The Mind's We

The Mind's We
Author: Diane Gillespie
Publisher: SIU Press
Total Pages: 266
Release: 1992
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780809316755

In a journey to the theoretical roots of human psychology, Diane Gillespie defends the concept of contextualism in a field in which mechanism has prevailed. Gillespie explains both theories in a historical overview of cognitive psychology and then contrasts them in three chapters on visual perception, memory, and categorization. She clarifies the inadequacy of mechanism as the sole model of cognition by including narratives based on her own life that focus on the dynamic ways we interact with the world. Providing a subtheme of contemporary concern, Gillespie argues that a psychological theory open to everyday contexts has important implications for women, whose perspectives have been underrepresented in the literature of cognitive psychology. She does not posit contextualism as the next exclusive viewpoint but suggests instead a pluralism with no one viewpoint overshadowing the others.

Mind-Body Problems

Mind-Body Problems
Author: John Horgan
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2019-01-16
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9781731440488

Science journalist John Horgan presents a radical new perspective on the mind-body problem and related issues such as consciousness, free will, morality and the meaning of life. Horgan argues that science will never discover an objectively true solution to the mind-body problem because such a solution does not exist. Horgan explores his thesis by delving into the professional and personal lives of nine mind-body experts, including neuroscientist Christof Koch, cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter, child psychologist Alison Gopnik, complexologist Stuart Kauffman, legal scholar and psychoanalyst Elyn Saks, philosopher Owen Flanagan, novelist Rebecca Goldstein, evolutionary biologist Robert Trivers, and economist Deirdre McCloskey.

The Book of Minds

The Book of Minds
Author: Philip Ball
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 513
Release: 2022-06-28
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0226822044

Popular science writer Philip Ball explores a range of sciences to map our answers to a huge, philosophically rich question: How do we even begin to think about minds that are not human? Sciences from zoology to astrobiology, computer science to neuroscience, are seeking to understand minds in their own distinct disciplinary realms. Taking a uniquely broad view of minds and where to find them—including in plants, aliens, and God—Philip Ball pulls the pieces together to explore what sorts of minds we might expect to find in the universe. In so doing, he offers for the first time a unified way of thinking about what minds are and what they can do, by locating them in what he calls the “space of possible minds.” By identifying and mapping out properties of mind without prioritizing the human, Ball sheds new light on a host of fascinating questions: What moral rights should we afford animals, and can we understand their thoughts? Should we worry that AI is going to take over society? If there are intelligent aliens out there, how could we communicate with them? Should we? Understanding the space of possible minds also reveals ways of making advances in understanding some of the most challenging questions in contemporary science: What is thought? What is consciousness? And what (if anything) is free will? Informed by conversations with leading researchers, Ball’s brilliant survey of current views about the nature and existence of minds is more mind-expanding than we could imagine. In this fascinating panorama of other minds, we come to better know our own.

The Mind

The Mind
Author: E. Bruce Goldstein
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262358778

An accessible and engaging account of the mind and its connection to the brain. The mind encompasses everything we experience, and these experiences are created by the brain--often without our awareness. Experience is private; we can't know the minds of others. But we also don't know what is happening in our own minds. In this book, E. Bruce Goldstein offers an accessible and engaging account of the mind and its connection to the brain. He takes as his starting point two central questions--what is the mind? and what is consciousness?--and leads readers through topics that range from conceptions of the mind in popular culture to the wiring system of the brain. Throughout, he draws on the latest research, explaining its significance and relevance.

The Minds of Gods

The Minds of Gods
Author: Benjamin Grant Purzycki
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2023-02-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1350265713

Why are humans obsessed with divine minds? What do gods know and what do they care about? What happens to us and our relationships when gods are involved? Drawing from neuroscience, evolutionary, cultural, and applied anthropology, social psychology, religious studies, philosophy, technology, and cognitive and political sciences, The Minds of Gods probes these questions from a multitude of naturalistic perspectives. Each chapter offers brief intellectual histories of their topics, summarizes current cutting-edge questions in the field, and points to areas in need of attention from future researchers. Through an innovative theoretical framework that combines evolutionary and cognitive approaches to religion, this book brings together otherwise disparate literatures to focus on a topic that has comprised a lasting, central obsession of our species.

