Cognitive studies Books

Book Synopsis''A gripping new drama in science ... if you want to understand how the concept of life is changing, read this'' Professor Andrew Briggs, University of OxfordWhen Darwin set out to explain the origin of species, he made no attempt to answer the deeper question: what is life? For generations, scientists have struggled to make sense of this fundamental question. Life really does look like magic: even a humble bacterium accomplishes things so dazzling that no human engineer can match it. And yet, huge advances in molecular biology over the past few decades have served only to deepen the mystery. So can life be explained by known physics and chemistry, or do we need something fundamentally new?In this penetrating and wide-ranging new analysis, world-renowned physicist and science communicator Paul Davies searches for answers in a field so new and fast-moving that it lacks a name, a domain where computing, chemistry, quantum physics and nanotechnology intersect. At the heart of these diverse fields, Davies explains, is the concept of information: a quantity with the power to unify biology with physics, transform technology and medicine, and even to illuminate the age-old question of whether we are alone in the universe. From life''s murky origins to the microscopic engines that run the cells of our bodies, The Demon in the Machine is a breath-taking journey across the landscape of physics, biology, logic and computing. Weaving together cancer and consciousness, two-headed worms and bird navigation, Davies reveals how biological organisms garner and process information to conjure order out of chaos, opening a window on the secret of life itself.Trade ReviewBrilliantly vivid ... The big idea is that understanding the information flow in organisms might be the missing part of our scientific jigsaw puzzle. The informational approach [to life], in David's elegant and lucid exposition, is highly promising -- Steven Poole * Guardian *Important and imaginative -- Clive Cookson * Financial Times *Boundary-transcending ... Davies claims that life's defining characteristics are better understood in terms of information ... there is grandeur in this view of life * Nature *Paul Davies is a courageous explorer of the boundaries of what we can know about our world. This book makes his explorations available to all who enjoy pushing those boundaries. Written with a light entertaining touch, even the most abstruse science acquires the clarity of exposition for which the author is justly renowned -- Denis Noble, University of Oxford, author of Dance to the Tune of Life: Biological RelativityThis is one of the most exciting books I have read in years. Paul Davies celebrates a significant anniversary with a demonically brilliant investigation of a fundamental question that only the very latest science and philosophy can deal with. Now we have a view from the master that's as thrilling as it is satisfying. Superb. -- Robyn WilliamsThe molecular biology revolution has led to extraordinary understandings of how life emerges from physical processes. But comprehension of the nuts and bolts of these processes omits a key feature of what is going on: what separates life from non-life is information. In this characteristically clearly written and engaging book, ranging from physics to biology and evolutionary theory to neuroscience, Paul Davies strongly makes the case that at its core, life is about information flows. There is much food for thought here. Highly recommended. -- George F.R. Ellis, University of Cape Town, co-author of The Large Scale Structure of Space-TimePaul Davies always probes the deepest questions in science. Here, addressing the deepest of all -- Schrödinger's What is Life? -- he tells us what life is: matter plus information - beyond the laws of physics, but compatible with them. To elaborate this thesis, he deploys his trademark talent: getting to the heart of the most abstruse and technical aspects of science (biology as well as physics), without jargon and with down-to-earth analogies -- Michael Berry, HH Wills Physics LaboratoryThis creative demon shadows DNA and the promise of quantum computing, answering some basic questions. What is consciousness, why is life so good at predicting where it might go next? The bridge connecting fundamental physics, biology and the most advanced labs of computation is what Davies calls information patterns. He shows how it organizes for top-down creativity, and thereby holds off the grim reaper of entropy. With striking insight, and metaphors that illuminate the landscape of science today, Davies once again becomes a guide to the near future. -- Charles Jencks, The Garden of Cosmic SpeculationThe Demon in the Machine encompasses some of the most intriguing and unsolved mysteries of the universe: the existence of an arrow of time imprinted on the cosmos, and the emergence of life itself. Davies' crisp but rich narrative succeeds in untangling various highly complex ideas and processes, while fluently and intelligently setting out its own arrow of argument. -- Mikhail Prokopenko, The University of SydneyPaul Davies narrates a gripping new drama in science, in which the plot is the story of life and the leading actor is information. With his characteristic blend of erudition and clarity, he brings together some of the most rapidly advancing knowledge in physics and technology to show how information controls biology. If you want to