Epiphenomenal Mind

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Epiphenomenal Mind

Author : William S. Robinson
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2018-09-27
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780429787706

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Epiphenomenal Mind by William S. Robinson Pdf

According to epiphenomenalism, our behavior is caused by events in our brains that also cause our mentality. This resulting mentality reflects our brains’ organization, but does not in turn cause anything. This book defends an epiphenomenalist account of philosophy of mind. It builds on the author’s previous work by moving beyond a discussion of sensations to apply an epiphenomenalist outlook to other aspects of mental causation such as beliefs, desires, pleasure, and displeasure. The first four chapters of the book argue for a dualistic theory of sensations and develop an epiphenomenalist version of dualism. The remaining chapters discuss propositional attitudes and valence. The author also responds to potential objections to epiphenomenalism by considering how sensations, intelligence, or understanding might be built into a robot. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in philosophy of mind who are interested in consciousness, mental causation, and how our mentality is situated in the world.

The Mind As a Scientific Object

Author : Christina E. Erneling,David M. Johnson
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 512 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2005-01-13
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 0195349997

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The Mind As a Scientific Object by Christina E. Erneling,David M. Johnson Pdf

What holds together the various fields that are supposed to consititute the general intellectual discipline that people now call cognitive science? In this book, Erneling and Johnson identify two problems with defining this discipline. First, some theorists identify the common subject matter as the mind, but scientists and philosophers have not been able to agree on any single, satisfactory answer to the question of what the mind is. Second, those who speculate about the general characteristics that belong to cognitive science tend to assume that all the particular fields falling under the rubric--psychology, linguistics, biology, and son on--are of roughly equal value in their ability to shed light on the nature of mind. This book argues that all the cognitive science disciplines are not equally able to provide answers to ontological questions about the mind, but rather that only neurophysiology and cultural psychology are suited to answer these questions. However, since the cultural account of mind has long been ignored in favor of the neurophysiological account, Erneling and Johnson bring together contributions that focus especially on different versions of the cultural account of the mind.

Humanity in a Creative Universe

Author : Stuart A. Kauffman
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Page : 456 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2016-02-02
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780199390472

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Humanity in a Creative Universe by Stuart A. Kauffman Pdf

In the hard sciences, which can often feel out of grasp for many lay readers, there are "great thinkers" who go far beyond the equations, formulas, and research. Minds such as Stephen Hawking philosophize about the functions and nature of the universe, the implications of our existence, and other impossibly fascinating, yet difficult questions. Stuart A. Kauffman is one of those great thinkers. He has dedicated his lifetime to researching "complex systems" at prestigious institutions and now writes his treatise on the most complex system of all: our universe. A recent Scientific American article claims that "philosophy begins where physics ends, and physics begins where philosophy ends," and perhaps no better quote sums up what Kauffman's latest book offers. Grounded in his rigorous training and research background, Kauffman is inter-disciplinary in every sense of the word, sorting through the major questions and theories in biology, physics, and philosophy. Best known for his philosophy of evolutionary biology, Kauffman coined the term "prestatability" to call into question whether science can ever accurately and precisely predict the future development of biological features in organisms. As evidenced by the title's mention of creativity, the book refreshingly argues that our preoccupation to explain all things with scientific law has deadened our creative natures. In this fascinating read, Kauffman concludes that the development of life on earth is not entirely predictable, because no theory could ever fully account for the limitless variations of evolution. Sure to cause a stir, this book will be discussed for years to come and may even set the tone for the next "great thinker."

Mental Causation and the Metaphysics of Mind

Author : Neil Campbell
Publisher : Broadview Press
Page : 310 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2003-01-02
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1551115093

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Mental Causation and the Metaphysics of Mind by Neil Campbell Pdf

Since Descartes’s division of the human subject into mental and physical components in the seventeenth century, there has been a great deal of discussion about how—indeed, whether or not—our mental states bring about our physical behavior. Through historical and contemporary readings, this collection explores this lively and important issue. In four parts, this anthology introduces the problem of mental causation, explores the debate sparked by Donald Davidson’s anomalous monism, examines Frank Jackson’s knowledge argument for the view that qualia are epiphenomenal, and investigates attempts to employ the controversial concept of supervenience to explain mental causation.

