Description

A BOOK OF THE YEAR
GUARDIAN, THE ECONOMIST, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES, BLOOMBERG

Anil Seth’s radical new theory of consciousness challenges our understanding of perception and reality, doing for brain science what Dawkins did for evolutionary biology.

‘A brilliant beast of a book.’ DAVID BYRNE

‘Hugely important.’ JIM AL-KHALILI

‘Masterly . . . An exhilarating book: a vast-ranging, phenomenal achievement that will undoubtedly become a seminal text.’
GAIA VINCE, GUARDIAN

Being You is not as simple as it sounds. Somehow, within each of our brains, billions of neurons work to create our conscious experience. How does this happen? Why do we experience life in the first person? After over twenty years researching the brain, world-renowned neuroscientist Anil Seth puts forward a radical new theory of consciousness and self. His unique theory of what it means to ‘be you’ challenges our understanding of perception and reality and it turns what you thought you knew about yourself on its head.

‘Seth thinks clearly and sharply on one of the hardest problems of science and philosophy, cutting through weeds with a scientist’s mind and a storyteller’s skill.’
ADAM RUTHERFORD

‘A page-turner and a mind-blower . . . Beautifully written, crystal clear, deeply insightful.’
DAVID EAGLEMAN

‘If you read one book about conciousness, it must be Seth’s.
JULIAN BAGGINI, WALL STREET JOURNAL

‘Amazing.’ RUSSELL BRAND
‘Gripping.’ ALEX GARLAND
‘I loved it.’ MICHAEL POLLAN
‘Fascinating.’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Awe-inspring.’ NEW STATESMAN
‘Brilliant.’ CLAIRE TOMALIN, NEW YORK TIMES

Publisher Review

'Few people are as well positioned as Anil Seth to tackle the question of consciousness. Beautifully written, crystal clear, deeply insightful.' - DAVID EAGLEMAN 'If Anil Seth's book doesn't change the way you think, you need to read it again. It's a tour de force exploration of what mind is, what it can be, and how it creates all we can ever know.' - PHILIP BALL 'Being You offers us a new cause for astonishment and wonder. Through expert science writing and engaging personal narrative, Anil gives us a new perspective on everything we perceive, down to space and time itself. Being You is a must read for anyone seeking a better understanding of the brain and how nature sculpts the human experience.' - ANNAKA HARRIS, author of Conscious 'Seth provokes us to think about thinking. And he offers what the interested reader always needs - a book which makes complex ideas readable, relatable, and gripping. If you want to understand his subject better - he'll help you. And who wouldn't want to better understand consciousness? In our lives, there is nothing weirder or more fundamental.' - ALEX GARLAND, director of EX MACHINA 'Anil Seth thinks clearly and sharply on one of the hardest problems of science and philosophy, cutting through weeds with a scientist's mind and a storyteller's skill.' - ADAM RUTHERFORD 'Seth is uniquely placed to truly advance our understanding of one of humanity's deepest riddles.' - CHRIS ANDERSON, Curator of TED 'Insightful and profound. The nature of consciousness is still one of the hardest problems in science, but Anil Seth brings us closer than ever before to the answer. This a hugely important book.' - JIM Al-KHALILI 'A fascinating book. A joy to read. Anil Seth explores fundamental questions about consciousness and the self from the perspective of a philosophically-informed neuroscientist. Highly recommended.' NIGEL WARBURTON 'In this lucid and though-provoking exploration of the nature of consciousness, Seth takes us closer than ever to making sense of our experience of being conscious selves. A must-read.' - ANIL ANANTHASWAMY, author of The Man that Wasn't There 'What makes you, you? What explains your consciousness and sense of self? In this remarkable and ground-breaking work, Anil Seth offers a surprising answer, rooted in the new science of the predictive brain. Compulsory reading.' - ANDY CLARK, author of Surfing Uncertainty: Prediction, Action, and the Embodied Mind