understand how the concept of life is changing, read this. -- Professor Andrew Briggs, University of Oxford, author of The Penultimate Curiosity and It Keeps Me Seeking.A tour-de-force of a fascinating and frontier topic: information as a distinguishing, central aspect of those physical systems known as living ones. The Demon in the Machine is simultaneously rigorous, state-of-the-art, and highly readable - very hard to put down -- Michael Levin, Allen Discovery Center at Tufts UniversityPaul Davies takes us on a fascinating tour of what is known about what life is. Along the way he speculates interestingly about what may become known. His theme, drawn from Darwin, Schrödinger, Turing, Gödel, Shannon and von Neumann, is that what separates life from non-life is information. But how? Exploring that question illuminates biology by revealing its deep roots in physics, mathematics and computer science. -- David DeutschWhat is life? Questions don't come much bigger than that. It's asked regularly by biologists, philosophers, lawyers, law-makers, astrobiologists and, occasionally, wide-eyed children. It's not so often asked by physicists, which makes Paul Davies' new book, The Demon In The Machine, that much more fascinating. * Sydney Morning Herald *a vivid exposition of the new mathematics of biology, in which information flows play a central part * The Telegraph, best new science books to buy for Christmas 2019 *Davies - one of the most imaginative scientists working today - urges biologists studying the origins and evolution of life to pay more attention to flows of information and energy on top of traditional chemistry and physics. He is a clear guide to the emergence of information science as a key factor in biology research. * The Financial Times, Best books of 2019: Science *

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Book Synopsis''Heady, exhilarating, often astonishing'' New York Times ''Iridescently original, deeply disorientating and yet somehow radically hopeful ... worth reading and rereading'' Brian Eno ''Be prepared to re-evaluate your relationship with the amazing life forms with whom we share the planet. Fascinating, innovative and thought provoking: I thoroughly recommend Ways of Being'' Dr Jane Goodall, DBERecent years have seen rapid advances in ''artificial'' intelligence, which increasingly appears to be something stranger than we ever imagined. At the same time, we are becoming more aware of the other intelligences which have been with us all along, unrecognized. These other beings are the animals, plants, and natural systems that surround us, and are slowly revealing their complexity and knowledge - just as the new technologies we''ve built are threatening to cause their extinction, and ours.In Ways of Being, writer and artist James Bridle considers the fascinating, uncanny and multiple ways of existing on earth. What can we learn from these other forms of intelligence and personhood, and how can we change our societies to live more equitably with one another and the non-human world? From Greek oracles to octopuses, forests to satellites, Bridle tells a radical new story about ecology, technology and intelligence. We must, they argue, expand our definition of these terms to build a meaningful and free relationship with the non-human, one based on solidarity and cognitive diversity. We have so much to learn, and many worlds to gain.Trade ReviewBridle's writing weaves cultural threads that aren't usually seen together, and the resulting tapestry is iridescently original, deeply disorientating and yet somehow radically hopeful. The only futures that are viable will probably feel like that. This is a pretty amazing book, worth reading and rereading. -- Brian EnoJames Bridle is an artist who is fascinated by technology - creating a homemade self-driving car to understand how AIs "think", for example - and I loved their book, Ways of Being, which looks at artificial and animal intelligence, and how those challenge our assumptions about the world. Come for the slime mould replicating the Tokyo subway system, stay for the non-binary computer that used water to model the British economy. -- Helen Lewis * New Statesman Books of the Year *Heady and often astonishing ... the scope of Bridle's curiosity and comprehension is immense ... there is something hopeful and even heartening in their faith that our current disastrous course might be shifted not only by new policies and technologies but also - and more fundamentally - by the power of new ideas. -- Stefan Merrill Block * New York Times *If you plan on reading James Bridle's Ways of Being - and I cannot recommend highly enough that you do - you might consider forming a support group first. The ideas in this book are so big, so fascinating and yes, so foreign, you are going to need people to talk to about them ... Bridle has created a new way of thinking about our world, about being ... read this important book. Read it twice. Talk about it. Tell everyone you know. -- Brenna Maloney * Washington Post *It was so interesting that I luxuriated in every word. The conversation unfolding in these pages is fundamentally important and I would recommend it to absolutely everyone who wants to really think and reimagine a future that remains ours to make. I was left with a feeling that James Bridle hasn't so much written a book, as a manifesto for a new Green Enlightenment ... it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. -- Sir