Biological Naturalism And The Mind Body Problem

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Biological Naturalism and the Mind-Body Problem

Author : Jane Anderson
Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030996840
Total Pages : 303 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (39 download)

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Book Synopsis Biological Naturalism and the Mind-Body Problem by : Jane Anderson

Download or read book Biological Naturalism and the Mind-Body Problem written by Jane Anderson and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-06-23 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a new theoretical framework within which to understand “the mind-body problem”. The crux of this problem is phenomenal experience, which Thomas Nagel famously described as “what it is like” to be a certain living creature. David Chalmers refers to the problem of “what-it-is-like” as “the hard problem” of consciousness and claims that this problem is so “hard” that investigators have either just ignored the issue completely, investigated a similar (but distinct) problem, or claimed that there is literally nothing to investigate – that phenomenal experience is illusory. This book contends that phenomenal experience is both very real and very important. Two specific “biological naturalist” views are considered in depth. One of these two views, in particular, seems to be free from problems; adopting something along the lines of this view might finally allow us to make sense of the mind-body problem. An essential read for anyone who believes that no satisfactory solution to “the mind-body problem” has yet been discovered.

The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness

Author : Susan Schneider
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119002206
Total Pages : 848 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

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Book Synopsis The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness by : Susan Schneider

Download or read book The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness written by Susan Schneider and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2017-03-16 with total page 848 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Updated and revised, the highly-anticipated second edition of The Blackwell Companion to Consciousness offers a collection of readings that together represent the most thorough and comprehensive survey of the nature of consciousness available today. Features updates to scientific chapters reflecting the latest research in the field Includes 18 new theoretical, empirical, and methodological chapters covering integrated information theory, renewed interest in panpsychism, and more Covers a wide array of topics that include the origins and extent of consciousness, various consciousness experiences such as meditation and drug-induced states, and the neuroscience of consciousness Presents 54 peer-reviewed chapters written by leading experts in the study of consciousness, from across a variety of academic disciplines

Teleosemantics

Author : Graham Macdonald
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN 13 : 0199270260
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (992 download)

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Book Synopsis Teleosemantics by : Graham Macdonald

Download or read book Teleosemantics written by Graham Macdonald and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2006-09-28 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Teleosemantics seeks to explain meaning and other intentional phenomena in terms of their function in the life of the species. This volume of new essays from an impressive line-up of well-known contributors offers a valuable summary of the current state of the teleosemantics debate.

The Mind–Body Problem

Author : Mario Bunge
Publisher : Elsevier
ISBN 13 : 1483150127
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (831 download)

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Book Synopsis The Mind–Body Problem by : Mario Bunge

Download or read book The Mind–Body Problem written by Mario Bunge and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-05-09 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mind–Body Problem: A Psychobiological Approach examines the mind-body problem from a psychobiological perspective. It intends to show that the idea of a separate mental entity is not only unwarranted by the available data and the existing psychological models, but collides head-on with the most fundamental ideas of all modern science and is thus a stumbling block to progress. The book abandons ordinary language in favor of the state space language, which is mathematically precise and is shared by science and scientific philosophy. Comprised of 10 chapters, this monograph begins with an overview of the mind-body problem and its main proposed solutions, classified into main genera: psychophysical monism and psychophysical dualism. In particular, ten views on the mind-body problem are analyzed, along with three main varieties of materialism with regards to the problem: eliminative, reductive (or leveling), and emergentist. The discussion then turns to the notion of a concrete or material system, based on the assumption that behavior is an external manifestation of neural processes. Subsequent chapters explore the specific functions of the central nervous system; sensation and perception; behavior and motivation; memory and learning; thinking and knowing; and consciousness and personality. The book also considers sociality and social behavior in animals before concluding with an assessment of a psychological explanation of the mind, with emphasis on dualism and monism. This work will be of interest to students, academicians, practitioners, and investigators in the fields of psychobiology, psychology, neurophysiology, and philosophy.

Beyond Conceptual Dualism

Author : Giuseppe Vicari
Publisher : Rodopi
ISBN 13 : 9042024666
Total Pages : 192 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (42 download)

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Book Synopsis Beyond Conceptual Dualism by : Giuseppe Vicari

Download or read book Beyond Conceptual Dualism written by Giuseppe Vicari and published by Rodopi. This book was released on 2008 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a systematic analysis of John R. Searle's philosophy of mind. Searle's view of mind, as a set of subjective and biologically embodied processes, can account for our being part of nature qua mindful beings. This model finds support in neuroscience and offers reliable solutions to the problems of consciousness, mental causation, and the self.

