Dreaming Souls: Sleep, Dreams and the Evolution of the Conscious Mind (Philosophy of Mind Series)

Rating:
Summary: Should have been an essay, not a book
Review: I wrote my honors thesis on the structure and function of dream sleep. I have read a lot of books about this subject and Flanagan is not on my list of recommended titles for other people interested in dream study (Read J.Allan Hobson if you want to know what's up). Flanagan's book is watered down, repetitive and not origional in thought. He could have condensed it into a nice 10 page essay and maybe then I wouldn't have been so irritated and bored with it.

Rating:
Summary: a seminal work on dreams i would give it a 4.5 if i could
Review: owen flanagan does it once again in a great naturalistic work that sketches a controversial but logical theory in a controversial field. With experience in the philosophic, neuroscientific, and psychological fields owen is more than capable of proving his theory that dreams are not spandrels of sleep, they are fitness enhancing and although a biproduct of evolution are self expressive. He tackles all the neccessary and interesting questions from all his fields and creates an overal complex but clear and illuminating work that is a extreme pleasure to read