Tim SmitIn making clear the patience, imagination and humility required to better know and protect other forms of intelligence on Earth, Bridle has made an admirable contribution to the dawning interspecies age. * The Economist *Bridle is a clear, artful writer and a sweeping thinker ... [A] hopeful book, almost an antidote. It imagines technology not as something separate and menacing, but as part of a grand unfolding - an 'efflorescence', to use Bridle's word - along an evolutionary continuum of human and 'more-than-human' ways of being in the world. -- Peter Christie * Post Magazine *Bridle enlarges our definition of what 'intelligence' can be ... This book is an expansive guide, helping us turn our gaze outwards as we look for answers to the challenges of our time. The answers are out there, Bridle says, but Western science and imagination are only just beginning to take them seriously. Ways of Being is an absorbing, existential and ultimately hopeful book. -- Elizabeth Wainwright * Geographical *We must rethink what it means to be intelligent in a spirit of collaboration with non-humans ... What makes Bridle's book new and interesting is its insistence that AI, rightly used, can help in this project ... It may not be intelligence as we know it, but it is human, all too human. -- Stuart Jeffries * The Spectator *James Bridle encourages you to widen the boundaries of your understanding, to contemplate the innate intelligence that animates the life force of octopuses and honeybees as well as apes and elephants. We humans are not alone in having a sense of community, a sense of fun, a sense of wonder and awe at the beauty of nature. Be prepared to re-evaluate your relationship with the amazing life forms with whom we share the planet. Fascinating, innovative and thought provoking I thoroughly recommend Ways of Being. -- Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of PeaceFrom what are we alienated? Some kind of godlike being, transcending the physical world? The truth is exactly the opposite ... Alienation means thinking humans are special and different. James Bridle's wonderful book will make you feel and think the power of knowing how like all other lifeforms we are. There is nothing more important. -- Timothy MortonJames Bridle's brilliant Ways of Being shows we can only face the challenges of the 21st century if we go beyond the fear of pooling knowledge: Bridle shows the importance of listening to one another and our surroundings, and of creating new forms of community. -- Hans Ulrich Obrist

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Book Synopsis''Enlightening, impassioned, powerful'' The Times From dating apps and self-driving cars to facial recognition and the justice system, the increasing presence of AI has been widely championed - but there are limitations and risks too. In this book Gigerenzer shows how humans are often the greatest source of uncertainty and when people are involved, unwavering trust in complex algorithms can become a recipe for disaster. We need, now more than ever, to arm ourselves with knowledge that will help us make better decisions in a digital age.Filled with practical examples and cutting-edge research, How to Stay Smart in a Smart World examines the growing role of AI at all levels of daily life with refreshing clarity. This book is a life raft in a sea of information and an urgent invitation to actively shape the world in which we want to live.''Masterful ... an essential read'' Gary Klein, author of Sources of Power''One of the world''s most eminent psychologists'' SpectatorTrade ReviewEnlightening, impassioned, powerful . . . exposes the hunger for autocratic power, the political naivety and the commercial chicanery that lie behind the rise of AI -- Simon Ings * The Times *Using personal anecdotes, cutting-edge research and cautionary real-world tales, Gigerenzer deftly explains the limits and dangers of technology and AI -- Chen Ly * New Scientist *Compelling . . . over many years, Gerd Gigerenzer has provided evidence that humans are smarter than economists. Now he shows that they are (where it matters) smarter than computers -- John Kay * co-author of Radical Uncertainty *One of the world's most eminent psychologists * Spectator *A fascinating invitation to keep thinking for ourselves... Vital reading for a world populated by algorithms -- Konstantinos Katsikopoulos, Professor of Behavioural Science, University of Southampton

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Book SynopsisTourette syndrome (TS) has become increasingly recognised within society and has gained scientific interest worldwide. Knowledge of its clinical presentation, mechanisms of disease, and available treatment approaches has increased remarkably over the last two decades. Likewise, the way clinicians, teachers, social care workers, and families face the problems manifested by patients with TS is rapidly evolving. Tourette Syndrome, edited by Davide Martino and James F. Leckman, offers a unique opportunity to capture this knowledge advance through a comprehensive and up-to-date overview. Tourette Syndrome covers all the main aspects related to TS, analyzing its complex clinical presentation, the novel viewpoints of causes and mechanisms, state-of-the-art assessment techniques, and the diversity of treatment options. Multidisciplinarity is the main asset of this volume, which represents a source of consultation for a wide audience of professionals, integrated