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Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul Paperback – July 1, 1995

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 95 ratings

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Traditionally, the human soul is regarded as a nonphysical concept that can only be examined by psychiatrists and theologists. In his new book, The Astonishing Hypothesis, Nobel Laureate Francis Crick boldly straddles the line between science and spirituality by examining the soul from the standpoint of a modern scientist, basing the soul's existence and function on an in-depth examination of how the human brain "sees."
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Carl Sagan Author of Cosmos The Astonishing Hypothesis is a fascinating argument that consciousness and what has long been called the soul are now accessible to scientific investigation.

Sheryl Stolberg
Los Angeles Times Skewering philosophy and religion in a book that is supposed to be about the study of the brain might be awkward for other scientists. But Crick pulls it off, and incorporates the nitty-gritty of science to boot.

Matthew Belmonte
The Washington Times Crick's new book is a well-constructed and comprehensive overview of visual neuroscience for the lay reader....[The] book's questions and conjectures are incisive and provocative.

About the Author

Francis Crick is the British physicist and biochemist who collaborated with James D. Watson in the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA, for which they received the Nobel Prize in 1962. He is the author of What Mad Pursuit, Life Itself, and Molecules and Men. Dr. Crick lectures widely all over the world to both professional and lay audiences, and is a Distinguished Research Professor at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scribner; Reprint edition (July 1, 1995)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0684801582
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0684801582
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 0.9 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 95 ratings

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4.4 out of 5 stars
95 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They describe it as a rational exploration of the mind with interesting data. However, opinions differ on whether the topics are adequately described or left unanswered.

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7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and easy to read. They say it raises interesting questions about science and religion's interface.

"Another book that delves into science and religion and it's interfaces. But Crick does not analyze what he's trying to define...." Read more

"Everything ok. Excellent book, by the way" Read more

"An articulate yet easy read with a fascinating hypothesis that stimulates the senses...." Read more

"Totally worth it! Amazing book, that raises ontologic questions on us. Another recommended book is "The demon haunted-world, by Carl Sagan"." Read more

15 customers mention "Interest"9 positive6 negative

Customers have different views on the book. Some find it a rational exploration of the mind with interesting data and experiments. They also mention that the book delved into science and religion and its interfaces. However, others feel that some topics are only vaguely described, leaving many questions unanswered. There is no unified theory presented, just a tentative hypothesis about the seat of consciousness.

"...There is a great quantity of interesting data in the book, but I didn't find where soul is, neither did I find where mind is. I didn't expect to." Read more

"...His detour on how the human brain sees is at times interesting, but ultimately not all that helpful in illuminating Crick's "astonishing hypothesis."..." Read more

"...no unified theory presented, just a tentative hypothesis about the seat of consciousness. Just what you would expect from a world class scientist" Read more

"An articulate yet easy read with a fascinating hypothesis that stimulates the senses...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2014
    Another book that delves into science and religion and it's interfaces.
    But Crick does not analyze what he's trying to define. There are gaps in the logic of trying to find the soul, eg, why would an individual family NEED religion in the beginning? We NEED food shelter and clothing, fuel, transportation, and health care, but only a social system needs rules for conduct.
    In a scientific sense, a society would be chaos if it adopted no rules. Those that didn't have rules would be in conflict, many would die and society would learn to abide by certain rules. They might write them down so others could follow, but they didn't need religion to do that.

