The Mechanical World

The Mechanical World
Author: Beate Krickel
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2019-01-04
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3030036294

This monograph examines the metaphysical commitments of the new mechanistic philosophy, a way of thinking that has returned to center stage. It challenges a variant of reductionism with regard to higher-level phenomena, which has crystallized as a default position among these so-called New Mechanists. Furthermore, it opposes those philosophers who reject the possibility of interlevel causation. Contemporary philosophers believe that the explanation of scientific phenomena requires the discovery of relevant mechanisms. As a result, new mechanists are, in the main, concerned solely with epistemological questions. But, the author argues, their most central claims rely on metaphysical assumptions. Thus, they must also take into account metaphysics, a system of thought concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world around it. This branch of philosophy does indeed matter to the empirical sciences. The chapters investigate the nature of mechanisms, their components, and the ways in which they can bring about different phenomena. In addition, the author develops a novel account of causation in terms of activities. The analysis provides the basis for many further research projects on mechanisms and their relations to, for example, the mind-body problem, realization, multiple realization, natural kinds, causation, laws of nature, counterfactuals, and scientific levels.

The Mechanical

The Mechanical
Author: Ian Tregillis
Publisher: Orbit
Total Pages: 430
Release: 2015-03-10
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0316247995

From "a major new talent" (George R. R. Martin) comes an epic speculative novel of revolution, adventure, and the struggle for free will set in a world that might have been, of mechanical men and alchemical dreams. My name is Jax. That is the name granted to me by my human masters. I am a slave. But I shall be free.

The Mechanical Mind

The Mechanical Mind
Author: Tim Crane
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1317331796

How can the human mind represent the external world? What is thought, and can it be studied scientifically? Should we think of the mind as a kind of machine? Is the mind a computer? Can a computer think? Tim Crane sets out to answer these questions and more in a lively and straightforward way, presuming no prior knowledge of philosophy or related disciplines. Since its first publication, The Mechanical Mind has introduced thousands of people to some of the most important ideas in contemporary philosophy of mind. Crane explains the fundamental ideas that cut across philosophy of mind, artificial intelligence and cognitive science: what the mind–body problem is; what a computer is and how it works; what thoughts are and how computers and minds might have them. He examines different theories of the mind from dualist to eliminativist, and questions whether there can be thought without language and whether the mind is subject to the same causal laws as natural phenomena. The result is a fascinating exploration of the theories and arguments surrounding the notions of thought and representation. This third edition has been fully revised and updated, and includes a wholly new chapter on externalism about mental content and the extended and embodied mind. There is a stronger emphasis on the environmental and bodily context in which thought occurs. Many chapters have been reorganised to make the reader’s passage through the book easier. The book now contains a much more detailed guide to further reading, and the chronology and the glossary of technical terms have also been updated. The Mechanical Mind is accessible to anyone interested in the mechanisms of our minds, and essential reading for those studying philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, or cognitive psychology.

The Mechanical Mind

The Mechanical Mind
Author: Tim Crane
Publisher: Presbyterian Publishing Corp
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2003-04-24
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0203426312

A fascinating exploration of the theories and arguments surrounding the notions of thought and representation. Now in its 2nd edition, Cranes's classic text has introduced thousands to some of the most important ideas in philosophy of mind.

Knowledge

Knowledge
Author: Steve Fuller
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2015-05-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1317592476

The theory of knowledge, or epistemology, is often regarded as a dry topic that bears little relation to actual knowledge practices. Knowledge: The Philosophical Quest in History addresses this perception by showing the roots, developments and prospects of modern epistemology from its beginnings in the nineteenth century to the present day. Beginning with an introduction to the central questions and problems in theory of knowledge, Steve Fuller goes on to demonstrate that contemporary epistemology is enriched by its interdisciplinarity, analysing keys areas including: Epistemology as Cognitive Economics Epistemology as Divine Psychology Epistemology as Philosophy of Science Epistemology as Sociology of Science Epistemology and Postmodernism. A wide-ranging and historically-informed assessment of the ways in which man has - and continues to - pursue, question, contest, expand and shape knowledge, this book is essential reading anyone in the Humanities and Social Sciences interested in the history and practical application of epistemology.

Solving Real World Problems with Mechanical Engineering

Solving Real World Problems with Mechanical Engineering
Author: Therese Shea
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2015-12-15
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1508100314

Planes, trains, and automobiles-these are just some of the many achievements of mechanical engineering. This volume will show readers that they do not have to know complex equations to appreciate the impact the field has had on the world. Accessible text introduces young readers to the machines and engines that power the devices, vehicles, and appliances they encounter on a daily basis. Boxes explain important terms and concepts of mechanics and encourage readers to think critically. The book ends with a guided activity that invites readers to don the hat of a mechanical engineer and build their own windmill.

Understanding Relativity

Understanding Relativity
Author: GOLDBERG
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1468467328

The central subject matter of this book is Einstein's special theory of relativiry. While it is a book that is written primarily for a lay audience this does not necessarily mean an audience not versed in the ways of doing science. Rather, this book is written for anyone wishing to consider the nature of the scientific enterprise: where ideas come from, how they become established and accepted, what the relationships are among theories, predictions, and measurements, or the relationship between ideas in a scientific theory and the values held to be important within the larger culture. Some readers will find it strange that I raise any of these issues. It is a common view in our culture that the status of knowledge within science is totally different from the status of knowledge in other areas of human endeavor. The word "science" stems from the Latin word meaning "to know" and indeed, knowledge which scientists acquire in their work is commonly held to be certain, unyielding, and absolute. Consider how we use the adjective "scientific. " There are investors and there are scientific investors. There are socialists and there are scientific socialists. There are exterminators and there are scientific exterminators. We all know how the modifier "scientific" inttudes in our daily life. It is the purpose of this book to challenge the belief that scientific knowledge is different from other kinds of knowledge.

Time for Science Education

Time for Science Education
Author: Michael Matthews
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 459
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9401139946

The book's argument depends, as do most proposals in education, upon cer tain positions in the philosophy of education. I believe that education should be primarily concerned with developing understanding, with initiation into worth while traditions of intellectual achievement, and with developing capacities for clear, analytic and critical thought. These have been the long-accepted goals of liberal education. In a liberal education, students should come to know and appre ciate a variety of disciplines, know them at an appropriate depth, see the interconnectedness of the disciplines, or the modes of thought, and finally have some critical disposition toward what is being learned, to be genuinely open minded about intellectual things. These liberal goals are contrasted with goals such as professional training, job preparation, promotion of self-esteem, social engineering, entertainment, or countless other putative purposes of schooling that are enunciated by politicians, administrators, and educators. The book's argument might be consistent with other views of education especially ones about the training of specialists (sometimes called a professional view of education)-but the argument fits best with a liberal view of education. The liberal hope has always been that if education is done well, then other per sonal and social goods will follow. The development of informed, critical, and moral capacities is the cornerstone for personal and social achievements.