with video tutorials related to particularly complex areas of patient management. Medical and PhD students, as well as post-doctoral scientists, will be able to use the volume as a valuable learning source.Trade ReviewThis second edition is a comprehensive, thorough, and up-to-date review from international experts regarding the current understanding of Tourette syndrome. The book provides a reference for a wide audience but is particularly applicable to those treating these individuals who seek a better understanding of this complex, multifaceted disorder. * Michael Easton, MD, Rush University Medical Center, Doody's Listings *Table of ContentsForeword Introduction Contributors SECTION ONE: CLINICAL PHENOMENOLOGY AND EPIDEMIOLOGY Chapter 1 Phenomenology of tics and sensory urges: the self under siege James F. Leckman, Michael H. Bloch, Denis G. Sukhodolsky, Lawrence Scahill and Robert A. King Chapter 2 The phenomenology of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Tourette syndrome Aribert Rothenberger and Veit Roessner Chapter 3 The phenomenology of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in Tourette syndrome Ygor A. Ferrao, Pedro G. de Alvarenga, Ana G. Hounie, Maria Alice de Mathis, Luis Carlos Farhat, Maria C do Rosario and Euripedes Miguel Chapter 4 Other psychiatric co-morbidities in Tourette syndrome Danielle C. Cath, Kirsten R. Müller-Vahl and Carol A. Mathews Chapter 5 Clinical course and adulthood-outcome in Tourette syndrome Michael H. Bloch Chapter 6 Health outcomes, health status and mortality in Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder Lorena Fernandez de la Cruz and David Mataix-Cols Chapter 7 The prevalence, incidence and risk of Tourette syndrome Lawrence Scahill, Erla Thorsteinsson and Soren Dalsgaard SECTION TWO: ETIOLOGY Chapter 8 Genetic susceptibility in Tourette syndrome Sarah B. Abdallah and Thomas V. Fernandez Chapter 9 Perinatal adversities and Tourette syndrome Pieter J. Hoekstra and Andrea Dietrich Chapter 10 Infections and tic disorders Davide Martino, Alex Medina Escobar, Osman Malik and Tammy Hedderly SECTION 3 PATHOPHYSIOLOGY Chapter 11 Cellular and molecular pathology in Tourette syndrome Liana Fasching, Melanie Brady and Flora M. Vaccarino Chapter 12 Abnormalities of neural microcircuits in Tourette syndrome Katherine Dyke, Valerie Brandt, Tobias Bäumer and Alexander Münchau Chapter 13 Neurobiology and functional anatomy of tic disorders Deanna J. Greene, Soyoung Kim, Kevin J. Black and Bradley L. Schlaggar Chapter 14 Tourette syndrome: circuits and neurotransmitters Harvey S. Singer and Farhan Augustine Chapter 15 Neuroimmunoendocrinology of Tourette syndrome Davide Martino, Isaac N.S. Johnson, Alex Medina Escobar and James F. Leckman Chapter 16 Animal models of tic disorders Marco Bortolato and Roberto Cadeddu Chapter 17 Inhibitory control and tic generation Lille Kurvits and Christos Ganos SECTION 4 DIAGNOSIS AND ASSESSMENT Chapter 18 Pathways from genes to symptoms in Tourette syndrome Valsamma Eapen, Iain Perkes and Roxanne Golf Chapter 19 The differential diagnosis of tic disorders Roger Kurlan Chapter 20 Comprehensive assessment strategies Robert A. King and Angeli Landeros-Weisenberger Chapter 21 Clinical rating instruments in Tourette syndrome Andrea E. Cavanna Chapter 22 Neuropsychological assessment in Tourette syndrome Tara Murphy, Virginie Czernecki, Zsanett Tarnok and Daniel Stark Chapter 23 Social and adaptive functioning in Tourette syndrome Denis G. Sukhodolsky, Carla Kalvin, Bekir B. Artukoglu, Virginia W. Eicher and James F. Leckman SECTION 5 TREATMENT Chapter 24 Psychoeducational interventions: what every parent and family member needs to know Eli R. Lebowitz and Bekir B. Artukoglu Chapter 25 Behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapy for Tourette's disorder Joseph McGuire, Matthew R. Capriotti, Douglas W. Woods and John Piacentini Chapter 26 Pharmacological treatment of tics Veit Roessner and Aribert Rothenberger Chapter 27 Treatment of psychiatric comorbidities in Tourette syndrome Francesco Cardona and Renata Rizzo Chapter 28 Surgical treatment of Tourette syndrome Domenico Servello, Wissam Deeb, Tommaso F. Galbiati and Mauro Porta Chapter 29 Complementary and integrative health medicine in Tourette syndrome Maria Cruz and Barbara Coffey SECTION 6 RESOURCES & SUPPORT Chapter 30 Information and social support for patients and families Kirsten Müller-Vahl Chapter 31 Information and support for educators Sheryl K. Pruitt and Leslie E. Packer Chapter 32 Tourette syndrome support organisations around the world Seonaid Anderson, Annet Hejerman-Holtgrefe and Andreas Hartmann

