20th century was linguistic analysis, derived largely from Wittgenstein. The other, diametrically opposed, came from Heidegger, and its fundamental question was: ‘What is the meaning of existence?’ For Heidegger, this was not a query that could simply be ‘analysed away’ - it was beyond the reach of logic or reason. This was the primary ‘given’ of every individual life. To confront it, Heidegger needed to develop an entirely new form of philosophy. Here is a concise, expert account of Heidegger’s life and philosophical ideas that is entertainingly written and easy to understand.
-
-
Just a biography
- By G.F.P. on 10-04-16
-
The New Atheists
- The Twilight of Reason and the War on Religion
- By: Tina Beattie
- Narrated by: Lynsey Frost
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From its gradual decline during the latter part of the twentieth century, religion has been catapulted back into public consciousness, not least by acts of violence, extremism and various forms of fundamentalism. In this lively and provocative contribution to the debate the leading British feminist theologian, Tina Beattie, argues that the threat of religious fanaticism is mirrored by a no less virulent and ignorant secular fanaticism which has taken hold of the intellectual classes in Britain and America.
-
-
i love audiobooks
- By Anonymous User on 11-02-19
-
The Frontiers of Knowledge
- What We Know About Science, History and the Mind - And How We Know It
- By: A. C. Grayling
- Narrated by: Richard Goulding
- Length: 13 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In very recent times humanity has learnt a vast amount about the universe, the past and itself. But through our remarkable successes in acquiring knowledge we have learned how much we have yet to learn: the science we have, for example, addresses just five per cent of the universe, pre-history is still being revealed, with thousands of historical sites yet to be explored, and the new neurosciences of mind and brain are just beginning.
-
-
An incredible book
- By Liza79 on 19-05-21
-
Irrationality
- A History of the Dark Side of Reason
- By: Justin E. H. Smith
- Narrated by: Jeff Harding
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Discovering that reason is the defining feature of our species, we named ourselves the “rational animal”. But is this flattering story itself rational? In this sweeping account of irrationality from antiquity to today - from the fifth-century BC murder of Hippasus for revealing the existence of irrational numbers to the rise of Twitter mobs and the election of Donald Trump - Justin Smith says the evidence suggests the opposite.
-
Gladius
- Living, Fighting and Dying in the Roman Army
- By: Guy de la Bédoyère
- Narrated by: Piers Hampton
- Length: 15 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roman army was the greatest fighting machine the ancient world produced. The Roman Empire depended on soldiers not just to win its wars, defend its frontiers and control the seas but also to act as the engine of the state. Roman legionaries and auxiliaries came from across the Roman world and beyond. They served as tax collectors, policemen, surveyors, as civil engineers and, if they survived, in retirement, as civic worthies, craftsmen and politicians. Some even rose to become emperors.
-
-
A good book ruined by incorrect pronunciation
- By richard rochester on 10-01-21
-
I Am a Strange Loop
- By: Douglas R. Hofstadter
- Narrated by: Greg Baglia
- Length: 16 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of our greatest philosophers and scientists of the mind asks where the self comes from - and how our selves can exist in the minds of others. I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop" - a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain is the one called "I". The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse.
-
-
tedious
- By J Westwood on 07-01-20
-
When We Cease to Understand the World
- By: Benjamín Labatut
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize. A Guardian Fiction Book of the year. Sometimes discovery brings destruction. "When We Cease to Understand the World" shows us great minds striking out into dangerous, uncharted terrain. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger: these are among the luminaries into whose troubled minds we are thrust as they grapple with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, they alienate friends and lovers, they descend into isolated states of madness.
-
-
Rambling and unfocused
- By Mooncoin on 10-03-22
-
How Emotions Are Made
- The Secret Life of the Brain
- By: Lisa Feldman Barrett
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 14 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The science of emotion is in the midst of a revolution on par with the discovery of relativity in physics and natural selection in biology. Leading the charge is psychologist and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett, whose research overturns the long-standing belief that emotions are automatic, universal, and hardwired in different brain regions. Instead, Barrett shows, we construct each instance of emotion through a unique interplay of brain, body, and culture.
