Decision-Making Experiments under a Philosophical Analysis: Human Choice as a Challenge for Neuroscience

Decision-Making Experiments under a Philosophical Analysis: Human Choice as a Challenge for Neuroscience
Author: Gabriel José Corrêa Mograbi
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Total Pages: 125
Release: 2015-10-15
Genre: Decision making
ISBN: 2889196682

This introduction just aims to be a fast foreword to the special topic now turned into an e-book. The Editorial "Decision-Making Experiments under a Philosophical Analysis: Human Choice as a Challenge for Neuroscience" alongside with my opinion article "Neurophilosophical considerations on decision making: Pushing-up the frontiers without disregarding their foundations" play the real role of considering in more details the articles and the whole purpose of this e-book. What I must highlight in this foreword is that our intention with such a project was to deepen into the very foundations of our current paradigms in decision neuroscience and to philosophically moot its foundations and repercussions. Normal Science (a term coined by Philosopher Thomas Kuhn) works under a research consensus among a scientific community: A shared paradigm, consolidated methods, widespread convictions. Pragmatically, winning formulas must be kept, although, not at any cost. What differentiates a gifted and revolutionary scientist from a more bureaucratic colleague is the capacity and willingness of constantly reevaluating, depurating and refining his/her own paradigm. That is best strategy to avoid that a paradigm itself would gradually come under challenge. In my view, some achievements, in this sense, were brought about in our project. The e-book will be inspiring and informative for both neuroscientists that are concerned with the very foundations of their works and for philosophers that are not blind to empirical evidence. Kant once said: “Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind”. Paraphrasing Kant we could say: Philosophy without science is empty, science without philosophy is blind.

Neurobiology of Decision-Making

Neurobiology of Decision-Making
Author: Antonio R. Damasio
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 3642799280

Neuroscience has paid only little attention to decision-making for many years. Although no field of science has cohered around this topic, a variety of researchers in different areas of neuroscience ranging from cellular physiology to neuropsychology and computational neuroscience have been engaged in working on this issue. Thus, the time seemed to be ripe to bring these researchers together and discuss the state of the art of the neurobiology of decision-making in a broad forum. This book is a collection of contributions presented at that forum in Paris in October 1994 organized by the Fondation IPSEN.

Criminology

Criminology
Author: Aida Y. Hass
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 913
Release: 2016-12-08
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1317497473

Connections among theory, research, and practice are the heart and soul of criminology. This book offers a comprehensive and balanced introduction to criminology, demonstrating the value of understanding the relationships between criminological theory, research, and practice in the study of crime and criminal behavior. Utilising a range of case studies and thought-provoking features, it encourages students to think critically and provides a foundation for understanding criminology as a systematic, theoretically grounded science. It includes: A comprehensive overview of crime in American society, including the nature and meaning of crime and American criminal law as well as the scientific study of crime, A concise, straightforward, and practical approach to the study of the American criminal justice system and its various components, including individual chapters on police, courts, and corrections, An overview of criminological theory, including classical, biological, psychological and sociological approaches, A survey of typologies of criminological behavior including interpersonal violent crimes, property crime, public order crime, organized and white collar crime, state crime, environmental harm and cybercrime, Concluding thoughts exploring challenges facing criminal justice policy and the future of criminological theory. This new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and includes brand new chapters on corrections, courts, criminal law, law enforcement, and technology and cybercrime. It is packed with useful and instructive features such as themed boxed case studies in every chapter, critical thinking questions, lists of further reading, and links to e-resources. A companion website includes PowerPoint slides for lecturers, links to useful resources, and lists of further reading.

Neuroeconomics

Neuroeconomics
Author: Paul W. Glimcher
Publisher: Academic Press
Total Pages: 606
Release: 2013-08-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0123914698

