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Contemporary philosophers of mind tend to assume that the world of nature can be reduced to basic physics. Yet there are features of the mind consciousness, intentionality, normativity that do not seem to be reducible to physics or neuroscience. This explanatory gap between mind and brain has thus been a major cause of concern in recent philosophy of mind. Reductionists hold that, despite all appearances, the mind can be reduced to the brain. Eliminativists hold that it cannot, and that this implies that there is something illegitimate about the mentalistic vocabulary. Dualists hold that the mental is irreducible, and that this implies either a substance or a property dualism. Mysterian non-reductive physicalists hold that the mind is uniquely irreducible, perhaps due to some limitation of our self-understanding. In this book, Steven Horst argues that this whole conversation is based on assumptions left over from an outdated philosophy of science. While reductionism was part of the philosophical orthodoxy fifty years ago, it has been decisively rejected by philosophers of science over the past thirty years, and for good reason. True reductions are in fact exceedingly rare in the sciences, and the conviction that they were there to be found was an artifact of armchair assumptions of 17th century Rationalists and 20th century Logical Empiricists. The explanatory gaps between mind and brain are far from unique. In fact, in the sciences it is gaps all the way down.And if reductions are rare in even the physical sciences, there is little reason to expect them in the case of psychology. Horst argues that this calls for a complete re-thinking of the contemporary problematic in philosophy of mind. Reductionism, dualism, eliminativism and non-reductive materialism are each severely compromised by post-reductionist philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind is in need of a new paradigm. Horst suggests that such a paradigm might be found in Cognitive Pluralism: the view that human cognitive architecture constrains us to understand the world through a plurality of partial, idealized, and pragmatically-constrained models, each employing a particular representational system optimized for its own problem domain. Such an architecture can explain the disunities of knowledge, and is plausible on evolutionary grounds.
Contemporary philosophers of mind tend to assume that the world of nature can be reduced to basic physics. Yet there are features of the mind consciousness, intentionality, normativity that do not seem to be reducible to physics or neuroscience. This explanatory gap between mind and brain has thus been a major cause of concern in recent philosophy of mind. Reductionists hold that, despite all appearances, the mind can be reduced to the brain. Eliminativists hold that it cannot, and that this implies that there is something illegitimate about the mentalistic vocabulary. Dualists hold that the mental is irreducible, and that this implies either a substance or a property dualism. Mysterian non-reductive physicalists hold that the mind is uniquely irreducible, perhaps due to some limitation of our self-understanding. In this book, Steven Horst argues that this whole conversation is based on assumptions left over from an outdated philosophy of science. While reductionism was part of the philosophical orthodoxy fifty years ago, it has been decisively rejected by philosophers of science over the past thirty years, and for good reason. True reductions are in fact exceedingly rare in the sciences, and the conviction that they were there to be found was an artifact of armchair assumptions of 17th century Rationalists and 20th century Logical Empiricists. The explanatory gaps between mind and brain are far from unique. In fact, in the sciences it is gaps all the way down.And if reductions are rare in even the physical sciences, there is little reason to expect them in the case of psychology. Horst argues that this calls for a complete re-thinking of the contemporary problematic in philosophy of mind. Reductionism, dualism, eliminativism and non-reductive materialism are each severely compromised by post-reductionist philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind is in need of a new paradigm. Horst suggests that such a paradigm might be found in Cognitive Pluralism: the view that human cognitive architecture constrains us to understand the world through a plurality of partial, idealized, and pragmatically-constrained models, each employing a particular representational system optimized for its own problem domain. Such an architecture can explain the disunities of knowledge, and is plausible on evolutionary grounds.
This book highlights strategies for poverty reduction in developing countries, with emphasis on the power of the market mechanism and vigor of the private sector, focusing ODA on a few longer term challenges and leveraging advances in technology to the fullest, and underlining the importance of human rights and security.
While much attention has been devoted to the conflicts between religion and science in the modern age, less rarely has sufficient attention been devoted to the complex interplay between religion, science and philosophy. This book offers a set of wide-ranging essays in which the interplay between all these three is the explicit focus of attention. The essays reflect a desire to think of this interplay in terms other than conflict and reduction. The book also represents a pluralism of approaches to reflection on this interplay. Part I represents a more idealistic orientation in which religion, philosophy and science are seen to enjoy a complementarity. Part II formulates the interplay more from the standpoint of process philosophy. Part III explores the issue with primary emphasis on the contributions of science. In Part IV the essays reflect a desire to take the religious on its own terms, and explore the interplay with philosophy and science with the proper seriousness solicited by these terms.