Mind in Life

Author : Evan Thompson
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 0674736885
Total Pages : 561 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (747 download)

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Book Synopsis Mind in Life by : Evan Thompson

Download or read book Mind in Life written by Evan Thompson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2010-09-30 with total page 561 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How is life related to the mind? The question has long confounded philosophers and scientists, and it is this so-called explanatory gap between biological life and consciousness that Evan Thompson explores in Mind in Life. Thompson draws upon sources as diverse as molecular biology, evolutionary theory, artificial life, complex systems theory, neuroscience, psychology, Continental Phenomenology, and analytic philosophy to argue that mind and life are more continuous than has previously been accepted, and that current explanations do not adequately address the myriad facets of the biology and phenomenology of mind. Where there is life, Thompson argues, there is mind: life and mind share common principles of self-organization, and the self-organizing features of mind are an enriched version of the self-organizing features of life. Rather than trying to close the explanatory gap, Thompson marshals philosophical and scientific analyses to bring unprecedented insight to the nature of life and consciousness. This synthesis of phenomenology and biology helps make Mind in Life a vital and long-awaited addition to his landmark volume The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (coauthored with Eleanor Rosch and Francisco Varela). Endlessly interesting and accessible, Mind in Life is a groundbreaking addition to the fields of the theory of the mind, life science, and phenomenology.

Structure and the Metaphysics of Mind

Author : William Jaworski
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198749562
Total Pages : 376 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (987 download)

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Book Synopsis Structure and the Metaphysics of Mind by : William Jaworski

Download or read book Structure and the Metaphysics of Mind written by William Jaworski and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Structure and the Metaphysics of Mind is the first book to show how hylomorphism can be used to solve mind-body problems--persistent problems understanding how thought, feeling, perception, and other mental phenomena fit into the physical world described by our best science. Hylomorphism claims that structure is a basic ontological and explanatory principle. Some individuals, paradigmatically living things, consist of materials that are structured or organized in various ways. Those structures are responsible for individuals being the kinds of things they are, and having the kinds of powers or capacities they have. From a hylomorphic perspective, mind-body problems are byproducts of a worldview that rejects structure. Hylomorphic structure carves out distinctive individuals from the otherwise undifferentiated sea of matter and energy described by our best physics, and it confers on those individuals distinctive powers, including the powers to think, feel, and perceive. A worldview that rejects hylomorphic structure lacks a basic principle which distinguishes the parts of the physical universe that can think, feel, and perceive from those that can't, and without such a principle, the existence of those powers in the physical world can start to look inexplicable and mysterious. But if mental phenomena are structural phenomena, as hylomorphism claims, then they are uncontroversially part of the physical world, for on the hylomorphic view, structure is uncontroversially part of the physical world. Hylomorphism thus provides an elegant way of solving mind-body problems.

Mind and Cosmos

Author : Thomas Nagel
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199919755
Total Pages : 141 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (999 download)

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Book Synopsis Mind and Cosmos by : Thomas Nagel

Download or read book Mind and Cosmos written by Thomas Nagel and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-11-22 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The modern materialist approach to life has conspicuously failed to explain such central mind-related features of our world as consciousness, intentionality, meaning, and value. This failure to account for something so integral to nature as mind, argues philosopher Thomas Nagel, is a major problem, threatening to unravel the entire naturalistic world picture, extending to biology, evolutionary theory, and cosmology. Since minds are features of biological systems that have developed through evolution, the standard materialist version of evolutionary biology is fundamentally incomplete. And the cosmological history that led to the origin of life and the coming into existence of the conditions for evolution cannot be a merely materialist history, either. An adequate conception of nature would have to explain the appearance in the universe of materially irreducible conscious minds, as such. Nagel's skepticism is not based on religious belief or on a belief in any definite alternative. In Mind and Cosmos, he does suggest that if the materialist account is wrong, then principles of a different kind may also be at work in the history of nature, principles of the growth of order that are in their logical form teleological rather than mechanistic. In spite of the great achievements of the physical sciences, reductive materialism is a world view ripe for displacement. Nagel shows that to recognize its limits is the first step in looking for alternatives, or at least in being open to their possibility.

Narrative Naturalism

Author : Jessica Wahman
Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 0739187988
Total Pages : 209 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (391 download)

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Book Synopsis Narrative Naturalism by : Jessica Wahman

