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Mindvaults: Sociocultural Grounds for Pretending and Imagining (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Radu J. BogdanAn argument that the uniquely human capacities of pretending and imagining develop in response to sociocultural and sociopolitical pressures in childhood.The human mind has the capacity to vault over the realm of current perception, motivation, emotion, and action, to leap—consciously and deliberately—to past or future, possible or impossible, abstract or concrete scenarios and situations. In this book, Radu Bogdan examines the roots of this uniquely human ability, which he terms "mindvaulting." He focuses particularly on the capacities of pretending and imagining, which he identifies as the first forms of mindvaulting to develop in childhood. Pretending and imagining, Bogdan argues, are crucial steps on the ontogenetic staircase to the intellect.Bogdan finds that pretending and then imagining develop from a variety of sources for reasons that are specific and unique to human childhood. He argues that these capacities arise as responses to sociocultural and sociopolitical pressures that emerge at different stages of childhood. Bogdan argues that some of the properties of mindvaulting—including domain versatility and nonmodularity—resist standard evolutionary explanations. To resolve this puzzle, Bogdan reorients the evolutionary analysis toward human ontogeny, construed as a genuine space of evolution with specific pressures and adaptive responses. Bogdan finds that pretending is an ontogenetic response to sociocultural challenges in early childhood, a pre-adaptation for imagining; after age four, the adaptive response to cooperative and competitive sociopolitical pressures is a competence for mental strategizing that morphs into imagining.
Mindvaults: Sociocultural Grounds for Pretending and Imagining
by Radu J. BogdanThe human mind has the capacity to vault over the realm of current perception,motivation, emotion, and action, to leap -- consciously and deliberately -- to past or future,possible or impossible, abstract or concrete scenarios and situations. In this book, Radu Bogdanexamines the roots of this uniquely human ability, which he terms "mindvaulting. " He focusesparticularly on the capacities of pretending and imagining, which he identifies as the first formsof mindvaulting to develop in childhood. Pretending and imagining, Bogdan argues, are crucial stepson the ontogenetic staircase to the intellect. Bogdan finds that pretending and then imaginingdevelop from a variety of sources for reasons that are specific and unique to human childhood. Heargues that these capacities arise as responses to sociocultural and sociopolitical pressures thatemerge at different stages of childhood. Bogdan argues that some of the properties of mindvaulting-- including domain versatility and nonmodularity -- resist standard evolutionary explanations. Toresolve this puzzle, Bogdan reorients the evolutionary analysis toward human ontogeny, construed asa genuine space of evolution with specific pressures and adaptive responses. Bogdan finds thatpretending is an ontogenetic response to sociocultural challenges in early childhood, apre-adaptation for imagining; after age four, the adaptive response to cooperative and competitivesociopolitical pressures is a competence for mental strategizing that morphs intoimagining.
Mindware: Herramientas para pensar mejor
by Richard E. NisbettUn libro revelador que nos enseña a analizar problemas cotidianos aplicando las herramientas científicas más útiles para tomar mejores decisiones profesionales, empresariales y personales. Hay conceptos científicos y lógicos que cambian el modo en que solucionamos problemas cotidianos al ayudarnos a pensar de modo más claro acerca del mundo y de nuestras acciones. Sorprendentemente, pese a su utilidad, muchas de estas herramientas permanecen olvidadas por la mayoría de nosotros. En Mindware, el eminente psicólogo Richard E. Nisbett expone estos conceptos de manera clara y accesible. La distinguida carrera de Nisbett ha consistido en el estudio y la difusión de ideas tan potentes para resolver situaciones como la ley de los grandes números, regresiones estadísticas, análisis de coste y beneficio, costes de oportunidad y costes hundidos, o la causalidad y la correlación, en busca de la mejor manera de lograr que los demás los usen eficazmente en su día a día. En este libro, Nisbett nos enseña a analizar problemas habituales de manera que estos principios científicos y estadísticos sean aplicables. El resultado es una guía tan práctica como iluminadora a las herramientas de pensamiento más importantes; herramientas que se pueden emplear de modo inmediato para tomar mejores decisiones profesionales, empresariales y personales. Críticas:«El pensador que más me ha influido es el psicólogo Richard Nisbett. A él le debo mi visión del mundo.»Malcolm Gladwell «Mindware nos ofrece la oportunidad de comprender y reaccionar de modo más inteligente al caótico mundo que nos rodea.»Leonard Mlodinow, The New Yor Times Book Review
Minerva's Night Out: Philosophy, Pop Culture, and Moving Pictures
by Noël CarrollMinerva’s Night Out presents series of essays by noted philosopher and motion picture and media theorist Noël Carroll that explore issues at the intersection of philosophy, motion pictures, and popular culture. Presents a wide-ranging series of essays that reflect on philosophical issues relating to modern film and popular culture Authored by one of the best known philosophers dealing with film and popular culture Written in an accessible manner to appeal to students and scholars Coverage ranges from the philosophy of Halloween to Vertigo and the pathologies of romantic love
Minerva's Owl: The Tradition of Western Political Thought
by Jeffrey B AbramsonAs Hegel famously noted, referring to the Roman goddess Minerva, her owl brought back wisdom only at dusk, when it was too late to shine light on actual politics. Jeffrey Abramson provides a lively and accessible guide for readers discovering the tradition of political thought that dates back to Socrates and Plato, with contemporary examples that illustrate the enduring nature of political dilemmas.
