An eternal golden braid, tackles the subject of artificial intelligence and machine learning in his thought provoking work fluid concepts and creative analogies, written in conjunction with the fluid analogies research group at the university of michigan. The book won hofstadter his first pulitzer and remains, in alan brinkleys words,the most influential book ever published on the history of twentiethcentury america. As in his other books, hofstadter has written a deeply. Social darwinism in american thought paperback sep 1 1992. Oct 10, 2017 since winning a pulitzer prize in nonfiction for his 1979 book godel, escher, bach. It comprises a series of minibiographies ten individual lives, from thomas jefferson and andrew jackson to. Rejecting his earlier approach to history from the far left, in the 1950s he embraced consensus history, becoming the iconic historian of postwar liberal. Richard hofstadter quotes author of antiintellectualism.
In a certain sense, the suspicious tories and militant philistines are right. Hofstadter thought he had found the answerthat it lived, of all places, in the kernel of a mathematical proof. Buy social darwinism in american thought by richard hofstadter online at alibris. Hofstadters writing is such that the reader can easily feel the climate of thought at the time and how it would have been difficult to think and operate outside of the social darwinian paradigm. And i give it three stars because it did introduce me to many of the ideas and thinkers hofstadter highlights. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadter s law. Theorists such as herbert spencer and william graham sumner adopted the idea of the struggle for existence as. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned legitimately with the idea of maps or connections between formal frameworks. When somebody mentions antiintellectualism, richard hofstadter s book usually. The texts range from early philosophical and fictional musings on a subject that could seemingly only be examined in the realm of thought, to works. American political life, hofstadter writes at the beginning of the paranoid style, a book so powerful its title has entered the lexicon of modern political disorders, has served again and again as an arena for uncommonly angry minds. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought is a 1995 book by douglas hofstadter and other.
Hofstadter was the dewitt clinton professor of american history at columbia university. It is one thing to analyze the relation between three applications their results in math, visual art, and music of selfreferencing thought, and quite another to analyze the entity doing the. Fluid concepts and creative analogies and millions of other books are. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought was the first book ever. Uncollected essays 19561965 by richard hofstadter, edited by sean wilentz library of america. In the early 1960s, douglas hofstadter majored in mathematics at stanford, and it was his passion for number theory and logic that led him eventually to writing the book for which he is best known, godel, escher, bach. This thought provoking work is as relevant today if not more so than the day it was first published. Douglas hofstadter s book is concerned legitimately with the idea of maps or connections between formal frameworks.
Examining the rhetoric and mindset of figures outside the political mainstream who tapped into the. If you really want to know why and how some of the contradictions in american social thought came into being, social darwinism is as excellent a study as you can hope to find. It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account hofstadters law. There are dozens of thoughts, processes and emotions swirling about and competing for attention at any one time.
Later in life, he discovered a latent love for geometries of many types, and a special delight in. Compulsively listenable and endlessly thoughtprovoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. This book is a landmark in american political thought. Oct 04, 2011 hofstadters lost book is the american republic, a 1,396page history that he worked on for many years with two talented coauthors, william miller and daniel aaron. Godel, escher and bach, written by douglas hofstadter, while the title would suggest it is discussion of a mathematician, an artist, and a composer, is a complex examination of how human beings develop perception and meaning. Richard hofstadter project gutenberg selfpublishing. Hofstadters imagination never rested for long, and his thought ranged widely, embracing political, social, and cultural historyhe was impatient with such distinctionsand extending to all periods of american history. At the very beginning of the book, hofstadter talks about. To those who suspect that intellect is a subversive force in society, it will not do to reply that intellect is really a safe, bland, and emollient thing. Hofstadters classic study of the ramifications of darwinism is a major analysis of the social. This is a book that be can peruse commonly and still offer new thoughts with each perusing.
But these thematic threads are only the warp of hofstadter s tapestry. It contends that the notions of analogy and fluidity are fundamental to explain how the human mind solves. Compulsively listenable and endlessly thought provoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. Hofstadter already understood that the mind is not a centralized thing. Richard hofstadter was born in buffalo, new york, in 1916, to a jewish father, emil a. Youll find an email contact address at his page of the indiana university. Pulitzerprize winner douglas hofstadter takes on some weighty and wonderful questions in i am a strange loopamong. Notwithstanding, as per hofstadter, the proper framework that underlies all psychological movement rises above. Social darwinism in american thought book by richard hofstadter. I was blown away by this book when i first read it, back in the 1970s. Richard hofstadter august 6, 1916 october 24, 1970 was an american historian and public intellectual of the mid20th century. Richard hofstadter author of antiintellectualism in.
