How the Mind Works

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How the Mind Works

By: Steven Pinker

Narrated by: Mel Foster

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About this listen

In this delightful, acclaimed best seller, one of the world’s leading cognitive scientists tackles the workings of the human mind. What makes us rational—and why are we so often irrational? How do we see in three dimensions? What makes us happy, afraid, angry, disgusted, or sexually aroused? Why do we fall in love? And how do we grapple with the imponderables of morality, religion, and consciousness?

How the Mind Works synthesizes the most satisfying explanations of our mental life from cognitive science, evolutionary biology, and other fields to explain what the mind is, how it evolved, and how it allows us to see, think, feel, laugh, interact, enjoy the arts, and contemplate the mysteries of life. This new edition of Pinker’s bold and buoyant classic is updated with a new foreword by the author.

Steven PinkerMel FosterBrilliance Audio

Biological Sciences

Neuroscience & Neuropsychology

Psychology

Psychology & Mental Health

Science

Artificial Intelligence

Consciousness

Mathematics

Thought-Provoking

Human Brain

Technology

Physiology

Computer Science

Morality

Health

Biological Sciences Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Psychology Psychology & Mental Health Science Artificial Intelligence Consciousness Mathematics Thought-Provoking Human Brain Technology Physiology Computer Science Morality Health

Critic reviews

“Undeniably brilliant.” ( Newsday)

"Big, brash, and a lot of fun.” ( Time)

“Hugely entertaining.... always sparkling and provoking.” ( Wall Street Journal)

Most relevant

Steven Pinker, a Harvard-based, evolutionary psychologist, is one of the world's top thinkers. You simply have to come to terms with what he has to say about the mind, language and human nature. His books are long. Having read some and listened to some, I'd say listening is best. This is probably his seminal work - it is certainly the one he is most proud of. I enjoyed 'The Blank Slate' and ' The Better Angels' more because they apply his ideas more widely to politics, history and society. But in this book he is developing his core idea - that the mind is a natural phenomena, a product of evolutionary change, and that if we understand how it has adapted, particularly during the millennia when we were hunter-gathers, we will appreciate both how remarkable it is and what its limitations as a tool for thinking and perceiving are.

As other reviewers have said, it is very detailed. This is essential for Pinker to show how deeply he has thought about the issues and to display his command of the available research. Some bits will appeal more to some readers, I was more interested in the behavioural stuff about the way we interact with each other, than the way the mind interprets and uses data from our eyes. All in all it is a tour de force, which lives up to its title. I was utterly convinced by it and have accepted what he calls the 'computational theory of mind'. Now I want to read his crtics to see if there is a viable alternative view.