Mini Big Ideas: A Little Book of Big Innovations
by Jonny Thomson'Witty, knowledgeable and mind-expanding' RICHARD FISHER | 'A joyful romp' TOM HARFORD | 'A fun and inspiring teaser for curious minds' JÉRÉMIE HARRISEvery so often, a new idea comes along that changes everything. Vaccinations. Relativity. Fascism. Can we imagine a world before the invention of writing? What would Christianity have looked like without with a concept of hell? Sometimes these ideas come along suddenly: Copernicus suggesting the earth revolves around the sun; Gutenberg's printing press, Darwin's theory of evolution. Sometimes they evolve over generations: the institution of marriage; the development of animal husbandry; the understanding of genetics. Either way, once the idea gains a foothold, nothing is the same again.This fascinating little book tells the stories behind 150 revolutionary concepts and explains why they are important. Taken from the realms of science, politics, society, religion and technology, these are the big ideas that have changed the world - in a nutshell.
Mini Big Ideas: A Little Book of Big Innovations
by Jonny Thomson'Witty, knowledgeable and mind-expanding' RICHARD FISHER | 'A joyful romp' TOM HARFORD | 'A fun and inspiring teaser for curious minds' JÉRÉMIE HARRISEvery so often, a new idea comes along that changes everything. Vaccinations. Relativity. Fascism. Can we imagine a world before the invention of writing? What would Christianity have looked like without with a concept of hell? Sometimes these ideas come along suddenly: Copernicus suggesting the earth revolves around the sun; Gutenberg's printing press, Darwin's theory of evolution. Sometimes they evolve over generations: the institution of marriage; the development of animal husbandry; the understanding of genetics. Either way, once the idea gains a foothold, nothing is the same again.This fascinating little book tells the stories behind 150 revolutionary concepts and explains why they are important. Taken from the realms of science, politics, society, religion and technology, these are the big ideas that have changed the world - in a nutshell.
Mini Big Ideas: A Little Book of Big Innovations
by Jonny ThomsonFrom the internationally acclaimed author of MINI PHILOSOPHY, here are 150 big ideas in bite-sized chunks.Every so often, a new idea comes along that changes everything. Vaccinations. Relativity. Fascism. Can we imagine a world before the invention of writing? What would Christianity have looked like without with a concept of hell? Sometimes these ideas come along suddenly: Copernicus suggesting the earth revolves around the sun; Gutenberg's printing press, Darwin's theory of evolution. Sometimes they evolve over generations: the institution of marriage; the development of animal husbandry; the understanding of genetics. Either way, once the idea gains a foothold, nothing is the same again.This fascinating little audiobook tells the stories behind 150 revolutionary concepts and explains why they are important. Taken from the realms of science, politics, society, religion and technology, these are the big ideas that have changed the world - in a nutshell.(P) 2023 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
Mini Philosophy: A Small Book of Big Ideas
by Jonny Thomson'Engaging, smart and wise, Mini-Philosophy is a diverse taster menu of ideas on life, the mind and the world. Nutritious, bite-sized portions of philosophy that whet the appetite for more' - David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone ClocksWhy do people enjoy watching scary movies? Should we bet on the existence of God? Why is pleasure better than pain? And when is a duck not a duck?Mini Philosophy is a fascinating journey into what some of the greatest minds of the last 2500 years have to say about the big questions in life, and why they are relevant to us today.Covering everything from Sun Tzu's strategy for winning at board games to Freud's insights into our 'death drive'; why De Beauvoir believed the mothering instinct is a myth to why Schopenhauer probably wasn't much fun at parties, these mini meditations will expand your mind (and bend it too).