-
-
Putting up with - for the sake of good science.
- By Joe de Swardt on 27-04-17
-
The Idea of the World
- A Multi-Disciplinary Argument for the Mental Nature of Reality
- By: Bernardo Kastrup
- Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Idea of the World offers a grounded alternative to the frenzy of unrestrained abstractions and unexamined assumptions in philosophy and science today. This book examines what can be learned about the nature of reality based on conceptual parsimony, straightforward logic, and empirical evidence from fields as diverse as physics and neuroscience. It compiles an overarching case for idealism - the notion that reality is essentially mental - from 10 original articles the author has previously published in leading academic journals.
-
-
A rewarding struggle to read
- By Amazon Customer on 05-04-21
-
Conquistadores
- By: Fernando Cervantes
- Narrated by: Luis Soto
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The conquistadores, the early explorers and settlers of Spanish America, have become the stuff of legends and nightmares. In their own time, they were glorified as heroic adventurers, spreading Christian culture and helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. Today, they stand condemned for their cruelty and exploitation as men who decimated the ancient civilisations of the Aztecs and the Incas and carried out horrific atrocities in their pursuit of gold and glory.
-
-
Nonjudgmental survey of the Conquistadors
- By paul mcnamaa on 30-01-22
-
Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life here as a witty and cunning political operator.
-
-
Excellent viewpoint
- By Kindle Customer on 06-10-15
-
Why You Think the Way You Do
- The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home
- By: Glenn S. Sunshine
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This authoritative, accessible survey traces the development of the worldviews that underpin the Western world. It demonstrates the decisive impact that the growth of Christianity had in transforming the outlook of pagan Roman culture into one that, based on biblical concepts of humanity and its relationship with God, established virtually all the positive aspects of Western civilization.
-
-
Christian cheer-leading at its worst
- By Catherine on 12-07-10
-
Foolishness to the Greeks
- The Gospel and Western Culture
- By: Lesslie Newbigin
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How can biblical authority be a reality for those shaped by the modern world? This work treats the First World as a mission field, offering a unique perspective on the relationship between the gospel and current society by presenting an outsider's view of contemporary Western culture.
Summary
To imagine - to see that which is not there - is the startling ability that has fuelled human development and innovation through the centuries. As a species we stand alone in our remarkable capacity to refashion the world after the pictures in our minds.
Traversing the realms of science, politics, religion, culture, philosophy and history, Felipe Fernández-Armesto reveals the thrilling and disquieting tales of our imaginative leaps - from the first Homo sapiens to the present day.
Through groundbreaking insights in cognitive science, he explores how and why we have ideas in the first place, providing a tantalising glimpse into who we are and what we might yet accomplish. Fernández-Armesto shows that bad ideas are often more influential than good ones; that the oldest recoverable thoughts include some of the best; that ideas of Western origin often issued from exchanges with the wider world; and that the pace of innovative thinking is under threat.
More from the same
Author
What listeners say about Out of Our Minds
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 01-10-20
Leans heavily into Christianity
Disappointingly it has a bent heavily in favour of Christianity.
It should be neutral on any religion.
The performance isn't great either.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steven Brown
- 17-11-19
An intellectual masterclass.
A great book that casts a wide net over the history of ideas and human thought. Whilst the politics of the author are not difficult to discern at regular intervals, the analysis and objectivity of his opinions and observations are always intelligent and fair. I recommend this book highly to anyone with a genuine desire to explore all facets of our past, present and future.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Aurifex
- 06-09-19
A masterpiece!
Anyone who is at all interested in human history should read or listen to this book. Much deeper and more wide ranging than Yuval Noah Harari, it is full of clearly and wittily expressed opinions to challenge the reader and perhaps nudge thought and behaviour in a new direction. I haven’t read such a consequential book since Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.
1 person found this helpful