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewHe [Shaver] pushes contemporary eucharistic theology in a way that will likely prove to be invaluable. His work builds upon Hunsinger's writing with a remarkable freshness and offers a framework for taking an old conversation in a new direction. * Cody C. Warta, St Mary's College, University of St Andrews, International Journal of Systematic Theology *Shaver's book provides a constructive and innovative contribution to contemporary sacramental and ecumenical theology. * Robert Masson, Heythrop Journal *Table of ContentsPreface Abbreviations Chapter 1. Introduction: Theology in Multiple Metaphors 1.1 Liturgical theology and the embodied mind 1.2 An additive method 1.3 Metaphors of eucharistic presence 1.4 Some notes on scope and standpoint Chapter 2. Metaphor, Embodied Realism, and Sacramental Truth 2.1 Introducing conceptual metaphor theory 2.2 More complex metaphors 2.3 Metonymy 2.4 Polysemy and prototypicality: beyond classical categories 2.5 Beyond objectivism: embodied realism for theologians Conclusions Chapter 3. Conceptual Blending and Two Ways of Feeding on Jesus 3.1 Conceptual blending 3.2 Asymmetric blends: bread is Jesus, Jesus is bread 3.3 The Synoptic/Pauline metaphor: this loaf and wine are jesus' body and blood 3.4 The Johannine metaphor: Jesus' flesh and blood are heavenly life-giving bread and drink Conclusions Chapter 4. Identity: The Great Divide 4.1 The identity motif in Christian tradition 4.2 Zwingli: "is" as a trope 4.3 Luther: "is" as literal predication 4.4 Some illustrative exchanges 4.5 A cognitive-linguistic assessment 4.6 Broader implications of the great divide Conclusions Chapter 5. Identity: Bridging the Divide 5.1 Overcoming the dichotomy: Robert Masson and the tectonic process 5.2 Building on Masson's work: radial extension and prototypicality 5.3 The Synoptic/Pauline metaphor as a tectonic shift 5.4 Polysemy: identity and distinction in tension Conclusions Chapter 6. Representation 6.1 Symbols as material anchors 6.2 The Y2 construction: a more complex integration network 6.3 Representation and Identity in coexistence 6.4 Revisiting the polysemy networks from Chapter 5 Conclusions Chapter 7. Change 7.1 Development and variations of the change motif 7.2 Reformed and Lutheran responses to the change motif 7.3 The eucharistic gifts as bread and wine Conclusions Chapter 8. Containment 8.1 Development and variations of the containment motif 8.2 Post-Reformation responses to the containment motif 8.3 Transubstantiation: a special combination of change and containment Conclusions Chapter 9. Conduit 9.1 Verticality and the emergence of the conduit motif 9.2 Visual conduit language 9.3 Reformed and Roman visual piety: an unexpected convergence Conclusions Chapter 10. Bringing the Repertoire Together 10.1 Affirmations in common: the ecumenical repertoire of metaphors 10.2 Embodied entailments: the duration of Christ's presence 10.3 Embodied entailments: adoration Conclusions Selected Bibliography in Cognitive Linguistics

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Book SynopsisHow do brains make minds? Paul Thagard presents a unified, brain-based theory of cognition and emotion with applications to the most complex kinds of thinking, right up to consciousness and creativity. Neural mechanisms are used to explain mental operations for analogy, action, intention, language, and the self.Brain-Mind develops a brilliant account of mental operations using promising new ideas from theoretical neuroscience. Single neurons cannot do much by themselves, but groups of neurons work together to accomplish powerful kinds of mental representation, including concepts, images, and rules. Minds enable people to perceive, imagine, solve problems, understand, learn, speak, reason, create, and be emotional and conscious. Competing explanations of how the mind works have identified it as soul, computer, brain, dynamical system, or social construction. This book explains minds in terms of interacting mechanisms operating at multiple levels, including the social, mental, neural, and molecular. Unification comes from systematic application of Chris Eliasmith''s powerful Semantic Pointer Architecture, a highly original synthesis of neural network and symbolic ideas about how the mind works. This book belongs to a trio that includes Mind-Society: From Brains to Social Sciences and Professions and Natural Philosophy: From Social Brains to Knowledge, Reality, Morality, and Beauty. They can be read independently, but together they make up a Treatise on Mind and Society that provides a unified and comprehensive treatment of the cognitive sciences, social sciences, professions, and humanities.Trade ReviewWith his deep background in cognitive science and philosophy of mind, Thagard is able to sketch a bird's eye view of the mind-encompassing cognition, emotion, and consciousness-while staying grounded in a computational theory of neural organization." * Keith J. Holyoak, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles *Paul Thagard's Brain-Mind is an extremely ambitious attempt (largely successful, I believe), to provide a unified, neurally-based, account of how the Brain creates the Mind. Using Chris Eliasmith's Semantic Pointer Architecture and related ideas, Thagard shows how all the various aspects of the mind from lower level phenomena, such as Perception, to the highest levels of cognition, such as Language and the Self, can be realized in terms of a set of unifying principles based on the Semantic Pointer Architecture and its grounding in neural mechanisms. It provides a strong intellectual foundation for the even more ambitious other volumes (Mind-Society and Natural Philosophy) of his three-volume Treatise on Mind and Society. Thagard takes us on a mind-expanding journey." * Stephen Read, Mendel B. Silberberg Professor of Social Psychology, University of Southern California *A readable overview of the philosophy of cognitive science and its goal of establishing mechanistic or computational models of cognition and emotion." * Choice *Table of ContentsPreface Acknowledgments 1. What are Minds? Why Minds Matter What are Minds? Cognitive Science Representations and Processes Mechanisms Looking Ahead Summary Notes to Chapter 1: Minds 