Philosophy of Mind: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives – Third Edition

Author : Peter A. Morton,Myrto Mylopoulos
Publisher : Broadview Press
Page : 754 pages
File Size : 54,7 Mb
Release : 2020-03-19
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781554814008

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Philosophy of Mind: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives – Third Edition by Peter A. Morton,Myrto Mylopoulos Pdf

This book introduces students to the principal issues in the philosophy of mind by tracing the history of the subject from Plato and Aristotle through to the present day. Over forty primary-source readings are included. Extensive commentaries from the editors are provided to guide student readers through the arguments and jargon and to offer necessary historical context for the readings. The new third edition examines some of the most exciting recent developments in the field, including advances in theories about the mind’s relation to action and agency. Previous editions of this book, published under the title A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, have been praised and widely taught for more than two decades.

Inside Reality

Author : Dr. Thomas Stark
Publisher : Magus Books
Page : 247 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2024-07-01
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 8210379456XXX

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Inside Reality by Dr. Thomas Stark Pdf

There are those, such as scientists, who see only the outside of reality, its appearance, its surface, its phenomenal aspect. They are blind to the inside, the substance, the foundation, the noumenal aspect. They dismiss it as non-existent, or illusion, or epiphenomenon. Scientists are those that believe that phenomena have no underlying noumena. What you see is what you get. Seeing is believing. Everything is appearance. Nothing is concealed. There are no hidden variables, and no unobservables. The scientific method says, "Observe". That works only if everything is observable. If there are foundational unobservables, science is catastrophically wrong and has cut itself off from the truth. The only "truth" it can furnish is that of surfaces and appearances with no substance. Those who truly want to understand reality must become masters of both perspectives – inside and outside, noumenon and phenomenon – and see how they relate, communicate and interact.

Foundational Issues in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science

Author : M.H. Bickhard,L. Terveen
Publisher : Elsevier
Page : 397 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 1996-10-15
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9780444825209

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Foundational Issues in Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science by M.H. Bickhard,L. Terveen Pdf

The book focuses on a conceptual flaw in contemporary artificial intelligence and cognitive science. Many people have discovered diverse manifestations and facets of this flaw, but the central conceptual impasse is at best only partially perceived. Its consequences, nevertheless, visit themselves as distortions and failures of multiple research projects - and make impossible the ultimate aspirations of the fields. The impasse concerns a presupposition concerning the nature of representation - that all representation has the nature of encodings: encodingism. Encodings certainly exist, but encodingism is at root logically incoherent; any programmatic research predicted on it is doomed too distortion and ultimate failure. The impasse and its consequences - and steps away from that impasse - are explored in a large number of projects and approaches. These include SOAR, CYC, PDP, situated cognition, subsumption architecture robotics, and the frame problems - a general survey of the current research in AI and Cognitive Science emerges. Interactivism, an alternative model of representation, is proposed and examined.

A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind

Author : Peter A. Morton
Publisher : Broadview Press
Page : 522 pages
File Size : 40,7 Mb
Release : 1996-12-23
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 1551110873

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A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind by Peter A. Morton Pdf

A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind is designed both to provide a selection of core readings on the subject and to make those readings accessible by providing commentaries to guide the reader through initially intimidating material. Each commentary explains technical concepts and provides background on obscure arguments as they arise, setting them in the historical and intellectual milieu from which they emerged. The readings concentrate on providing the student with a solid grounding in the theories of representative figures of the major philosophical movements, from Plato and Aristotle to important recent figures such as Fodor and Dennett. A glossary of key terms is also included.

A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind - Second Edition

Author : Peter Morton
Publisher : Broadview Press
Page : 705 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2010-05-06
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781551118529

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A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind - Second Edition by Peter Morton Pdf

This is an expanded and revised second edition of Peter Morton's highly acclaimed A Historical Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, a text that combines primary readings with detailed commentary. The book has two aims: to present the philosophy of mind from a historical perspective so that the theories in the field are seen to emerge in the process of solving problems with earlier theories; and to give students access to original source material together with commentaries that explain technical terms and jargon, outline argumentative structures, and place the texts in their historical context. The second edition adds several new chapters covering recent issues in the field, and revises earlier chapters to improve the readings and update the commentaries.

