Peter Godfrey-Smith is a distinguished professor of philosophy at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, and a professor of the history and philosophy of science at the University of Sydney. He is the author of several books, including Theory and Reality: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science and Darwinian Populations and Natural Selection, which won the 2010 Lakatos Award. His underwater videos of octopuses have been featured in National Geographic and New Scientist, and he has discussed them on National Public Radio and many cable TV channels.
A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice One of the Most
Anticipated Books of Fall 2016 and a Top Ten Science Book of Fall
2016, Publishers Weekly "If this is philosophy, it works, because
Godfrey-Smith is a rare philosopher who searches the world for
clues. Knowledgeable and curious, he examines, he admires. His
explorations are good-natured. He is never dogmatic, yet
startlingly incisive." --Carl Safina, The New York Times Book
Review "Entrancing and profound . . . Godfrey-Smith takes us on a
philosophical journey of a quite unique kind, for its backdrop is
the sea. We accompany the author, an avid diver and admirable
writer, as he explores the lives of the cephalopods and the origins
of consciousness . . . As is clear from the title of
Godfrey-Smith's book--as well as his enchanting descriptions of
encounters with octopods--he believes these creatures have minds."
--Stephen Cave, Financial Times "A philosopher of science and
experienced deep-sea diver, Godfrey-Smith has rolled his obsessions
into one book, weaving biology and philosophy into a dazzling
pattern that looks a lot like the best of pop science. He peppers
his latest book with vivid anecdotes from his cephalopod encounters
. . . [and] relates dramatic stories of mischief made by captive
octopuses . . . [but] his project is no less ambitious than to work
out the evolutionary origins of subjective experience . . . The
result is an incredibly insightful and enjoyable book." --Meehan
Crist, Los Angeles Times "[Other Minds is] a terrific mix of
Cousteau-esque encounters with [cephalopods] in the wild . . .
wide-ranging scientific discussion, and philosophical analysis.
Beautifully written, thought-provoking, and bold, this book is the
latest, and most closely argued, salvo in the debate over whether
octopuses and other cephalopods are intelligent, sentient beings."
--Olivia Judson, The Atlantic "A smoothly written and captivating
account of the octopus and its brethren . . . [Godfrey-Smith]
stresses their dissimilarity to us and other mammals, but he also
wants us to appreciate what we have in common . . . Mr.
Godfrey-Smith mixes the scientific with the personal, giving us
lively descriptions of his dives to 'Octopolis, ' a site off the
east coast of Australia at which octopuses gather." --Colin McGinn,
The Wall Street Journal "The alienness of octopuses, in [Peter
Godfrey-Smith's] view, provides an opportunity to reflect on the
nature of cognition and consciousness without simply projecting
from the human example . . . Godfrey-Smith starts with the
conviction that consciousness is an evolved thing, and accepts the
conclusion that it has more primitive precursors: that it comes in
degrees after all." --Amia Srinivasan, London Review of Books "To
investigate these astonishing animals with such empathy and rigor
is achievement enough. To do so while casting light on the birth
and nature of consciousness, as Godfrey-Smith does here, is
captivating." --China Miéville, author of The City & The City and
Kraken "Brilliant . . . The beauty of Godfrey-Smith's book lies in
the clarity of his writing; his empathy, if you will . . . He
proves that, like all aliens, these strange, beautiful creatures
are more like us than our hubris allows." --Philip Hoare, The
Guardian "Peter Godfrey-Smith's Other Minds sells us on the
sentient cephalopod and the history of our own consciousness, one
tentacle at a time." --Sloane Crosley, Vanity Fair "Fascinating . .
. After reading this book, to paraphrase Byron, you will 'love not
man the less, but cephalopods more.'" --Callum Roberts, The
Washington Post "[Other Minds's] subject is so amazing, it's hard
not to be drawn along, just as Godfrey-Smith was when he extended a
hand to an octopus and it reached out to return his touch, echoing
his interest." --Irene Wanner, The Seattle Times "Godfrey-Smith
skillfully links the details of evolutionary history and biology to
broader philosophical debates about the nature and function of
consciousness . . . [Other Minds] is a valuable contribution to
some of the most basic questions about the origins of conscious
life." --Nick Romeo, Chicago Tribune "Delightful . . .