This is the kind of mental freedom you will gain by reading this book. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought is a 1995 book by douglas hofstadter and other members of the fluid analogies research group exploring the mechanisms of intelligence through computer modeling. Google the word thought and you will find this uninformative, circular definition. Dec 21, 2011 winner of the pulitzer prize in nonfiction. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadter s first book length journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought was the first book ever sold by. These are the mysteries tackled in i am a strange loop, douglas hofstadters first booklength journey into philosophy since godel, escher, bach. Douglas richard hofstadter born february 15, 1945 is an american scholar of cognitive science, physics, and comparative literature whose research includes concepts such as the sense of self in relation to the external world, consciousness, analogymaking, artistic creation, literary translation, and discovery in mathematics and physics.
Computer models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought by hofstadter, douglas r. An eternal golden braid by douglas hofstadter basic books, 1979. It contends that the notions of analogy and fluidity are fundamental to explain how the human mind solves problems and to create computer programs that show intelligent behavior. Social darwinism in american thought richard hofstadter. Why richard hofstadter is still worth reading but not for the. It examines the passion for progress and reform that colored the entire period from 1890 to 1940 with. Books by hofstadter center for research on concepts and. Of the fundamental mechanisms of thought kindle edition by hofstadter, douglas r. It comprises a series of minibiographies ten individual lives, from thomas jefferson and andrew jackson to herbert hoover and. For the ages for hofstadter, pictured here in 1946, antiintellectualism was an unavoidable part of a democratic society. An eternal golden braid, tackles the subject of artificial intelligence and machine learning in his thoughtprovoking work fluid concepts and creative analogies, written in conjunction with the fluid analogies research group at the university of michigan.
Erich hartmann magnum photos a ntiintellectualism in american life doesnt seem like a catchy title, but, more than 50 years on, it has demonstrated a peculiar staying power. Models of the fundamental mechanisms of thought ny. This book chronicles the rise and fall of herbert spencers philosophy as a reinforcing doctrine for laissezfaire political economy. Hofstadter s theme here is consciousness, or i or and he shuns religious connections to the word the soul. Douglas hofstadter, best known for his masterpiece godel, escher, bach.
Richard hofstadter is one of the truly outstanding historians in america. What richard hofstadter got wrong the new republic. But the author is not completely honest, has an ideological axe to grind. Ernest davis, new york university recently, while trying, like everyone else, to think deep thoughts about deep blue, i recalled a. The book challenges the reader to observe the system of symbolic meanings around him or her objectively.
Buy a cheap copy of the age of reform book by richard hofstadter. Surfaces and essences by douglas hofstadter basic books. Rejecting his earlier communist approach to history, in the 1950s he came closer to the concept of consensus history, and was epitomized by some of his admirers as the. Douglas hofstadter, justifiably famous for godel, escher, bach wrote about the much trickier subject of mind and personal identity in this 2004 book. The book is an american history that traces events from the populist movement of the 1890s through the progressive era. The reason the american republic is almost unknown today is that it was a college textbook. Nov 12, 2019 each page makes another connection, another circle, another aspect for thought. About the author 1992 richard hofstadter 19161970 was a dewitt clinton professor of american history at columbia university and author of many books. Preeminent richard hofstadter examines the passion for progress and reform that colored the entire period from 1890 to 1940 with. The book opens with the story of bachs musical offering. Social darwinism in american thought book by richard. More specifically, the book explores, through a series of dialogues and narrations, how symbols, thought and language are all intertwined and how reality is essentially a composition of overlapping meanings and perceptions. The american political tradition, published in 1948 and widely regarded as hofstadter s best book, is still selling briskly almost sixty years later.