History of Psychology

Author : D. Brett King,William Douglas Woody,Wayne Viney
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 577 pages
File Size : 42,5 Mb
Release : 2015-07-14
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9781317350606

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History of Psychology by D. Brett King,William Douglas Woody,Wayne Viney Pdf

A History of Psychology: Ideas & Context, 5/e, traces psychological thought from antiquity through early 21st century advances, giving students a thorough look into psychology’s origins and development. This title provides in-depth coverage of intellectual trends, major systems of thought, and key developments in basic and applied psychology.

Mind and Philosophers

Author : John Lachs
Publisher : Vanderbilt University Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 1987
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN : 0826512224

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Mind and Philosophers by John Lachs Pdf

The essays collected in this volume and written between 1959-1980 clearly belong to professional philosophy in both tone and context. Yet their ultimate aim is to explore larger problems and to set the groundwork for dealing with them. For the focus of attention throughout is human nature, not so much in the details of its structure or its social and moral manifestations as in its most general features and constituents. What sort of beings we are and how mind and body are related is the question at the very core of all inquiries into human nature.

Morality in Times of Naturalising the Mind

Author : Christoph Lumer
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 218 pages
File Size : 45,9 Mb
Release : 2014-10-09
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781614518013

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Morality in Times of Naturalising the Mind by Christoph Lumer Pdf

Since the millennium, the neurophysiological and psychological bases of moral judgements and actions have been the topic of much empirical research. This volume discusses the relevance and possible usage of this research for (meta-)ethics and action theory. An overview of the empirical research, followed by critical assessments of several of its results, provides orientation on the research and criteria for its reasonable usage.

Dualism, Platonism and Voluntarism

Author : Sean O'Nuallain
Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Page : 286 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2016-05-11
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781443893220

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Dualism, Platonism and Voluntarism by Sean O'Nuallain Pdf

The Foundations of Mind conference proceedings brings together a host of contemporary thinkers in the area, from Ed Vul and Robert Campbell on the cognitive side through Stuart Kauffmann to Henry Stapp and Walter Freeman, for a wide-ranging yet incisive debate. This volume contains new papers from Stuart Kauffman, Jacob Needleman and Seán Ó Nualláin.

Body and Mind

Author : Keith Campbell
Publisher : University of Notre Dame Pess
Page : 103 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 1992-01-31
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9780268161033

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Body and Mind by Keith Campbell Pdf

Widely used in philosophy courses, this succinct study explores the problem of determining the relation between the body and mind. In that philosophy seeks to elucidate man’s place and action in nature, Campbell asserts that our assessment of the body-mind problem affects our perspectives on metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and the natural sciences. After discussing how the body-mind problem developed, Campbell sets forth four incompatible propositions that serve as the framework for evaluating different philosophical approaches to the problem. Among competing perspectives, he examines dualism, behaviorist theories, the causal theory of mind, and central-state epiphenomenalism. This second edition includes a chapter on functionalism and an expanded bibliography.

Life and Mind

Author : José Manuel Viejo,Mariano Sanjuán
Publisher : Springer Nature
Page : 330 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2023-06-12
Category : Science
ISBN : 9783031303043

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Life and Mind by José Manuel Viejo,Mariano Sanjuán Pdf

This volume provides a broad overview of some cutting-edge philosophical topics of growing interest at the juncture between cognitive science and biology. The main goal is not to integrate the variety of approaches into a single account, but rather to offer diverse perspectives on a collection of selected biological issues of particular philosophical relevance, reflecting the plurality of current research in these areas. Four conceptual vectors give this volume its coherence: Animal and human cognition: With respect to animal cognition, this volume focuses on self-awareness and methodological flaws in the science of animal consciousness. Regarding human cognition, the authors of this volume address various aspects of so-called 4E cognition. Genetics: The role of genes in the development of mind and life has always been philosophically controversial. In this volume, the authors address the possibility of considering post-genomic genes as natural kinds and the proper analysis of the concept of genotype. Teleology: This volume addresses issues of evolutionary causality and teleosemantics, as well as questions relating to biological teleology and regulation. Evolution: Evolution exemplifies better than any other concept the convergence point between philosophy, biology and cognitive sciences. Among other things, the volume deals with the origin of novelties in evolutionary processes from various viewpoints (e.g., cultural evolution and developmental plasticity). Despite their disparity, all these topics belong to a common naturalistic framework. By presenting them in a single volume, the editors want to emphasize the need to always conduct philosophical research on mind and life with tangential domains in mind. This book is a valuable resource for students and researchers of philosophy with a special interest in life, cognition, and evolution, as well as for biologists and cognitive scientists.