Godfrey-Smith explores the issue from many angles, beginning with a
succinct and thoughtful discussion of the evolution of animals, and
extending to a look at the octopus' remarkable neurological systems
. . . Throughout, Godfrey-Smith intertwines his own keen work
observing and filming these animals at a remarkable site off of the
coast of Australia he calls 'Octopolis.'" --Adam Gaffney, The New
Republic "Such wondrous creatures deserve a remarkable chronicler.
They've found one in Godfrey-Smith . . . Other Minds is a superb,
coruscating book. It's exciting to see bottom-up
philosophy--philosophy that starts on the reef and in the sand and
then crawls slowly up towards abstraction. That's how all
philosophy should be done." --Charles Foster, Literary Review
"Fascinating and often delightful . . . This book ingeniously
blends philosophy and science to trace the epic journey from
single-celled organisms of 3.8 billion years ago to the awakening
and development of cephalopod consciousness." --Damian Whitworth,
The Times (London) "Peter Godfrey-Smith, a philosopher, skilfully
combines science, philosophy and his experiences of swimming among
these tentacled beasts to illuminate the origin and nature of
consciousness." --The Economist "Godfrey-Smith has set himself a
double challenge with this book: (i) putting together what is known
about octopi behavior and cognition and (ii) showing why this
information challenges our philosophical and scientific conceptions
of the mind. The result is most convincing." --Ophelia Deroy,
Science "A concise and elegant guide to evolution, consciousness,
and marine biology." --Gary Drevitch, Psychology Today "Deftly
blending philosophy and evolutionary biology . . . Godfrey-Smith
couples his philosophical and scientific approach with ample and
fascinating anecdotes as well as striking photography from his
numerous scuba dives off the Australian coast. He makes the case
that cephalopods demonstrate a type of intelligence that is largely
'alien' to our understanding of the concept but is no less worthy
of wonder . . . [Other Minds is] thoroughly enjoyable and
informative." --Publishers Weekly "An engrossing blend of avidly
described underwater adventures . . . and a fluid inquiry into the
brain-body connection . . . Godfrey-Smith performs an exceptionally
revealing deep dive into the evolutionary progression from sensing
to acting to remembering to the coalescence of the inner voice,
thus tracking the spectrum between sentience and consciousness."
--Donna Seaman, Booklist "I love this book, its masterful blend of
natural history, philosophy, and wonder. Other Minds takes us on an
extraordinary deep dive, not only beneath the waves, for a
revelatory and intimate view of the mysterious and highly
intelligent octopus, but also through the eons, to look at the
nature of the mind and how it came about. It's a captivating story,
and Godfrey-Smith brings it alive in vivid, elegant prose. His
ardent and humane passion for the octopus is present on every page.
A must-read for anyone interested in what it's like to be an
octopus or in the evolution of the mind--ours and the very other,
but equally sentient, minds of the cephalopods." --Jennifer
Ackerman, author of The Genius of Birds "One of the greatest
puzzles of organic life is how and why certain animals became aware
of themselves. Peter Godfrey-Smith uses the octopus as a portal to
enter nonhuman consciousness, doing so with great sensitivity and
first-hand knowledge." --Frans de Waal, author of Are We Smart
Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? "Exciting, dramatic, vivid,
revelatory, this book is full of jaw-dropping ideas and thrilling
possibilities. In beautiful, clear, evocative writing,
diver-philosopher Peter Godfrey-Smith will transform your
understanding of the nature of life, the course of evolution, and
the development of the mind--ours and others'. Other Minds will
delight and challenge every naturalist, every diver, every person
who has ever wondered about the nature of other creatures'
experience. In other words, everyone should read this book--and
come away with a more complex and compassionate relationship to the
other animals with whom we share both Earth and sea." --Sy
Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus, a National Book Award
finalist "Godfrey-Smith delivers a revealing exploration of
one--no, two!--of evolution's most critical turns, and one
remarkable creature's trail-blazing, eight-armed foray into a
mental life." --Jonathan Balcombe, author of What a Fish Knows "One
of our species's worst qualities is our insistence on an exclusive
pathway to consciousness. Fortunately Peter Godfrey-Smith has given
us a roadmap to a whole new territory of thinking. Other Minds is a
gracious and generous exploration of this different land, one that
will make you rethink the entire notion of sentience." --Paul
Greenberg, New York Times bestselling author of Four Fish and
American Catch
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