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"It seemed like a good idea at the time" has been the limp excuse of many a person whose actions later became cause for regret. Although we see ourselves as rational beings, we are far more likely to act according to impulse than logic. Nor is this always a bad thing, David Lewis suggests. Impulse explores all the mystifying things people do despite knowing better, from blurting out indiscretions to falling for totally incompatible romantic partners. Informed by the latest research in neuropsych...

This volume is aimed at readers who wish to move beyond debates about the existence of free will and the efficacy of consciousness and closer to appreciating how free will and consciousness might operate. It draws from philosophy and psychology, the two fields that have grappled most fundamentally with these issues. In this wide-ranging volume, the contributors explore such issues as how free will is connected to rational choice, planning, and self-control; roles for consciousness in decision...

This book shows how the brain-mind-body is a self-organizing system that constructs our experience of reality. Drawing upon the latest brain research and highlighting the connection to quantum physics, the author traces the development of intelligence from infancy to adulthood and explores the profound biological dynamic between the heart and mind. He further analyzes the major negative forces that hamper the development of intelligence and indicates children's premature exposure to such institu...

Adaptive Learning and the Human Condition presents the basic principles of classical (Pavlovian) and instrumental (Skinnerian) conditioning in a more coherent and expansive manner than is the case in other textbooks. Learning is defined as an adaptive process through which individuals acquire the ability to predict, and where possible, control the environment. This overarching definition enables integration of traditional Pavlovian and Skinnerian principles and terminology and makes explicit why...

"The soul never thinks without an image," claimed Aristotle. Indeed, as Angeles Arrien displays in this reissued edition of Signs of Life, shapes have significant psychological and mythological meanings embedded in our minds. Understanding the messages they convey and our attraction to them opens up a door to the secret workings of our inner selves and to a fuller appreciation of the art itself.As in her widely popular The Tarot Handbook, Arrien applies her background as a cultural anthropologis...

From a pioneer in the field of mental health comes a groundbreaking book on the healing power of 'mindsight', the potent skill that is the basis for both emotional and social intelligence. Using case histories from his practice, Dr Siegel shows how we can focus our attention on the internal world of the mind in a way that will literally change the wiring of our brain and allow us to break free from harmful patterns of behaviour.

This work outlines a new methodology for film analysis based on the radical materialist thought of Baruch Spinoza, re-evaluating contemporary cognitive media theory and philosophical theories on the emotional and intellectual aspects of film experience. Sticchi’s exploration of Spinozian philosophy creates an experiential constructive model to blend the affective and intellectual aspects of cognition, and to combine it with different philosophical interpretations of film theory. Spinoza’s embod...

Dieses Buch widmet sich der Experimentalpsychologie Wilhelm Wundts. Dieser etablierte 1879 das weltweit erste experimentalpsychologische Labor und gilt als Grundervater der wissenschaftlichen Psychologie. Er entwarf ein innovatives Forschungsprogramm, welches auf die Objektivierung psychologischer Selbstbeobachtung zielte. Die Autorin fragt nach dem Status des Subjekts in Wundts Experimentalpsychologie. Sie rekonstruiert die experimentelle Praxis der Introspektion und verortet diese im Spannungs...

The Logical Magic of Change is a common-sense guide to heartfelt and realistic positive thinking, which explains how to safely use the power of the mind to achieve and accomplish both on the inside and the outside. Based on firsthand experience over decades it covers the nitty gritty of inner change, and dispels common myths, such as that sickness and suffering is the result of 'wrong' thinking and can be fixed by 'right' thinking. Author Valerie Thompson, who is now a grandmother and comes from...

Making Sense of Inner Sense 'Terra cognita' is terra incognita. It is difficult to find someone not taken abackand fascinated by the incomprehensible but indisputable fact: there are material systems which are aware of themselves. Consciousness is self-cognizing code. During homo sapiens's relentness and often frustrated search for self-understanding various theories of consciousness have been and continue to be proposed. However, it remains unclear whether and at what level the problems...

"Theories of Truth" provides a critical introduction to one of the most difficult areas of philosophy. It surveys all of the major philosophical theories of truth, presenting the crux of the issues involved at a level accessible to nonexperts yet in a manner sufficiently detailed and original to be of value to professional scholars. Kirkham's systematic treatment and explanations of terminology ensure that readers should come away from this book with a comprehensive general understanding of one...

This book presents a theoretical critical appraisal of the Mechanistic Theory of Human Cognition (MTHC), which is one of the most popular major theories in the contemporary field of cognitive science. It analyses and evaluates whether MTHC provides a unifying account of human cognition and its explanation. The book presents a systematic investigation of the internal and external consistency of the theory, as well as a systematic comparison with other contemporary major theories in the field. In...

This book presents an analysis of the correlation between the mind and the body, a complex topic of study and discussion by scientists and philosophers. Drawing largely on neuroscience and philosophy, the author utilizes the scientific method and incorporates lessons learned from a vast array of sources. Based on the most recent cutting-edge scientific discoveries on the Mind-Body problem, Tomasi presents a full examination of multiple fields related to neuroscience. The volume offers a scientis...

This text is designed to provide an accessible introduction to Piaget's theory of child development and its relevance to classroom teaching. The theory is shown to emphasize the role of affective development and social interaction, as well as cognitive aspects of development.