    For example, why did we not develop rules against killing off all of a species of animal? Why not rules against cutting down the last tree, when deserts were the consequence over and over?
    So the question is, why did Crick leave out many things? I think the answer is his peers were professors of sociology, psychology, etc.
    He wants to define the boundary between religion and science, where in reality, science is a process of discovery and religion is based on the things people have come to believe without scientific explanation.
    There is a great quantity of interesting data in the book, but I didn't find where soul is, neither did I find where mind is.
    I didn't expect to.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2025
    Everything ok. Excellent book, by the way
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2021
    ...no unified theory presented, just a tentative hypothesis about the seat of consciousness. Just what you would expect from a world class scientist
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2005
    I purchased "The Astonishing Hypothesis" by Francis Crick with great expectations. I am very much interested in the scientific search for what some call "soul" and was under the impression that Crick (co-discoverer of the double helix DNA structure) had marshalled plausible or powerful evidence that the soul merely is a person's mental activities that result from the behavior of nerve cells, glial cells, atoms, molecules and ions that influence glial or nerve cells. For the most part, mutatis mutandis, I affirm Crick's hypothesis. However, I don't think "The Astonishing Hypothesis" comes anywhere close to providing information that supports Crick's hypothesis. His detour on how the human brain sees is at times interesting, but ultimately not all that helpful in illuminating Crick's "astonishing hypothesis." The book (page 259) supplies a reasonable answer to presupposed objections via-a-vis Crick's modus operandi for supporting his hypothesis. The scientist explains why he chose the visual system to buttress his hypothesis. It evidently yields most easily to "experimental attack" and is only the start (i.e. a prolegomenon) of explaining what soul is. The work's provisional nature is to be applauded. However, since the attack on "soul" has just started, it seems that Crick should have been more modest in his claims and not proclaimed the death of the human soul (as the term is commonly understood) until a full "experimental attack" of the brain had been carried out. Personally, I believe that theoreticians who have undertaken studies in the philosophy of mind offer more reasonable alternatives or explanations for "soul" than Crick does. The concept of supervenience more adequately accounts for "mind" or "soul" than "The Astonishing Hypothesis" does. While "mindness" is probably a higher-level phenomenon based on a lower-level phenomenon, as are qualia, it is my belief that mind is not reducible to brain states. But without the brain, mind does not exist: mind supervenes on the brain. William Hasker's "The Emerging Self" satisfactorily develops these points.
    21 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2014
    An articulate yet easy read with a fascinating hypothesis that stimulates the senses. Highly recommend for anyone who is a fan of science and biology.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2017
    Excellent book read as historical view of science. Not up to date in terms of thinking/knowledge but what an intellect Crick had!
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Michele
    5.0 out of 5 stars "Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul" di Francis Crick
    Reviewed in Italy on December 18, 2023
    Il libro di Francis Crick offre un'affascinante esplorazione della mente e della coscienza umana, attraverso una prospettiva scientifica e razionale. L'autore, noto per il suo contributo fondamentale alla scoperta della struttura del DNA, si impegna qui in una nuova indagine sul mistero della coscienza.

    Crick introduce e sviluppa l'idea audace che la coscienza sia il prodotto di processi neurali nel cervello. La sua "ipotesi sbalorditiva" è che non esista una "anima" separata, ma che la coscienza possa essere spiegata attraverso i meccanismi biologici.

    Il testo è scritto in modo chiaro, anche se la sua complessità richiede una certa familiarità con la biologia e la neuroscienza. Crick affronta argomenti impegnativi, offrendo una visione scientifica dell'esperienza umana.

    Il libro è scritto in lingua inglese.

    In definitiva, "Astonishing Hypothesis" è un libro stimolante per chi è interessato a esplorare la connessione tra mente e cervello attraverso una prospettiva rigorosamente scientifica.
  • SinSin
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
    Reviewed in Canada on August 16, 2018
    Excellent
  • mr_borges
    5.0 out of 5 stars Very good and honest book
    Reviewed in Brazil on January 3, 2017
    Very good and honest book. Perhaps the title don't correspond with the teme exactly. But Dr. Crick develop the subject and explain her goals right in the preface. Good.
  • dhanya
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Read!
    Reviewed in India on August 26, 2015
    This has been Best seller, so what else can I say about it.
  • Ivan Denkov
    5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Interesting and Challenging Book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 7, 2012
    Francis Crick, one of the DNA discoverers, is a well known figure but this book is in a field different from the one I usually associate with his name. The book is very interesting and well supported by logic. Of course, that doesn't mean that one has to agree with the hypothesis....