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Greek Models of Mind and Self (Revealing antiquity ; #22)
by Anthony A. LongA. A. Long’s study of Greek notions of mind and human selfhood is anchored in questions of universal interest. What happens to us when we die? How is the mind or soul related to the body? Are we responsible for our own happiness? Can we achieve autonomy? Long shows that Greek thinkers’ modeling of the mind gave us metaphors that we still live by.
The Analysis of Biological Data, Second Edition
by Michael C. Whitlock Dolph SchluterThis second edition textbook teaches modern methods of statistics through the use of fascinating biological and medical case studies. The clear and engaging writing and practical perspective allows students to understand the analytical process behind biological data. Through the use of real world biological examples, biologists and health professionals can learn statistics in an essential manner.
Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind
by Evan ThompsonHow is life related to the mind? Thompson explores this so-called explanatory gap between biological life and consciousness, drawing on sources as diverse as molecular biology, evolutionary theory, artificial life, complex systems theory, neuroscience, psychology, Continental Phenomenology, and analytic philosophy. Ultimately he shows that mind and life are more continuous than previously accepted, and that current explanations do not adequately address the myriad facets of the biology and phenomenology of mind.
Puzzling Identities (Institute For Human Sciences Vienna Lecture Ser. #4)
by Vincent DescombesAs a logical concept, identity refers to one and the same thing. So how can it describe membership in various groups, as in ethnic and religious identity? Bringing together an analytic conception of identity with a psychosocial understanding, Vincent Descombes demonstrates why a person has more than one answer to the essential question Who am I?
Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly (Mary Flexner Lectures Of Bryn Mawr College Ser. #3)
by Judith ButlerA Times Higher Education Book of the Week Judith Butler elucidates the dynamics of public assembly under prevailing economic and political conditions, analyzing what they signify and how. Understanding assemblies as plural forms of performative action, Butler extends her theory of performativity to argue that precarity—the destruction of the conditions of livability—has been a galvanizing force and theme in today’s highly visible protests. “Butler’s book is everything that a book about our planet in the 21st century should be. It does not turn its back on the circumstances of the material world or give any succour to those who wish to view the present (and the future) through the lens of fantasies about the transformative possibilities offered by conventional politics Butler demonstrates a clear engagement with an aspect of the world that is becoming in many political contexts almost illicit to discuss: the idea that capitalism, certainly in its neoliberal form, is failing to provide a liveable life for the majority of human beings.” —Mary Evans, Times Higher Education “A heady immersion into the thought of one of today’s most profound philosophers of action…This is a call for a truly transformative politics, and its relevance to the fraught struggles taking place in today’s streets and public spaces around the world cannot be denied.” —Hans Rollman, PopMatters
Living with Robots
by Paul DumouchelLiving with Robots recounts a foundational shift in robotics, from artificial intelligence to artificial empathy, and foreshadows an inflection point in human evolution. As robots engage with people in socially meaningful ways, social robotics probes the nature of the human emotions that social robots are designed to emulate.
Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity among Men
by Ritch C. Savin-WilliamsA growing number of young men today say they are “mostly straight” and yet feel a slight but enduring desire for men. Ritch Savin-Williams explores the stories of 40 mostly straight young men to help us understand the biological, psychological, and cultural forces that are loosening the sexual bind many boys and young men experience.
Varieties of Presence
by Alva Noë Alva NoëThe world shows up for us, but, as Alva Noë contends in his latest exploration of the problem of consciousness, it doesn’t show up for free. We must show up, too, and bring along what knowledge and skills we’ve cultivated. As with a painting in a gallery, the world has no meaning—no presence to be experienced—apart from our able engagement with it.
Testing Prayer: Science And Healing
by Candy Gunther BrownDrawing on medical records, surveys of prayer recipients, prospective clinical trials, and multiyear follow-up observations and interviews, Brown shows that the widespread perception of prayer’s healing power has demonstrable social effects which can in some cases produce improvements in health that can be scientifically verified.
The Duke and the Stars: Astrology And Politics In Renaissance Milan (I Tatti studies in Italian Renaissance history #5)
by Monica AzzoliniThe Duke and the Stars explores science and medicine as studied and practiced in fifteenth-century Italy, including how astrology was taught in relation to astronomy. It illustrates how the “predictive art” of astrology was often a critical, secretive source of information for Italian Renaissance rulers, particularly in times of crisis.
Alien Landscapes?: Interpreting Disordered Minds
by Jonathan GloverDo people with mental disorders share enough psychology with other people to make human interpretation possible? Jonathan Glover tackles the hard cases—violent criminals, people with delusions, autism, schizophrenia—to answer affirmatively. He offers values linked with agency and identity to guide how the boundaries of psychiatry should be drawn.
Self-Consciousness and Objectivity: An Introduction to Absolute Idealism
by Sebastian RödlSebastian Rödl undermines a foundational dogma of contemporary philosophy: that knowledge, in order to be objective, must be knowledge of something that is as it is, independent of being known to be so. This profound work revives the thought that knowledge, precisely on account of being objective, is self-knowledge: knowledge knowing itself.
