The Computer and the Mind: An Introduction to Cognitive Science (Second Edition)

HOW DOES THE MIND WORK? What enables us to have thoughts and feelings, to decide what to do and how to act? In this acclaimed introduction to cognitive science, now revised and updated, Philip Johnson-Laird explains this fast growing field, describes its origins and outlines the results it has achieved. He takes nothing for granted and demands no previous knowledge.
THE COMPUTER AND THE MIND provides the background necessary to understand the construction of computer models and ranges widely over the human mind, examining central themes such as perception, imagination, emotion and free-will.

"This is a unique work, the first of its kind, and the reader must be grateful, not only for its breadth and almost invariable clarity, but also for its civilised tone, jokes and sly asides. It deserves to be widely read."
NEVILLE AUSTEN, 'British Journal of Psychology'

"An elegant account of how modern computing is throwing new light on our own complex thinking 'machines'."
OBSERVER SCIENCE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

"An admirably well-balanced introduction to contemporary thinking about people's mental and physical capacities."
CHRISTOPHER LONGUET-HIGGINS, 'London Review of Books'

"He writes on cognitive science with enviable clarity and wit, and with a breadth of vision that allows him to use music, art and literature in a natural way to make his point."
L. HENRY SHAFFER, 'Nature'