Open our Minds…to Unleash the CPU of Who We Are

Open our Minds…to Unleash the CPU of Who We Are
Author: Raj Gopalaswamy, PhD
Publisher: Notion Press
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2023-03-09
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN:

"The author’s conviction comes through every page of his writing. A good part of Vedanta is presented as a book of science. [He] does not hesitate to pick examples from the lives of actors, TV heroes, historical personalities, authors, expositors and stories..." From the Foreword by Dr. V. Krishnamurthy, former Professor of Mathematics and Dy. Director, BITS, Pilani, India, President of The Indian Mathematical Society, and Asst. Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Have We Lost Our Minds?

Have We Lost Our Minds?
Author: Stan W. Wallace
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2024-06-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1666789151

With advances in neuroscience, many Christians are confused about what the soul is and its role in human flourishing. This confusion is rapidly increasing through the writings of "neurotheologians" such as Curt Thompson and Jim Wilder, who imply our brains are ultimately the cause of our thoughts, beliefs, desires, choices, and very identity. This book identifies and corrects the wrong assumptions of neurotheologians, outlines a biblically and philosophically sound understanding of our soul and its relation to the body, and illustrates how this understanding is the right path toward more fully loving God and loving others.

Untangling the Mind

Untangling the Mind
Author: David Theodore George
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2013-05-07
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 0062127780

Free yourself from emotional turmoileven when that turmoil is caused by others! We have a much greater understanding of human behavior now than we did just a few decades ago. Yet even with this greater understanding of the human mind, why we do what we do can sometimes seem like a mystery. People are often left with unsettling questions about their own (or others') behavior. We ask ourselves, Why did I make a spectacle of myself? Why am I so stressed? Why am I constantly so negative? In his years as a clinician, Dr. Ted George has been struck by how much easier it is for people to say they have a physical illness than it is to admit they feel out of control with an emotion—be it anger, fear, or depression. With a physical issue, you have the source of the problem in concrete terms, such as in a lab report, but with an emotional issue, it can be much harder to define what's gone wrong. Untangling the Mind helps make sense of what's happening—and why. With knowledge of how the brain translates sensory signals into emotions, you will increase your understanding of your own—and others'—behaviors. As you learn about your psychological and neurological makeup, you will begin to see new possibilities for optimism, motivation, and well-being. We can control our behavior and our feelings, no matter how much they may have ruled us in the past, and Dr. George helps us know how. Once you understand the deeply rooted instincts that activate your emotions, you can live more peacefully, behave in ways that are more in keeping with the person you'd like to be, and enjoy your life more fully. And you'll be better able to remain unaffected by the drama of other people's emotional storms.

Why We Do What We Do

Why We Do What We Do
Author: Edward L. Deci
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 241
Release: 1996-08-01
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0140255265

What motivates us as students, employees, and individuals? If you reward your children for doing their homework, they will usually respond by getting it done. But is this the most effective method of motivation? No, says psychologist Edward L. Deci, who challenges traditional thinking and shows that this method actually works against performance. The best way to motivate people—at school, at work, or at home—is to support their sense of autonomy. Explaining the reasons why a task is important and then allowing as much personal freedom as possible in carrying out the task will stimulate interest and commitment, and is a much more effective approach than the standard system of reward and punishment. We are all inherently interested in the world, argues Deci, so why not nurture that interest in each other? Instead of asking, "How can I motivate people?" we should be asking, "How can I create the conditions within which people will motivate themselves?" "An insightful and provocative meditation on how people can become more genuinely engaged and succesful in pursuing their goals." —Publisher's Weekly

We’re Losing Our Minds

We’re Losing Our Minds
Author: R. Keeling
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2011-12-19
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1137001763

America is being held back by the quality and quantity of learning in college. Many graduates cannot think critically, write effectively, solve problems, understand complex issues, or meet employers' expectations. The only solution - making learning the highest priority in college - demands fundamental change throughout higher education.