Beauty without the Breast (Women, Health, And Equity Ser. #Women & Health)
by Felicia Marie KnaulFelicia Knaul, an economist who has lived and worked for two decades in Latin America on health and social development, documents the personal and professional sides of her breast cancer experience. Beauty without the Breast contrasts her difficult but inspiring journey with that of the majority of women throughout the world who face not only the disease but stigma, discrimination, and lack of access to health care. This wrenching contrast is the cancer divide — an equity imperative in global health. Knaul exposes barriers affecting women in low and middle-income countries and highlights the role of men, family, and community in responding to the challenge of breast cancer. She shares striking data about breast cancer, a leading killer of young women in developing countries, and narrates the process of applying this evidence and launching Tómatelo a Pecho (also the book title in Spanish)— a Mexico-based program promoting awareness and access to health care. The book concludes with letters from Dr. Julio Frenk, her husband and former Minister of Health of Mexico, written while they shared the trauma of diagnosis and treatment. With force and lucidity, the book narrates the journey of patient and family as they courageously navigate disease and survivorship.
Eros and Illness
by David B. MorrisWhen we or our loved ones fall ill, our world is thrown into disarray, our routines are interrupted, our beliefs shaken. David Morris offers an unconventional, deeply human exploration of what it means to live with, and live through, disease. He shows how desire—emotions, dreams, stories, romance, even eroticism—plays a crucial part in illness.
The Hidden Mechanics of Exercise: Molecules That Move Us
by Christopher M. GillenThe Hidden Mechanics of Exercise reveals the microworld of the body in motion, from motor proteins that produce force to enzymes that extract energy from food, and tackles questions athletes ask: What should we ingest before and during a race? How does a hard workout trigger changes in our muscles? Why does exercise make us feel good?
Varieties of Presence
by Alva Noë Alva NoëThe world shows up for us, but, as Alva Noë contends in his latest exploration of the problem of consciousness, it doesn’t show up for free. We must show up, too, and bring along what knowledge and skills we’ve cultivated. As with a painting in a gallery, the world has no meaning—no presence to be experienced—apart from our able engagement with it.
Self-Consciousness and Objectivity: An Introduction to Absolute Idealism
by Sebastian RödlSebastian Rödl undermines a foundational dogma of contemporary philosophy: that knowledge, in order to be objective, must be knowledge of something that is as it is, independent of being known to be so. This profound work revives the thought that knowledge, precisely on account of being objective, is self-knowledge: knowledge knowing itself.
Virtues of Thought: Essays On Plato And Aristotle
by Aryeh KosmanExploring what two foundational figures, Plato and Aristotle, have to say about the nature of human awareness and understanding, Aryeh Kosman concludes that ultimately the virtues of thought are to be found in the joys and satisfactions that come from thinking philosophically, whether we engage in it ourselves or witness others' participation.
Childhood Obesity in America: Biography Of An Epidemic
by Laura DawesObesity among American children has reached epidemic proportions. Laura Dawes traces changes in diagnosis, treatment, and popular conceptions of the most serious health problem facing American children today, and makes the case that understanding the cultural history of a disease is critical to developing effective public health policy.
Mostly Straight: Sexual Fluidity among Men
by Ritch C. Savin-WilliamsA growing number of young men today say they are “mostly straight” and yet feel a slight but enduring desire for men. Ritch Savin-Williams explores the stories of 40 mostly straight young men to help us understand the biological, psychological, and cultural forces that are loosening the sexual bind many boys and young men experience.
Rules, Reason, and Self-Knowledge
by Julia TanneyTanney challenges not only the cognitivist approach that has dominated philosophy and the special sciences for fifty years, but metaphysical-empirical approaches to the mind in general. Rules, Reason, and Self-Knowledge advocates a return to the world-involving, circumstance-dependent, normative practices where the rational mind has its home.
Testing Prayer: Science And Healing
by Candy Gunther BrownDrawing on medical records, surveys of prayer recipients, prospective clinical trials, and multiyear follow-up observations and interviews, Brown shows that the widespread perception of prayer’s healing power has demonstrable social effects which can in some cases produce improvements in health that can be scientifically verified.
The Institutions of Meaning: A Defense Of Anthropological Holism
by Vincent DescombesHolism maintains that a phenomenon is more than the sum of its parts. Yet analysis--a mental process crucial to comprehension--involves dismantling the whole to grasp it piecemeal and relationally. Wading through such quandaries, Vincent Descombes guides readers to a deepened appreciation of the entity that enables understanding: the human mind.
Aspects of Psychologism
by Tim CraneAspects of Psychologism is a penetrating look into fundamental philosophical questions of consciousness, perception, and the experience we have of our mental lives. Psychologism, in Tim Crane's formulation, presents the mind as a single subject-matter to be investigated not only empirically and conceptually but also phenomenologically: through the systematic examination of consciousness and thought from the subject's point of view. How should we think about the mind? Analytical philosophy tends to address this question by examining the language we use to talk about our minds, and thus translates our knowledge of consciousness into knowledge of the concepts which this language embodies. Psychologism rejects this approach. The philosophy of mind, Crane contends, has become too narrow in its purely conceptual focus on the logical and linguistic formulas that structure thought. We cannot assume that the categories needed to understand the mind correspond absolutely with such semantic categories. Crane's claim is that intentionality--the "aboutness" or "directedness" of the mind--is essential to all mental phenomena. He criticizes materialist doctrines about consciousness and defends the position that perception can represent the world in a non-conceptual, non-propositional way, opening up philosophy to a more realistic account of the mind's nature.
Global Health Law: Biological Weapons, Public Health, And The Rule Of Law
by Lawrence O. GostinDespite global progress, staggering health inequalities between rich and poor raise basic questions of social justice. Defining the field of global health law, Lawrence Gostin drives home the need for effective governance and offers a blueprint for reform, based on the principle that the opportunity to live a healthy life is a basic human right.