Download or read book Narrative Naturalism written by Jessica Wahman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Narrative Naturalism: An Alternative Framework for Philosophy of Mind provides an original framework for a non-reductive approach to mind and philosophical psychology. Jessica Wahman challenges the reductive (i.e., mechanistic and physicalist) assumptions that render the mind-body problem intractable, and claims that George Santayana’s naturalism provides a more beneficial epistemological method and ontological framework for thinking about the place of consciousness in the natural world. She uses Santayana’s thought as the primary inspiration for her own specific viewpoint, one that draws on a variety of sources, from analytic philosophy of mind to existentialism and psychoanalysis. This outlook, narrative naturalism, depicts sense-making as a kind of storytelling where different narratives serve different purposes, and Wahman offer a unique worldview to accommodate a variety of true expressions about the world, including truths about subjective existence. Motivated by a desire to challenge the reductionist approaches that explain human motivation and experience in terms of neuroscience and by the increasingly pharmacological interpretations of and solutions to psychological problems, Wahman’s overarching purpose is to reconstruct the issue so that neuroscience can be embraced as an indispensable story among others in our understanding of the human condition. When placed in this context, neurobiological discoveries better serve the values and practices associated with human self-knowledge and well-being. Narrative Naturalism will appeal to those interested in American philosophy, Santayana scholarship, pragmatist epistemology, philosophy of mind, philosophical psychology, and metaphysics.

Mind

Author : John R. Searle
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0199882681
Total Pages : 337 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (998 download)

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Book Synopsis Mind by : John R. Searle

Download or read book Mind written by John R. Searle and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004-11-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The philosophy of mind is unique among contemporary philosophical subjects," writes John Searle, "in that all of the most famous and influential theories are false." One of the world's most eminent thinkers, Searle dismantles these theories as he presents a vividly written, comprehensive introduction to the mind. He begins with a look at the twelve problems of philosophy of mind--which he calls "Descartes and Other Disasters"--problems which he returns to throughout the volume, as he illuminates such topics as materialism, consciousness, the mind-body problem, intentionality, mental causation, free will, and the self. The book offers a refreshingly direct and engaging introduction to one of the most intriguing areas of philosophy.

Chomsky and His Critics

Author : Louise M. Antony
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470779772
Total Pages : 352 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (77 download)

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Book Synopsis Chomsky and His Critics by : Louise M. Antony

Download or read book Chomsky and His Critics written by Louise M. Antony and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2008-04-15 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this compelling volume, ten distinguished thinkers -- William G. Lycan, Galen Strawson, Jeffrey Poland, Georges Rey, Frances Egan, Paul Horwich, Peter Ludlow, Paul Pietroski, Alison Gopnik, and Ruth Millikan -- address a variety of conceptual issues raised in Noam Chomsky's work. Distinguished list of critics: William G. Lycan, Galen Strawson, Jeffrey Poland, Georges Rey, Frances Egan, Paul Horwich, Peter Ludlow, Paul Pietroski, Alison Gopnik, and Ruth Millikan. Includes Chomsky's substantial new replies and responses to each essay. The best critical introduction to Chomsky's thought as a whole.

Complexity and the Function of Mind in Nature

Author : Peter Godfrey-Smith
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780521646246
Total Pages : 332 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (462 download)

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Book Synopsis Complexity and the Function of Mind in Nature by : Peter Godfrey-Smith

Download or read book Complexity and the Function of Mind in Nature written by Peter Godfrey-Smith and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1998-09-28 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explains the relationship between intelligence and environmental complexity, and in so doing links philosophy of mind to more general issues about the relations between organisms and environments, and to the general pattern of 'externalist' explanations. The author provides a biological approach to the investigation of mind and cognition in nature. In particular he explores the idea that the function of cognition is to enable agents to deal with environmental complexity. The history of the idea in the work of Dewey and Spencer is considered, as is the impact of recent evolutionary theory on our understanding of the place of mind in nature.

Naturalizing The Mind

Author : Fred Dretske
Publisher : MIT Press
ISBN 13 : 9780262540896
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (48 download)

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Book Synopsis Naturalizing The Mind by : Fred Dretske

Download or read book Naturalizing The Mind written by Fred Dretske and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1997-08-21 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Naturalizing the Mind skillfully develops a representational theory of the qualitative, the phenomenal, the what-it-is-like aspects of the mind that have defied traditional forms of naturalism. How can the baffling problems of phenomenal experience be accounted for? In this provocative book, Fred Dretske argues that to achieve an understanding of the mind it is not enough to understand the biological machinery by means of which the mind does its job. One must understand what the mind's job is and how this task can be performed by a physical system—the nervous system. Naturalizing the Mind skillfully develops a representational theory of the qualitative, the phenomenal, the what-it-is-like aspects of the mind that have defied traditional forms of naturalism. Central to Dretske's approach is the claim that the phenomenal aspects of perceptual experiences are one and the same as external, real-world properties that experience represents objects as having. Combined with an evolutionary account of sensory representation, the result is a completely naturalistic account of phenomenal consciousness. * Not for sale in France or Belgium.