2. How Brains Make Minds Why Brains Matter to Mind and Society Thinking with Cells Neurons Neural Groups Combining Neural Representations Semantic Pointers The Semantic Pointer Architecture Innateness versus Learning Summary and Discussion Appendix: Details and Comparisons Notes to Chapter 2: Brains 3. Perception and Imagery Why Perception and Imagery Matter to Mind and Society From Sensation to Perception to Imagery External Senses Internal Senses Imagery Mental Mechanisms for Imagery Neural Mechanisms for Imagery Uses of Imagery Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 3: Perception 4. Concepts Why Concepts Matter to Mind and Society Theories of Concepts Neural Mechanisms for Concepts Uses of Concepts Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 4: Concepts 5. Rules Why Rules Matter to Mind and Society Mental Mechanisms for Rules Neural Mechanisms for Rules Uses of Rules Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 5: Rules 6. Analogies Why Analogies Matter to Mind and Society Mental Mechanisms for Analogy Neural Mechanisms for Analogy Uses of Analogies Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 6: Analogies 7. Emotions Why Emotions Matter to Mind and Society Psychological Theories of Emotion Neural Mechanisms for Emotions Uses of Emotions How Emotions Change Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 7: Emotions 8. Consciousness Why Consciousness Matters to Mind and Society Psychological Theories of Consciousness Neural Mechanisms for Consciousness Uses of Consciousness Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 8: Consciousness 9. Action and Intention Why Actions Matter to Mind and Society Psychological Theories of Action, Intention, and Will Neural Mechanisms for Action and Intention Uses of Action and Intention The Will Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 9: Action 10. Language Why Language Matters to Mind and Society Syntax First: Chomsky Integrating Syntax, Semantics, and Phonology Meaning Conceptual Blending Metaphor Innateness and Language Learning Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 10: Language 11. Creativity Why Creativity Matters to Mind and Society What is Creativity? Images Concepts Rules Procedural Creativity Analogies and Metaphors Emotions Case Study: CRISPR/Cas9 Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 11: Creativity 12. The Self Why the Self Matters to Mind and Society What is the Self? Semantic Pointers for Self-Representation Semantic Pointer Mechanisms for Self-Effecting and Self-Changing Multilevel Systems Molecular Mechanisms Social Mechanisms Summary and Discussion Notes to Chapter 12: Self References Index

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis book covers a wide swath of mate-rial, and it holds together well. The specificity of the early chapters feed into the large concepts of the later chapters. Deutsch has succeeded in creating a book that is accessible to the non-expert but has enough detail that even the most accomplished audiophile and neuro-acoustician will leave satisfied and enlightened. * Evelyn Way, Maxxon Corporation, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society *Musical Illusions and Phantom Words offers a fascinating retrospective on the history and science of auditory and musical illusions, written from the unique perspective of one of the fieldâs founding pioneers. Deutschâs volume on music and auditory illusions ranks among the classics in music cognition and perception. We believe this seminal work will continue to enrich our understanding of music cognition and sound perception for decades to come. * Parker Tichko and Psyche Loui, Perception *Deutsch's book is an elegant and eloquent lesson that our perception of music, like all perception, is no passive conduit. It is an endless pas de deux between expectation and experience, and the brain actively creates the things it hearsâThis book, almost perfect in its way, rises to its great theme * Jason Warren, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, Brain: A Journal of Neurology *From her early pioneering work to the present day, Diana's fascinating work and observations on music have captured our imagination and inspired generations of researchers. In this remarkably accessible and deeply engaging book, she expounds upon some of her most intriguing work on the varieties of illusions that arise in music and language, and what they tell us about the mind. This is a world where distinct melodies are heard in the two ears, even though only one was presented, where musicians suddenly experience auditory hallucinations of their own music, and where speech is mysteriously transformed into song. Captivating and profound, Diana Deutsch's book will be delight not only to researchers, but to anyone who is curious about the human mind. * William Forde Thompson, author of Music, Thought and Feeling: Understanding the Psychology of Music *This is a remarkable book by an unassailable grand master of sound perception and auditory illusions. The text is very clear and very lively. Finally a book on sound perception has the sounds right on the pages! Point your phone, hear the sounds, it's that easy. Not only the sounds, but explanations from the author in her own voice. I settled in and felt like I was having a conversation with her. Deutsch is a keen and careful scholar, yet manages to make the pages incredibly entertaining. When one reads this book, one realizes that