¶ … Mind and the Brain by Schwartz and Begley
In their book, The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force, Jeffrey Schwartz and Sharon Begley look into the concept of the mind as something separate and distinct from the physical brain. They do so by beginning with a discussion of behaviorism, an approach that has had tremendous influence on the world of psychology, not just in theory but in shaping of treatments for people who exhibited disordered or disturbed reasoning. They talk about how behaviorism strips the humanity from people, placing human learning on roughly the same level as animal conditioning. Moreover, they also discuss the idea that, even if behaviorist approaches can effectuate therapeutic results, such as in habituation training for patients suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, there are other means that do not involve the same level of cruelty towards the patients, but can still achieve the desired results. The conclusion was that "there is something deeply wrong, both morally and scientifically, with a school of psychology whose central tenet is that people's conscious life experience (the literal meaning of the word psyche) is irrelevant, and that the intrinsic difference between humans and brutes…could be safely ignored" (Schwartz & Begley, 2002). This book contains their attempt to explain the mind as this element that elevates humans above animals and those parts of human behavior that do not seem to align with traditional behaviorist theory.
The book begins with an exploration of the concept of mind and points out that even before there was a good understanding of anatomy, there was an understanding that the brain functioned as a control center for the rest of the body. Modern science has even made it possible to determine which regions of the brain are responsible for particular feelings and functions. However, the authors believe that mapping these regions and understanding the brain does not explain how the brain's functions transform into what is considered the mind. "The most deeply puzzling...
Armstrong arguing mind . brain disticntion a distinction a difference (akin a distinction a kleenex a tissue)? Does adequately explain human conduct? Armstrong - mind theories There is much controversy regarding the difference between mind and brain, as while some support the belief that the mind has nothing to do with the brain because there is nothing physical about the former's functioning, others consider that the mind and the brain are
Mental Representations and the Mind-Brain Relationship MENTAL REPRESENTATIONS AND THE MIND-BRAIN The Dualism Argument Pure Materialist Viewpoint Theories Visual Stimuli vs. Speech stimuli Descartes Point-of-View Neurons and Synapses Mental Representations and the Mind-Brain Relationship In cognitive (neuro) science all through the last few decades, as in philosophy in the last 100 years, the issue of the mind-body (or mind-brain) occurrences is still open to discussion. Illogically, ever since Descartes nobody has suggested a workable alternate view of this problem.
Mind and Body A review of the required literature, Robert Thurman's "Wisdom" (Thurman), Karen Armstrong's "Homo Religiousus" (Armstrong), and Oliver Sacks' "The Mind's Eye: What the Blind See" (Sacks), gives significant insights into how the mind and body must work together to create our lived experience. Though the three authors may initially appear to discuss somewhat different topics, they have vital commonalities. The readings will lead the thoughtful reader to a
Mind: A theory of mind is basically described as the particular cognitive ability to understand other people as deliberate agents, which imply that it's the ability to interpret people's minds based on theoretical concepts of planned states like desires and beliefs. In philosophy, there is a common notion that the special cognitive ability in intrinsically dependent on individuals linguistic capabilities. The interpretation of the actions and intentions of other people
Relationship of Certainty to God From Descartes Compare With Gassedi, Pascal, and Spinoza The French philosopher Rene Descartes was one of the most transformational figures of his time and his work is now considered one of the pillars of modern Western philosophy. Descartes was the first to eloquently describe the issues that are related to the problem of how the mind and brain function, how they are related, and the mysterious
Brain Dysfunction and Criminal Behavior Criminal behavior can be caused by many things, social inequality, class differences, drug or alcohol addiction, peer pressure to name a few. These are all external conditions which can lead to criminal behavior. However, scientists are now starting to discover the link between dysfunction of the actions of the brain and a person's propensity to engage in criminal conduct. Individuals with brain dysfunction either caused by
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