Mind and Nature
by Gregory Bateson · first published 1979
86% recommend14% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Recommended as a deep, wide-ranging look at the foundations of science and the mind, challenging materialist assumptions; often paired with Korzybski's Science and Sanity for readers of systems thinking.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
This classic book summarizes Gregory Bateson's thinking on the subject of the patterns that connect living beings to each other and to their environment. Bateson's classic transdisciplinary work presents us with tools of thought, and explores the presuppositions of science and everyday life. This book has influenced scholars in disciplines as diverse as biology, management theory. creativity research, family therapy, communication, systems theory, and epistemology.-- Publisher description.
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You might like a couple of books by Gregory Bateson, "Steps to an Ecology of Mind" and "Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity" He explores the idea that evolution and thought are the same phenomenon, and that what we call "mind" is ambient.
on “Plants communicate, nurture their seedlings, and get stressed” ↗Mind And Nature - A Necessary Unity, by Gregory Bateson, and I Am A Strange Loop, by Douglas Hofstadter. They're a great combination, as they're both attempts to define the concept of "mind" through patterns. Bateson…
on “Ask HN: What books are you reading?” ↗…http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/ASHBBOOK.html http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/books/IntroCyb.pdf In re: paradigm shift, I don't really know of a single good source for that, but the works of Gregory Bateson, specifically "Steps to an Ecology of Mind" and "Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity", were useful to me. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Bateson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steps_to_an_Ecology_of_Mind https://archive.org/details/mindnaturenecess00baterich
on “Programming Paradigms, Turing Completeness and Computational Thinking (2020)” ↗…sentence "I trust the reader has enjoyed this note." He totally got me. It is not the book I would recommend most often, it just came to my mind. What I would recommend the most are psychological books. 'Mind and Nature' by Gregory Bateson is one of my favorites. Posts like this one are awesome, always happy to sieve through.
on “Ask HN: Which book do you keep asking people to read?” ↗…interesting (or so I seem to recall; it's been a while, heh). But towering above all these people, IMO, is Gregory Bateson, a name you probably won't find on the reading list at a university. Check out Mind and Nature.
on “Oxford announces new degree in Computer Science and Philosophy” ↗…raised a ton of still-important questions about the foundations that our scientific and materialistic worldview(s) rest on. I'm "over" this one in a lot of ways, but it was huge at the time I read it. Mind and Nature by Gregory Bateson. Bateson was mentioned in the other book, and by the professor who assigned it. This is his most comprehensive piece of work (really his only comprehensive work -- pretty much everything…
on “Ask HN: What books fundamentally changed the way you think about the world?” ↗…does not experience time: it is always "now", and it is always "here". What you are seeing "in varying degrees in nature, in computers, and of course in people" is mind I think. Cf. Gregory Bateson, "Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity" and "Steps to an Ecology of Mind" Lastly, "Godel Escher Bach" is an excellent book and was instrumental in my own process of coming to grips with consciousness. To wit: I think the…
on “Why Deep Learning surprises me” ↗…"...Bateson (and Korzybski) are one of mostly undervalued thinkers in my opinion..." before even clicking the link. Oddly enough, I find Korzybski's name mentioned right there, at the beginning. Bateson's "Mind and Nature" and Korzybski's "Science and Sanity" make a good, eye opening read.
on “Bateson and Me – Part 1 (2004)” ↗Gregory Bateson, "Steps to an Ecology of Mind" and "Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity".
on “Paul Stamets on the interrelationship among mushrooms, consciousness, and nature” ↗I feel compelled to recommend a couple of books: Mind and Nature by Gregory Bateson and Alien Information Theory by Andrew Gallimore
on “A Philosopher on Drugs” ↗Alien Information Theory by Andrew Gallimore Excerpt reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxC2cyg-cTg Less about psychedelics, but a great accessory read is Mind and Nature by Gregory Bateson
on “What Hallucinogens Will Make You See” ↗…me a framework, a meta-frame of sorts when I was young. Introduction to NLP (esp. chapter V on Meta Model, took me two years to process it) Structure of Magic, vol. II - communication, incongruity Mind and Nature by Gregory Bateson And I could go on and on... but the winner is... "Embracing Our Selves" by Sidra & Hal Stone. This book and perspective changed my life completely. It was like a grenade bursting…
on “Ask HN: Which book has had the most meaningful contribution in your life?” ↗…better phrase, more "aesthetic value". Some of the books I've been pushing on people in the past few years, with varying success, include: A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa, The Great Gatsby, Mind and Nature by Gregory Bateson, Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson, (v.) by Anastacia-Renee, and Winter Mythologies and Abbots by Pierre Michon. They're all excellent books! But you're right, I am somewhat of a…
on “The Life, Death–and Afterlife–Of Literary Fiction” ↗…discoveries in biology of viruses, only 109 pages and nearly every one mind-blowing. [1] https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Planet_of_Viruses.htm... Read that, then "Blood Music", then Gregory Bateson's "Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity (Advances in Systems Theory, Complexity, and the Human Sciences)" I think the Matrix is rooted... ;-)
on “'Demonically Clever' Backdoor Hides Inside Computer Chip” ↗Fantastic books. I highly recommend Mind and Nature.
on “Plants communicate, nurture their seedlings, and get stressed” ↗