This volume investigates the notion of reduction. Building on the idea that philosophers employ the term ‘reduction’ to reconcile diversity and directionality with unity, without relying on elimination, the book offers a powerful explication of an “ontological”, notion of reduction the extension of which is (primarily) formed by properties, kinds, individuals, or processes. It argues that related notions of reduction, such as theory-reduction and functional reduction, should be defined in terms of this explication. Thereby, the book offers a coherent framework, which sheds light on the history of the various reduction debates in the philosophy of science and in the philosophy of mind, and on related topics such as reduction and unification, the notion of a scientific level, and physicalism. The book takes its point of departure in the examination of a puzzle about reduction. To illustrate, the book takes as an example the reduction of water. If water reduces to H2O, then water is identical to H2O – thus we get unity. Unity does not come at the price of elimination – claiming that water reduces to H2O, we do not thereby claim that there is no water. But what about diversity and directionality? Intuitively, there should be a difference between water and H2O, such that we get diversity. This is required for there to be directionality: in a sense, if water reduces to H2O, then H2O is prior to, or more basic than water. At least, if water reduces to H2O, then H2O does not reduce to water. But how can this be, if water is identical to H2O? The book shows that the application of current models of reduction does not solve this puzzle, and proposes a new coherent definition, according to which unity is tied to identity, diversity is descriptive in nature, and directionality is the directionality of explanation.
This book is among the first to take the poverty reduction paradigm as its central focus. Offering a comprehensive introduction, overview and critique, it traces the emergence of the framework and illustrates its consequences with global case studies.
A practical stress-reduction program that uses meditation and spirituality to help you relieve headaches, lower blood pressure, fight insomnia, and decrease anxiety. "Workable and tested solutions for liberating the mind and body from tension, despair, and panic that predispose the human organism to disease." —Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of an Illness In just minutes a day, you can easily master the techniques that have helped millions conquer or alleviate stress. Employing neither drugs nor doctors, Dr. Herbert Benson’s program is considered by many to be the most beneficial step forward in personal health and well-being in our time. Using what Dr. Benson calls the Faith Factor—a combination of meditation and religious or philosophical convictions—you can: • Reduce overall stress • Relieve headaches, backaches, and chest pains • Lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels • Fight insomnia • Decrease anxiety • Achieve greater inner peace and emotional balance
Victor Volkman has created a tool that takes the mystery out of one of the more remarkably effective clinical procedures in a way that can help millions of people revitalize and improve their lives. To those desperate people who have experienced trauma or tragedy, this process is a pathway to dealing with their feelings and getting on with their lives. In the new book Beyond Trauma, Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction Volkman presents a series of conversations with a wide range of people from many different backgrounds and experiences. Each provides his or her perspective on Traumatic Incident Reduction, or TIR for short. The book explains the techniques used by professionals and patients to help people sort out, resolve and overcome the negative effects of painful suffering. Untold countless people have to deal with trauma in a wide variety of situations: Soldiers who experience war or injury, families dealing with death, chemical or substance abuse, parental neglect, child or sexual abuse, terrorism, crime and punishment. Beyond Trauma: Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction (TIR), is unique in that it addresses both people suffering from the effects of traumatic stress and the practitioners who help them. This method has been effective in dealing with many areas of trauma, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), in such diverse groups as veterans, children, 9/11 survivors, motor vehicle accident and sexual abuse survivors. TIR is a brief, one-on-one, non-hypnotic, person-centered, simple, and highly structured method for permanently eliminating the negative effects of past traumas. Contributors include world-renowned experts in traumatology including Windy Dryden, Ph.D., Joyce Carbonell, Ph.D., and TIR's developer Frank A. Gerbode, M.D. Beyond Trauma highlights stories of TIR helping survivors to regain control of their lives. This book will be life changing not only for survivors of traumatic incidents but also for the professionals committed to helping them. "Not in 30+ years of practice have I used a more remarkably effective clinical procedure." --Robert H. Moore, Ph.D. What people are saying about this book: . "Beyond Trauma: Conversations on Traumatic Incident Reduction is an excellent resource to begin one's mastery in this area of practice." --Michael G. Tancyus, LCSW, DCSW, Augusta Behavioral Health . "I have found Beyond Trauma to be EXCEPTIONALLY HELPFUL in understanding and practicing TIR in broad and diverse areas of practice, not just in traditional trauma work. The information from various points of view is really priceless." --Gerry Bock, Registered Clinical Counsellor, B.C. Canada . "Beyond Trauma offers PTSD sufferers a glimpse at a light at the end of the tunnel, while providing mental health workers with a revolutionary technique that could increase their success rate with traumatized clients" --Jeni Mayer, Body Mind Spirit Magazine . "Having read the book, I feel that I have already become better at working with distressed clients." -- Bob Rich, Ph.D.
This book examines the dynamics of attitudinal change from the individual to the group levels and proposes a proactive analytical framework.