Mini Philosophy: A Small Book of Big Ideas
by Jonny Thomson'Engaging, smart and wise, Mini-Philosophy is a diverse taster menu of ideas on life, the mind and the world. Nutritious, bite-sized portions of philosophy that whet the appetite for more' - David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone ClocksWhy do people enjoy watching scary movies? Should we bet on the existence of God? Why is pleasure better than pain? And when is a duck not a duck?Mini Philosophy is a fascinating journey into what some of the greatest minds of the last 2500 years have to say about the big questions in life, and why they are relevant to us today.Covering everything from Sun Tzu's strategy for winning at board games to Freud's insights into our 'death drive'; why De Beauvoir believed the mothering instinct is a myth to why Schopenhauer probably wasn't much fun at parties, these mini meditations will expand your mind (and bend it too).
Mini Philosophy: A Small Book of Big Ideas
by Jonny Thomson150 bite-sized insights into philosophy's greatest minds. 'Engaging, smart and wise, Mini-Philosophy is a diverse taster menu of ideas on life, the mind and the world. Nutritious, bite-sized portions of philosophy that whet the appetite for more' - David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas and The Bone Clocks Why do people enjoy watching scary movies? Should we bet on the existence of God? Why is pleasure better than pain? And when is a duck not a duck? Mini Philosophy is a fascinating journey into what some of the greatest minds of the last 2500 years have to say about the big questions in life, and why they are relevant to us today. Covering everything from Sun Tzu's strategy for winning at board games to Freud's insights into our 'death drive'; why De Beauvoir believed the mothering instinct is a myth to why Schopenhauer probably wasn't much fun at parties, these mini meditations will expand your mind (and bend it too).(P) 2021 Headline Publishing Group Ltd
The Miniature Guide To Critical Thinking Concepts And Tools
by Richard Paul Linda ElderThis miniature guide, which has sold more than half a million copies, is widely used in teaching and learning, in personal and professional life. It distills the essence of critical thinking into a 24-page, pocket-sized guide. It introduces the interrelated complex of critical thinking concepts and principles implicit in the works of Richard Paul and Linda Elder. This guide is widely used at the college level. It can be used as a critical thinking supplement to any textbook or course.
Miniature Metropolis
by Andreas HuyssenAndreas Huyssen explores the history and theory of metropolitan miniatures--short prose pieces about urban life written for European newspapers. His fine-grained readings open vistas into German critical theory and the visual arts, revealing the miniature to be one of the few genuinely innovative modes of spatialized writing created by modernism.
Minik: An Arctic Explorer, a Museum, and the Betrayal of the Inuit People
by Kenn Harper Kevin SpaceyA true story from the great age of Arctic exploration of an Inuit boy's struggle for dignity against Robert Peary and the American Museum of Natural History in turn-of-the-century New York City.Sailing aboard a ship called Hope in 1897, celebrated Arctic explorer Robert Peary entered New York Harbor with peculiar "cargo": Six Polar Inuit intended to serve as live "specimens" at the American Museum of Natural History. Four died within a year. One managed to gain passage back to Greenland. Only the sixth, a boy of six or seven with a precociously solemn smile, remained. His name was Minik.Although Harper's unflinching narrative provides a much needed corrective to history's understanding of Peary, who was known among the Polar Inuit as "the great tormenter", it is primarily a story about a boy, Minik Wallace, known to the American public as "The New York Eskimo." Orphaned when his father died of pneumonia, Minik never surrendered the hope of going "home," never stopped fighting for the dignity of his father's memory, and never gave up his belief that people would come to his aid if only he could get them to understand.
Minima Moralia: Reflections On A Damaged Life (Radical Thinkers #Vol. 1)
by Theodor AdornoA reflection on everyday existence in the ‘sphere of consumption of late Capitalism’, this work is Adorno’s literary and philosophical masterpiece. Built from aphorisms and reflections, he shifts in register from personal experience to the most general theoretical problems.
Minima Moralia: Reflections From Damaged Life
by Theodor AdornoA reflection on everyday existence in the ‘sphere of consumption of late Capitalism’, this work is Adorno’s literary and philosophical masterpiece. Built from aphorisms and reflections, he shifts in register from personal experience to the most general theoretical problems.
Minima Moralia: Reflections on a Damaged Life
by Theodor W. Adorno E. F. N. JephcottA reflection on everyday existence in the 'sphere of consumption of late Capitalism', this work is Adorno's literary and philosophical masterpiece.