Prof. Deutsch didn't "get lucky" when she discovered her well known illusions. There is a program, guided by deep knowledge and intuition. She shares both with us in this wonderful book." * Eric J. Heller, Abbott and James Lawrence Professor of Chemistry, and Professor of Physics, Harvard University, author of Why You Hear What You Hear *In this delightful volume Diana Deutsch, a living legend in the field of music psychology, invites us into her laboratory. There, with the help of web-based audio files, we can listen in as she tricks our hearing into revealing some of the inner workings of the human auditory system. Dozens of these musical illusions help us to understand the complexity and marvelous sophistication of how we uncover patterns and meanings in the sounds that we hear." * Robert O. Gjerdingen, Professor of Music, Northwestern University, author of Music in the Galant Style *Diana Deutsch is a true pioneer. In this finely written and yet seriously scientific book, she tells the story of how she discovered phantasms that to our ears are as miraculous as a Fata Morgana is to our eyes. Read and wonder!" * Stefan Klein, Professor of Critical Studies, University of the Arts, Berlin, author of The Science of Happiness *Dr. Deutsch has been one of the world's leading researchers of the psychology of music for over four decades. This book is the culmination of her stellar career of intriguing observations gleaned from her innovative investigative techniques. Her contributions to the field are on par with Oliver Sacks, Roger Shepard, and Jean-Claude Risset. Dr. Deutsch's rigorous yet charming style makes Musical Illusions and Phantom Words equal parts illuminating and fun." * Michael A. Levine, composer *It is a great pleasure to have Diana Deutsch's pioneering work on auditory illusions, and her landmark explorations of the influence of language on music perception brought together in the summation of a stellar career that has profoundly influenced the field of music psychology and cognition. The underlying thread throughout the book is the extraordinary complexity of the auditory system and the wide range of individual differences among listeners." * Jonathan Berger, Denning Family Provostial Professor in Music, Stanford University *Diana Deutsch's pioneering work on auditory illusions opened up a crack through which music and speech perception could be understood in new ways. This engaging volume, laced with anecdotes and firsthand accounts, should pique anyone's curiosity about how the mind hears." * Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis, Professor, Princeton University *The Yanny-Laurel meme and other audio illusions actually say quite a bit about the perception of music and speech and the organization of the human brain. Diana Deutsch, the world's foremost expert on these fascinating "perceptual anomalies," makes compelling arguments for a variety of issues, such as that music and speech originated from a protolanguage; that our past experience unconsciously affects what we hear; that music theory can now be put to experimental tests. She has shown that absolute pitch, once thought to be completely hereditary and extremely rare, is not at all unusual among musicians in China, where a tone language is spoken. Anyone who has been mesmerized by Necker cubes and Escher prints will find this book engrossing and entertaining-it is a mind-expanding, ear-opening tour de force." * Philip Yam, Science Editor and former Online Managing Editor for Scientific American Magazine *Table of ContentsList of Modules (QR codes) Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Music, Speech, and Handedness Chapter 2: Some Musical Illusions are Discovered Chapter 3: The Perceptual Organization of Streams of Sound Chapter 4: Strange Loops and Circular Tones Chapter 5: The Tritone Paradox: An Influence of Speech on How Music is Perceived Chapter 6: The Mystery of Absolute Pitch: A Rare Ability That Involves both Nature and Nurture Chapter 7: Phantom Words: Our Knowledge, Beliefs and Expectations Create Illusions of Speech Chapter 8: Catchy Music and Earworms Chapter 9: Hallucinations of Music and Speech Chapter 10: The Speech-To-Song Illusion: Crossing the Borderline between Speech and Song Chapter 11: Speech and Music Intertwined: Clues to Their Origins Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisRanging across both standard philosophical territory and the landscape of cutting-edge cognitive science, Mindware: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Cognitive Science, Second Edition, is a vivid and engaging introduction to key issues, research, and opportunities in the field.Starting with the vision of mindware as software and debates between realists, instrumentalists, and eliminativists, Andy Clark takes students on a no-holds-barred journey through connectionism, dynamical systems, and real-world robotics before moving on to the frontiers of cognitive technologies, enactivism, predictive coding, and the extended mind. Throughout, he highlights challenging issues in an effort to engage students in active debate. Each chapter opens with a brief sketch of a major research tradition or perspective, followed by concise critical discussions dealing with key topics and problems.NEW TO THIS EDITION* Three new chapters (9-11) on cognitive extensions, enactivism, and the predictive brain, and a revised appendix on consciousness* Extensive revisions, additions, and updates throughout in light of new developments in the field* New text boxes and revised and expanded suggestions for further reading, including many electronic resources (summarized on the book''s Companion Website at www.oup/us/coogan)Trade Review"The first edition of Mindware was so clear and engagingly written that it immediately became the go-to textbook for the philosophy of cognitive science. It was also so far out on the cutting edge that it has remained relevant for more than a decade. This updated and significantly expanded second edition is a major upgrade. With it, Andy Clark has improved on what already was the best introduction to the discipline and, no doubt, mapped out the debates of the next decade."