RaveThe Times Literary Supplement (UK)Physics has given us an understanding of the fundamental nature of the material world. But as Goff persuasively shows, we lack this kind of understanding of consciousness ... One of Goff’s many achievements in this book is that he makes the fundamental problem of consciousness vivid and, moreover, comprehensible to non-experts ... Goff’s book is packed with rich discussions of many topics, in clear, charming, easily readable prose ... We also find a powerful defence of the idea that philosophy itself can plumb reality’s depths ... panpsychism: the view that all matter enjoys some degree of consciousness. This is undoubtedly a radical view. Notably, however, Goff does an excellent job of motivating this position, showing that it makes real advances over its traditional materialist and dualist rivals ... There are serious difficulties with panpsychism; yet Goff not only makes plausible this most difficult of views, he also does so while making it accessible to a wide audience. Meanwhile, he leaves the academic philosophers plenty to argue about among themselves.
Ian McEwan
PositiveBooklist...a concise, thinly veiled satire of the Brexit debacle ... While the satire is about as subtle as a punch to the face, there are moments of great clarity and insight regarding Britain’s current predicament. In all, this is an entertaining and cathartic novella written not only to uphold McEwan’s own sanity but also to rally any readers who share his view that Brexit is one symptom of a vacuous political world of almost unimaginable stupidity.