Minimal Cooperation and Shared Agency (Studies in the Philosophy of Sociality #11)
by Anika FiebichThis volume examines minimality in cooperation and shared agency from various angles. It features essays written by top scholars in the philosophy of mind and action. Taken together, the essays provide a genuine contribution to the contemporary joint action debate.The main accounts in this debate present sufficient rather than necessary or minimal criteria for there to be cooperation. Much discussion in the debate deals with robust rather than more attenuate and simple cases of cooperation or shared agency. Focusing on such minimal cases, however, may help to explain how cooperation comes into existence and how minimal cooperation interrelates with more complex cases of cooperation. The contributors discuss minimality in cooperation by focusing on particular aspects. For example, they consider how social roles might deliver minimal cooperation constraints or what the minimal contextual criteria are for cooperation to emerge.Readers will find the answers to these and other questions: What is minimally cooperative behavior? By what steps could full members of a society organized by conventions, norms and institutions be constructed from creatures with minimal social skills and cognitive abilities? What do we experience of actions when we act together with a purpose?
A Minimal Metaphysics for Scientific Practice
by Andreas HüttemannWhat are the metaphysical commitments which best 'make sense' of our scientific practice (rather than our scientific theories)? In this book, Andreas Hüttemann provides a minimal metaphysics for scientific practice, i.e. a metaphysics that refrains from postulating any structure that is explanatorily irrelevant. Hüttemann closely analyses paradigmatic aspects of scientific practice, such as prediction, explanation and manipulation, to consider the questions whether and (if so) what metaphysical presuppositions best account for these practices. He looks at the role which scientific generalisation (laws of nature) play in predicting, testing, and explaining the behaviour of systems. He also develops a theory of causation in terms of quasi-inertial processes and interfering factors, and he proposes an account of reductive practices that makes minimal metaphysical assumptions. His book will be valuable for scholars and advanced students working in both philosophy of science and metaphysics.
Minimal Theologies: Critiques of Secular Reason in Adorno and Levinas
by Hent de VriesOriginally published in in 2004. What, at this historical moment "after Auschwitz," still remains of the questions traditionally asked by theology? What now is theology's minimal degree? This magisterial study, the first extended comparison of the writings of Theodor W. Adorno and Emmanuel Levinas, explores remnants and echoes of religious forms in these thinkers' critiques of secular reason, finding in the work of both a "theology in pianissimo" constituted by the trace of a transcendent other. The author analyzes, systematizes, and formalizes this idea of an other of reason. In addition, he frames these thinkers' innovative projects within the arguments of such intellectual heirs as Jürgen Habermas and Jacques Derrida, defending their work against later accusations of "performative contradiction" (by Habermas) or "empiricism" (by Derrida) and in the process casting important new light on those later writers as well. Attentive to rhetorical and rational features of Adorno's and Levinas's texts, his investigations of the concepts of history, subjectivity, and language in their writings provide a radical interpretation of their paradoxical modes of thought and reveal remarkable and hitherto unsuspected parallels between their philosophical methods, parallels that amount to a plausible way of overcoming certain impasses in contemporary philosophical thinking. In Adorno, this takes the form of a dialectical critique of dialectics; in Levinas, that of a phenomenological critique of phenomenology, each of which sheds new light on ancient and modern questions of metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics. For the English-language publication, the author has extensively revised and updated the prize-winning German version.
A Minimalist Ontology of the Natural World (Routledge Studies in the Philosophy of Mathematics and Physics)
by Michael Esfeld Dirk-Andre DeckertThis book seeks to work out which commitments are minimally sufficient to obtain an ontology of the natural world that matches all of today’s well-established physical theories. We propose an ontology of the natural world that is defined only by two axioms: (1) There are distance relations that individuate simple objects, namely matter points. (2) The matter points are permanent, with the distances between them changing. Everything else comes in as a means to represent the change in the distance relations in a manner that is both as simple and as informative as possible. The book works this minimalist ontology out in philosophical as well as mathematical terms and shows how one can understand classical mechanics, quantum field theory and relativistic physics on the basis of this ontology. Along the way, we seek to achieve four subsidiary aims: (a) to make a case for a holistic individuation of the basic objects (ontic structural realism); (b) to work out a new version of Humeanism, dubbed Super-Humeanism, that does without natural properties; (c) to set out an ontology of quantum physics that is an alternative to quantum state realism and that avoids any ontological dualism of particles and fields; (d) to vindicate a relationalist ontology based on point objects also in the domain of relativistic physics.
