The Mind's Provisions

The Mind's Provisions PDF

Author: Vincent Descombes

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9780691001319

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Vincent Descombes brings together an astonishingly large body of philosophical and anthropological thought to present a thoroughgoing critique of contemporary cognitivism and to develop a powerful new philosophy of the mind. Beginning with a critical examination of American cognitivism and French structuralism, Descombes launches a more general critique of all philosophies that view the mind in strictly causal terms and suppose that the brain--and not the person--thinks. Providing a broad historical perspective, Descombes draws surprising links between cognitivism and earlier anthropological projects, such as L vi-Strauss's work on the symbolic status of myths. He identifies as incoherent both the belief that mental states are detached from the world and the idea that states of mind are brain states; these assumptions beg the question of the relation between mind and brain. In place of cognitivism, Descombes offers an anthropologically based theory of mind that emphasizes the mind's collective nature. Drawing on Wittgenstein, he maintains that mental acts are properly attributed to the person, not the brain, and that states of mind, far from being detached from the world, require a historical and cultural context for their very intelligibility. Available in English for the first time, this is the most outstanding work of one of France's finest contemporary philosophers. It provides a much-needed link between the continental and Anglo-American traditions, and its impact will extend beyond philosophy to anthropology, psychology, critical theory, and French studies.

The Science of the Mind

The Science of the Mind PDF

Author: Robert L. Solso

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 0195080645

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What is the future of psychology? Will it continue to splinter into increasingly disparate camps or find new common ground? This book brings together leading experts--including Roger Sperry, Stephen Kosslyn, and Gordon Bower--to answer such questions.

Mind and Emergence

Mind and Emergence PDF

Author: Philip Clayton

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2004-10-29

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 0191556750

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Strong claims have been made for emergence as a new paradigm for understanding science, consciousness, and religion. Tracing the past history and current definitions of the concept, Clayton assesses the case for emergent phenomena in the natural world and their significance for philosophy and theology. Complex emergent phenomena require irreducible levels of explanation in physics, chemistry and biology. This pattern of emergence suggests a new approach to the problem of consciousness, which is neither reducible to brain states nor proof of a mental substance or soul. Although emergence does not entail classical theism, it is compatible with a variety of religious positions. Clayton concludes with a defence of emergentist panentheism and a Christian constructive theology consistent with the new sciences of emergence.

The War Between Mentalism and Behaviorism

The War Between Mentalism and Behaviorism PDF

Author: William R. Uttal

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 1999-09

Total Pages: 218

ISBN-13: 1135666008

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This book examines the question--are mental processes accessible-- within the context of reviewing the past, present, and desirable future of behaviorism.

Mind, Matter, and Nature

Mind, Matter, and Nature PDF

Author: James D. Madden

Publisher: Catholic University of America Press

Published: 2013-06-01

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0813221420

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Written for students, Mind, Matter, and Nature presumes no prior philosophical training on the part of the reader. The book nevertheless holds the arguments discussed to rigorous standards and is conversant with recent literature, thus making it useful as well to more advanced students and professionals interested in a resource on Thomistic hylomorphism in the philosophy of mind.

Justification Without Awareness

Justification Without Awareness PDF

Author: Michael Bergmann

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006-05-18

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 0199275742

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Michael Bergmann provides a decisive refutation of internalism and a sustained defense of externalism, developing his theory of justification by imposing both a proper function and a no-defeater requirement.

In Defense of Aristotle's Laws of Thought

In Defense of Aristotle's Laws of Thought PDF

Author: Avi Sion

Publisher: Avi Sion

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13:

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In Defense of Aristotle’s Laws of Thought addresses, from a phenomenological standpoint, numerous modern and Buddhist objections and misconceptions regarding the basic principles of Aristotelian logic.

Causality and Neo-Stages in Development

Causality and Neo-Stages in Development PDF

Author: Gerald Young

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-10-30

Total Pages: 460

ISBN-13: 303082540X

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This book represents a broad integration of several major themes in psychology toward its unification. Unifying psychology is an ongoing project that has no end-point, but the present work suggests several major axes toward that end, including causality and activation-inhibition coordination. On the development side of the model building, the author has constructed an integrated lifespan stage model of development across the Piagetian cognitive and the Eriksonian socioaffective domains. The model is based on the concept of neo-stages, which mitigates standard criticisms of developmental stage models. The new work in the second half of the book extends the primary work in the first half both in terms of causality and development. Also, the area of couple work is examined from the stage perspective. Finally, new concepts related to the main themes are represented, including on the science formula, executive function, stress dysregulation disorder, inner peace, and ethics, all toward showing the rich potential of the present modeling.

Ontology

Ontology PDF

Author: Dale Jacquette

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-12-18

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1317489586

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The philosophical study of what exists and what it means for something to exist is one of the core concerns of metaphysics. This introduction to ontology provides readers with a comprehensive account of the central ideas of the subject of being. This book is divided into two parts. The first part explores questions of pure philosophical ontology: what is meant by the concept of being, why there exists something rather than nothing, and why there is only one logically contingent actual world. Dale Jacquette shows how logic provides the only possible answers to these fundamental problems. The second part of the book examines issues of applied scientific ontology. Jacquette offers a critical survey of some of the most influential traditional ontologies, such as the distinction between appearance and reality, and the categories of substance and transcendence. The ontology of physical entities - space, time, matter and causation - is examined as well as the ontology of abstract entities such as sets, numbers, properties, relations and propositions. The special problems posed by the subjectivity of mind and of postulating a god are also explored in detail. The final chapter examines the ontology of culture, language and art.