Mind, Language And Society

Author : John R Searle
Publisher : Basic Books
ISBN 13 : 0786723874
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (867 download)

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Book Synopsis Mind, Language And Society by : John R Searle

Download or read book Mind, Language And Society written by John R Searle and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2008-08-04 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Disillusionment with psychology is leading more and more people to formal philosophy for clues about how to think about life. But most of us who try to grapple with concepts such as reality, truth, common sense, consciousness, and society lack the rigorous training to discuss them with any confidence. John Searle brings these notions down from their abstract heights to the terra firma of real-world understanding, so that those with no knowledge of philosophy can understand how these principles play out in our everyday lives. The author stresses that there is a real world out there to deal with, and condemns the belief that the reality of our world is dependent on our perception of it.

The Routledge Handbook of Consciousness

Author : Rocco J. Gennaro
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317386809
Total Pages : 775 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (173 download)

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Book Synopsis The Routledge Handbook of Consciousness by : Rocco J. Gennaro

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Consciousness written by Rocco J. Gennaro and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-03-15 with total page 775 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been an explosion of work on consciousness in the last 30–40 years from philosophers, psychologists, and neurologists. Thus, there is a need for an interdisciplinary, comprehensive volume in the field that brings together contributions from a wide range of experts on fundamental and cutting-edge topics. The Routledge Handbook of Consciousness fills this need and makes each chapter’s importance understandable to students and researchers from a variety of backgrounds. Designed to complement and better explain primary sources, this volume is a valuable "first-stop" publication for undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in any course on "Consciousness," "Philosophy of Mind," or "Philosophy of Psychology," as well as a valuable handbook for researchers in these fields who want a useful reference to have close at hand. The 34 chapters, all published here for the first time, are divided into three parts: Part I covers the "History and Background Metaphysics" of consciousness, such as dualism, materialism, free will, and personal identity, and includes a chapter on Indian philosophy. Part II is on specific "Contemporary Theories of Consciousness," with chapters on representational, information integration, global workspace, attention-based, and quantum theories. Part III is entitled "Major Topics in Consciousness Research," with chapters on psychopathologies, dreaming, meditation, time, action, emotion, multisensory experience, animal and robot consciousness, and the unity of consciousness. Each chapter begins with a brief introduction and concludes with a list of "Related Topics," as well as a list of "References," making the volume indispensable for the newcomer and experienced researcher alike.

Philosophy of Mind

Author : William Jaworski
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1444397583
Total Pages : 438 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (443 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy of Mind by : William Jaworski

Download or read book Philosophy of Mind written by William Jaworski and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-02-16 with total page 438 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: PHILOSOPHY of MIND “Philosophy of mind is an incredibly active field thanks in part to the recent explosion of work in the sciences of the mind. Jaworski’s book is a well-written, comprehensive, and sophisticated primer on all the live positions on the mind–body problem, including various kinds of physicalism, emergentism, and his own favorite, hylomorphism. This is a serious and responsible book for philosophy students, philosophers, and mind scientists who want to understand where they stand philosophically.” Owen Flanagan, Duke University Philosophy of Mind introduces readers to one of the liveliest fields in contemporary philosophy by discussing mind–body problems and the range of solutions to them: varieties of substance dualism, physicalism, dual-attribute theory, neutral monism, idealism, and hylomorphism. It treats each position fairly, in greater depth and detail than competing texts, and is written throughout in a clear, accessible style that is easy to read, free of technical jargon, and presupposes no prior knowledge of philosophy of mind. The result is a balanced overview of the entire field that enables students and instructors to grasp the essential arguments and jump immediately into current debates. William Jaworski discusses the impact of neuroscience, biology, psychology, and cognitive science on mind–body debates. Bibliographic essays at the end of each chapter bring readers up to speed on the latest literature and allow the text to be used in conjunction with primary sources. Numerous diagrams and illustrations help newcomers grasp the more complex ideas, and chapters on free will and the philosophy of persons make the book a flexible teaching tool for general philosophy courses in addition to courses in philosophy of mind.

Philosophy in a New Century

Author : John R. Searle
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1139473549
Total Pages : 202 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (394 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy in a New Century by : John R. Searle

Download or read book Philosophy in a New Century written by John R. Searle and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-12-04 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: John R. Searle has made profoundly influential contributions to three areas of philosophy: philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and philosophy of society. This volume gathers together in accessible form a selection of his essays in these areas. They range widely across social ontology, where Searle presents concise and informative statements of positions developed in more detail elsewhere; artificial intelligence and cognitive science, where Searle assesses the current state of the debate and develops his most recent thoughts; and philosophy of language, where Searle connects ideas from various strands of his work in order to develop original answers to fundamental questions. There are also explorations of the limitations of phenomenological inquiry, the mind-body problem, and the nature and future of philosophy. This rich collection from one of America's leading contemporary philosophers will be valuable for all who are interested in these central philosophical questions.