The Minister's Charge: The Apprenticeship of Lemuel Barker
by William Dean HowellsWilliam Dean Howells (1837-1920) was an American realist author and literary critic. He wrote his first novel, Their Wedding Journey, in 1871, but his literary reputation really took off with the realist novel A Modern Instance, published in 1882, which describes the decay of a marriage. His 1885 novel The Rise of Silas Lapham is perhaps his best known, describing the rise and fall of an American entrepreneur in the paint business. His social views were also strongly reflected in the novels Annie Kilburn (1888) and A Hazard of New Fortunes (1890). While known primarily as a novelist, his short story "Editha" (1905) - included in the collection Between the Dark and the Daylight (1907) - appears in many anthologies of American literature. Howells also wrote plays, criticism, and essays about contemporary literary figures such as Ibsen, Zola, Verga, and, especially, Tolstoy, which helped establish their reputations in the United States. He also wrote critically in support of many American writers. It is perhaps in this role that he had his greatest influence.
Ministers of Propaganda: Truth, Power, and the Ideology of the Religious Right
by Scott M. ColeyScott Coley exposes the inner workings of the religious right&’s propaganda—and how Christians can resist it. Good evangelical Christians are Republican. It seems like it&’s always been this way. That means the propaganda is working. Scott Coley trains a critical eye on the fusion of evangelicalism and right-wing politics in Ministers of Propaganda. This timely volume unravels rhetoric and biblical prooftexting that support Christo-authoritarianism: an ideology that presses Christian theology into the service of authoritarian politics. Coley&’s historically informed argument unsettles evangelical orthodoxy on issues like creation science or female leadership—convictions not as unchanging as powerful religious leaders would have us believe. Coley explains that we buy into propaganda because of motivated reasoning, and when we are motivated by perceived self-interest, the Christian message is easily corrupted. But if we recover Jesus&’s commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves, right-wing propaganda will lose its power. Any reader troubled by American evangelicals&’ embrace of racism, misogyny, and other unchristian views will find answers and hope in these pages.
The Ministry of Truth: BigTech's Influence on Facts, Feelings and Fictions
by Vincent F. Hendricks Camilla MehlsenThe Ministry of Truth scrutinizes the information market in the era of the attention economy calling on citizens, public educators and politicians to action in averting the role of BigTech in critical infrastructure. Through phenomena such as influencers, ‘fake news’, and covid conspiracies, the authors reveal how social platforms control facts, feelings and narratives in our time to such a degree that they are the de facto arbiters of truth. BigTech seemingly controls the information infrastructure and also decides what we pay attention to. The authors suggest hope for a more democratic internet through their systematic analysis of the largest players of the information age. The aim is to amplify human agency for a robust deliberative democracy — not version 2.0 — but a lasting version with staying power. This book appeals to the general interest reader and professional invested in the mobilization of responsible technological development.Vincent F. Hendricks is Professor of Formal Philosophy at The University of Copenhagen. He is Director of the Center for Information and Bubble Studies (CIBS) funded by the Carlsberg Foundation.Camilla Mehlsen is Digital Media Expert and Spokesperson for the Danish child organization Children’s Welfare. She is author of several books on digital literacy and her work on digital media has been published in various newspapers and magazines.
Minor Ethics: Deleuzian Variations
by Casey Ford, Suzanne McCullagh, and Karen HouleAlongside the major narratives of ethics in the tradition of Western philosophy, a reader with an eye to the vague and the peripheral, to the turbulent and shifting, will spy minor lines of thinking – and with them, new histories and thus new futures.Minor Ethics develops a new approach to reading texts from the history of philosophical ethics. It aims to enliven lines of thought that are latent and suppressed within the major ethical texts regularly studied and taught, and to include texts and ideas that have been excluded from the canon of Western ethics. The editors and contributors have put Gilles Deleuze’s concepts – such as affect, assemblage, and multiplicity – into conversation with a range of ethical texts from ancient thought to the present. Rather than aiming for a coherent whole to emerge from these threads, the essays maintain a vigilant alertness to difference, to vibrations and resonances that are activated in the coupling of texts. What emerges are new questions, new problems, and new trajectories for thinking, which have as a goal the liberation of ethical questioning.Minor Ethics takes up a range of canonical ethical questions and thinks through concrete ethical problems relating to drug addiction, environmental responsibility, xenophobia, trauma, refugees, political parties, and cultural difference. The responses to these concerns demonstrate the minoritarian promise of the opening up of ethical thinking.