Richard hofstadter 6 august 1916 24 october 1970 was an american historian and public intellectual of the mid20th century. A dazzling group biography, this landmark book will make clear the debt we owe to those who dared to reinvent knowledge from the ground up. This bookand his study of antiintellectualismare landmark studies in history of american thought. Now, with his trademark wit and special talent for making complex ideas. Hofstadter s books were also longform essays, and they survive today as bravura performances rather than as instances of high scholarship. Bach made an impromptu visit to king frederick the great of prussia, and was requested to improvise upon a theme presented by the king. Douglass hofstadters pi in the sky the washington post. Buy a cheap copy of i am a strange loop book by douglas r. Theorists such as herbert spencer and william graham sumner adopted the idea of the struggle for existence as justification for the evils as. Fantasies and reflections on self and soul is a 1981 collection of essays and other texts about the nature of the mind and the self, edited with commentary by philosophers douglas r. He was awarded pulitzer prizes for the age of reform and antiintellectualism in american life.
The books published by hofstadter are the isbns refer to paperback editions, where available. Its interesting that a strong undercurrent of similar thinking applies to the u. Compulsively readable and endlessly thought provoking, this is a moving and profound inquiry into the nature of mind. Preeminent richard hofstadter examines the passion for progress and reform that colored the entire period from 1890 to 1940 with startling and stimulating results. It analyzes several computer programs that members of the group.
Social darwinism in american thought, published in 1944 and still in print, was a. In this dialogue, they discuss modifying a tune to get different tunes but with the same ratio of note changes, e. Social darwinism in american thought portrays the overall influence of darwin on american social theory and the notable battle waged among thinkers over the implications of evolutionary theory for social thought and political action. In the course of his career, hofstadter became the iconic historian of postwar liberal consensus whom twentyfirst century scholars continue consulting, because his intellectually engaging books and essays continue to illuminate. The age of reform by richard hofstadter, paperback. Richard hofstadter and americas new wave of antiintellectualism. Hofstadter has been grappling with the mysteries of human thought for over thirty years. One of the best books written on the american way of thinking and explaining the underlying attitude and beliefs regarding our attitude about social issues and social responsibility. Richard hofstadter was an american public intellectual, historian and dewitt clinton professor of american history at columbia university. America at 1750, by richard hofstadter david donald.
The book features anagram and number puzzles, analogy puzzles involving letter strings or tabletop objects, and fanciful alphabetic styles. Douglas hofstadters book is concerned directly with the nature of maps or links. Social darwinism in american thought by richard hofstadter. Hofstadter s second pulitzer prizewinning book, antiintellectualism in american life 1963, traced as a dominant theme in american thought resentment and suspicion of the life of the mind and of those who are considered to represent it. The man who would teach machines to think the atlantic. Social darwinism in american thought portrays the overall influence of darwin on american social. See all books authored by richard hofstadter, including the american political tradition and the men who made it, and antiintellectualism in american life, and more on. Richard hofstadter august 6, 1916 october 24, 1970 was an american historian and public intellectual of the mid20th century hofstadter was the dewitt clinton professor of american history at columbia university. Social darwinism in american thought paperback jan. Exact thinking in demented times is the first book to tell the often outrageous, sometimes tragic but always riveting stories of the men who shaped presentday scientific thought. It examines the passion for progress and reform that colored the entire period from 1890 to 1940 with startling and stimulating results. The original, 1944, edition of this book essentially brought the term social darwinism into the language. Rejecting his earlier communist approach to history, in the 1950s he came closer to the concept of consensus history, and.
The age of reform is a 1955 pulitzer prizewinning book by richard hofstadter. But these thematic threads are only the warp of hofstadters tapestry. Hofstadter overstates the significance of social darwinism. Richard hofstadter is an excellent historian of the trends in american political, social, and religious thought. Godel, escher, bach is a lively weave of what we think of or at least thought of, prehofstadter as rather disparate thematic threads. Why richard hofstadter is still worth reading but not for. Hofstadter and a german american lutheran mother, katherine nee hill, who died when richard was ten. The thesis of his new book, which features a melange of as on its cover, is that analogy is the fuel and fire of. Yet his ideas constantly return to certain central preoccupations, stated at the outset of his career. It wasnt the whole of the case for laissezfaire economics. Richard hofstadter books list of books by author richard. Driven to discover whether computers can be made to. On richard hofstadter by christopher lasch the new york. When somebody mentions antiintellectualism, richard hofstadters book usually comes.
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