The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to

The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves

<div><b>A luminous exploration of the nature of thoughts, from daydreams to the voices in our heads</b></div><div><br /></div><div>At the moment you caught sight of this book, what were you thinking? Was your thought a stream of sensations? Or was it a voice in your head? Did you ask yourself, "I wonder what that's about?" Did you answer? And what does it mean if you did?<br /><br />When someone says they hear voices in their head, they are often thought to be mentally ill. But, as Charles Fernyhough argues in <i>The Voices Within</i>, such voices are better understood as one of the chief hallmarks of human thought. Our inner voices can be self-assured, funny, profound, hesitant, or mean; they can appear in different accents and even in sign language. We all hear them-and we needn't fear them. Indeed, we cannot live without them: we need them, whether to make decisions or to bring a book's characters to life as we read. Studying them can enrich our understanding of ourselves, and our understanding of the world around us; it can help us understand the experiences of visionary saints, who might otherwise be dismissed as schizophrenics; to alleviate the suffering of those who do have mental health problems; and to understand why the person next to us on the subway just burst out laughing for no apparent reason.<br /><br />Whether the voices in our heads are meandering lazily or clashing chaotically, they deserve to be heard. Bustling with insights from literature, film, art, and psychology, <i>The Voices Within</i> offers more than science; it powerfully entreats us all to take some time to hear ourselves think.<br /></div>
Country USA
Manufacturer Basic Books
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-10-04
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Basic Books
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-10-04
Format	Kindle eBook

The Voices Within: The History and Science of How We Talk to Ourselves

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