Metazoa covers eons of evolution of the mind in the most basic animals through to humans, and many in between. Godfrey-Smith details several philosophies about the mind and what precisely it means to be conscious and sentient. He notes there are different layers and varying degrees to both of these elements and that science has shown many animals are further along these scales than one would think. The most memorable example was that of agitated vs. recently rewarded bees and the impact on risk aversion vs risk taking. Much of the book is dedicated to sea life and Godfrey-Smith interweaves his own stories of observing animals during his dives. These stories often interrupted the flow of his writing and distracted from the broader points being made. Metazoa is written in a friendly and informal manner, which I found enjoyable as it helped combat the often dry subject matter. When I saw AI mentioned in the last chapter, I initially rolled my eyes, but after taking a beat and keeping an open mind, I realized Godfrey-Smith articulated thoughts around AI, and its inability to have an actual mind (at least with current technology), that I’ve held for years. The evolution of the mind over billions of years likely won’t ever feel truly reproducible to me, even if I could never explicitly differentiate between AI and a human. Ultimately, Godfrey-Smith sold me on his primary idea - “we are not extra, not additions to the physical world, but aspects of its workings. We are of these activities rather than merely tied to them or made by them.” B

Excellent. Peter Godfrey-Smith skilfully combines, science, philosophy and his experiences of swimming among the strange and diverse creatures of the sea to explore the evolution of consciousness.

I felt much of the philosophical discussion in this book was a bit nebulous and apophenic. However, I found the information about the evolutionary paths of minds, experience, and sensing fascinating, especially coupled with anecdotes from the author's dives.