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From: west@sdcsla.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: info request: Jaynes' "The Origins of Consciousness. . ."
Message-ID: <603@sdcsla.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Jul-84 05:50:23 EDT
Article-I.D.: sdcsla.603
Posted: Fri Jul 13 05:50:23 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 14-Jul-84 13:53:14 EDT
References: <7639@rochester.UUCP> <885@shark.UUCP>
Organization: UC San Diego: Institute for Cognitive Science
Lines: 18

My recollection from reading Jaynes' book nearly a decade ago is
that he does not deal with Hindu or Chinese philosophy or religion,
and this was one of the many disappointing points in the book.

I did find it amusing and provocative, and I think there is a real
place for speculative-non-fiction books.   Such books may force
people to re-examine their thoughts to come up with good reasons
for believing or disbelieving in particular theories -- and that
sort of process never hurts (within limit).

So, even though I can't recommend the book as a book of science,
it is worth reading if you have some spare time.   Think of it
as speculative fiction, if you like.

	-- Larry West, UC San Diego, Institute for Cognitive Science
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