In the years since it first published, Neuroeconomics: Decision Making and the Brain has become the standard reference and textbook in the burgeoning field of neuroeconomics. The second edition, a nearly complete revision of this landmark book, will set a new standard. This new edition features five sections designed to serve as both classroom-friendly introductions to each of the major subareas in neuroeconomics, and as advanced synopses of all that has been accomplished in the last two decades in this rapidly expanding academic discipline. The first of these sections provides useful introductions to the disciplines of microeconomics, the psychology of judgment and decision, computational neuroscience, and anthropology for scholars and students seeking interdisciplinary breadth. The second section provides an overview of how human and animal preferences are represented in the mammalian nervous systems. Chapters on risk, time preferences, social preferences, emotion, pharmacology, and common neural currencies—each written by leading experts—lay out the foundations of neuroeconomic thought. The third section contains both overview and in-depth chapters on the fundamentals of reinforcement learning, value learning, and value representation. The fourth section, "The Neural Mechanisms for Choice, integrates what is known about the decision-making architecture into state-of-the-art models of how we make choices. The final section embeds these mechanisms in a larger social context, showing how these mechanisms function during social decision-making in both humans and animals. The book provides a historically rich exposition in each of its chapters and emphasizes both the accomplishments and the controversies in the field. A clear explanatory style and a single expository voice characterize all chapters, making core issues in economics, psychology, and neuroscience accessible to scholars from all disciplines. The volume is essential reading for anyone interested in neuroeconomics in particular or decision making in general. - Editors and contributing authors are among the acknowledged experts and founders in the field, making this the authoritative reference for neuroeconomics - Suitable as an advanced undergraduate or graduate textbook as well as a thorough reference for active researchers - Introductory chapters on economics, psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology provide students and scholars from any discipline with the keys to understanding this interdisciplinary field - Detailed chapters on subjects that include reinforcement learning, risk, inter-temporal choice, drift-diffusion models, game theory, and prospect theory make this an invaluable reference - Published in association with the Society for Neuroeconomics—www.neuroeconomics.org - Full-color presentation throughout with numerous carefully selected illustrations to highlight key concepts

Why Evolution is True

Why Evolution is True
Author: Jerry A. Coyne
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2010-01-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 019164384X

For all the discussion in the media about creationism and 'Intelligent Design', virtually nothing has been said about the evidence in question - the evidence for evolution by natural selection. Yet, as this succinct and important book shows, that evidence is vast, varied, and magnificent, and drawn from many disparate fields of science. The very latest research is uncovering a stream of evidence revealing evolution in action - from the actual observation of a species splitting into two, to new fossil discoveries, to the deciphering of the evidence stored in our genome. Why Evolution is True weaves together the many threads of modern work in genetics, palaeontology, geology, molecular biology, anatomy, and development to demonstrate the 'indelible stamp' of the processes first proposed by Darwin. It is a crisp, lucid, and accessible statement that will leave no one with an open mind in any doubt about the truth of evolution.

The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice
Author: Barry Schwartz
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 308
Release: 2009-10-13
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0061748994

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Cognition and the Brain

Cognition and the Brain
Author: Andrew Brook
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 464
Release: 2005-09-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 110732064X

This volume provides an up to date and comprehensive overview of the philosophy and neuroscience movement, which applies the methods of neuroscience to traditional philosophical problems and uses philosophical methods to illuminate issues in neuroscience. At the heart of the movement is the conviction that basic questions about human cognition, many of which have been studied for millennia, can be answered only by a philosophically sophisticated grasp of neuroscience's insights into the processing of information by the human brain. Essays in this volume are clustered around five major themes: data and theory in neuroscience; neural representation and computation; visuomotor transformations; color vision; and consciousness.

Moral Brains

Moral Brains
Author: S. Matthew Liao
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2016
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199357676

In the last fifteen years, there has been significant interest in studying the brain structures involved in moral judgments using novel techniques from neuroscience. This is the first volume to take stock of fifteen years of research of this fast-growing field of moral neuroscience and recommend future directions for research.

Neuroscience of Decision Making

Neuroscience of Decision Making
Author: Oshin Vartanian
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 369
Release: 2011-04-14
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 113685987X

The intersection between the fields of behavioral decision research and neuroscience has proved to be fertile ground for interdisciplinary research. Whereas the former is rich in formalized models of choice, the latter is rife with techniques for testing behavioral models at the brain level. As a result, there has been the rapid emergence of progressively more sophisticated biological models of choice, geared toward the development of ever more complete mechanistic models of behavior. This volume provides a coherent framework for distilling some of the key themes that have emerged as a function of this research program, and highlights what we have learned about judgment and decision making as a result. Although topics that are theoretically relevant to judgment and decision making researchers are addressed, the book also ventures somewhat beyond the traditional boundaries of this area to tackle themes that would of interest to a greater community of scholars. Neuroscience of Decision Making provides contemporary and essential reading for researchers and students of cognitive psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and economics.

The Altruistic Brain

The Altruistic Brain
Author: Donald W. Pfaff
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2015
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 0199377464

"Unlike any other study in its field, The Altruistic Brain synthesizes into one theory the most important research into how and why - by purely physical mechanisms - humans empathize with one another and respond altruistically."--Jacket.