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40+ Works 1,898 Members 25 Reviews 1 Favorited

About the Author

Francisco J. Varela is Director of Research at the French National Research Council and head of the Laboratory of Cognitive Psychophysiology at the Hospital of the Salpetriere, Paris.
Image credit: Photo courtesy Joan Halifax / Flickr.

Works by Francisco J. Varela

The invented reality (1984) — Contributor — 182 copies
The View from Within: First-Person Approaches to the Study of Consciousness (1999) — Contributor, some editions; Editor — 53 copies
Conocer (Spanish Edition) (1989) 11 copies
Thinking About Biology (1993) — Editor — 7 copies
El fenómeno de la vida (2000) 4 copies

Associated Works

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Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1946-09-07
Date of death
2001-05-28
Gender
male
Nationality
Chile
Birthplace
Santiago, Chile
Place of death
Paris, France

Members

Reviews

Broad study on cognitive science that is unapologetic about its range of sources, from philosophy (Merleau-Ponty to Nietzsche) to colour theory (including art) to artificial intelligence to Buddhist meditation practices to neurology to social criticism (and the idea of commonage). Somehow the authors pull together a book that is not only interesting but also very engaging and legible. Great insights, a little dated, but still relevant for the breadth of research that went into the book.
1 vote
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ephemeral_future | 3 other reviews | Aug 20, 2020 |
The work is as philosophical as it is scientific, even in discussions of neurophysiology, which was particularly refreshing aspect of the book. It has a very interesting framework, and there are number of pragmatic problems that are handled in a connected manner. Also some people might feel a bit of 'Kant' in it. The one downside is, it over explains 'What autopoiesis is not.'
I definitely recommend this book.
 
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iSatyajeet | 4 other reviews | Nov 21, 2018 |
The work is as philosophical as it is scientific, even in discussions of neurophysiology, which was particularly refreshing aspect of the book. It has a very interesting framework, and there are number of pragmatic problems that are handled in a connected manner. Also some people might feel a bit of 'Kant' in it. The one downside is, it over explains 'What autopoiesis is not.'
I definitely recommend this book.
 
Flagged
iSatyajeet | 4 other reviews | Nov 21, 2018 |
This is a very "dense" book that would appeal to people a) with a lot of background in the philosophy of mind and b) looking for alternative approaches to those provided by western philosophy. However, if you have not read anything yet in that area, I suggest you start with something easier and more introductory.

The authors provide a good review of the problems around "what is mind" and I really enjoyed the connection they make between objectivism and nihilism. However, they seem to have a particular bias towards Buddhism's theory of mind and although are critical of western ideas they do not seem to be applying the level of scrutiny to the ideas coming out of the Buddhism tradition. I understand that the authors wanted to provide more of a practical guide the lived experiences, but if that was the case then they did not need to be highly critical of western thought on that matter.… (more)
2 vote
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Alex1952 | 3 other reviews | Nov 29, 2015 |

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Statistics

Works
40
Also by
2
Members
1,898
Popularity
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Rating
4.0
Reviews
25
ISBNs
106
Languages
12
Favorited
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