--Anthony Chemero, University of Cincinnati "As an introduction to the field, Mindware has no equal. It's one thing to transport traditional philosophical discussions into the realm of empirical research; it's another thing to do so in a way that students find accessible and engaging. This is a lively and assured guide, and Clark is an excellent tour guide."--Scott M. James, University of North Carolina WilmingtonTable of ContentsIntroduction: (Not) Like a Rock ; 1. Meat Machines: Mindware as Software ; 2. Symbol Systems ; 3. Patterns, Contents, and Causes ; 4. Connectionism ; 5. Perception, Action, and the Brain ; 6. Robots and Artificial Life ; 7. Dynamics ; 8. Cognitive Technology: Beyond the Naked Brain ; 9. Extended Minds? ; 10. Enacting Perceptual Experience ; 11. Prediction Machines ; Appendix I. Some Backdrop: Dualism, Behaviorism, and Beyond ; Appendix II . Consciousness and the Meta-Hard Problem

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Book SynopsisWhat is a hostile environment? How exactly can feelings be mixed? What on earth might it mean when someone writes that he was happily situated as a slave? The answers, of course, depend upon whom you ask. Science and the humanities typically offer two different paradigms for thinking about emotion--the first rooted in brain and biology, the second in a social world. With rhetoric as a field guide, Uncomfortable Situations establishes common ground between these two paradigms, focusing on a theory of situated emotion. Daniel M. Gross anchors the argument in Charles Darwin, whose work on emotion has been misunderstood across the disciplines as it has been shoehorned into the perceived science-humanities divide. Then Gross turns to sentimental literature as the single best domain for studying emotional situations. There's lost composure (Sterne), bearing up (Equiano), environmental hostility (Radcliffe), and feeling mixed (Austen). Rounding out the book, an epilogue written with ecologica

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Book SynopsisEveryday sufferingthose conditions or feelings brought on by trying circumstances that arise in everyone's livesis something that humans have grappled with for millennia. But the last decades have seen a drastic change in the way we approach it. In the past, a person going through a time of difficulty might keep a journal or see a therapist, but now the psychological has been replaced by the biological: instead of treating the heart, soul, and mind, we take a pill to treat the brain. Chemically Imbalanced is a field report on how ordinary people dealing with common problems explain their suffering, how they're increasingly turning to the thin and mechanistic language of the body/brain, and what these encounters might tell us. Drawing on interviews with people dealing with struggles such as underperformance in school or work, grief after the end of a relationship, or disappointment with how their life is unfolding, Joseph E. Davis reveals the profound revolution in consciousness that is underway. We now see suffering as an imbalance in the brain that needs to be fixed, usually through chemical means. This has rippled into our social and cultural conversations, and it has affected how we, as a society, imagine ourselves and envision what constitutes a good life. Davis warns that what we envision as a neurological revolution, in which suffering is a mechanistic problem, has troubling and entrapping consequences. And he makes the case that by turning away from an interpretive, meaning-making view of ourselves, we thwart our chances to enrich our souls and learn important truths about ourselves and the social conditions under which we live.

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Book SynopsisThis book is a conversational and accessible introduction to the brain. Beginning from basic elements of neuroscience, the acclaimed scientist Rafael Yuste guides readers through increasingly sophisticated topics.Trade ReviewLectures in Neuroscience aptly conveys the excitement of a field of research that's continually opening up new vistas. Yuste's style is easygoing, conversational, and often witty. -- Ralph Greenspan, associate director, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, UC San DiegoRafael Yuste, a leading neuroscientist and early advocate of the BRAIN Initiative, presents his stimulating view of the fundamental organization of the brain: circuits that convert predictions into actions. Focusing on the mammalian cerebral cortex, and emphasizing repeating patterns across sensory perception, action, and cognition, Yuste is enthusiastic, conversational, and opinionated. It’s a book I wish I had read when making the transition from molecular genetics to neuroscience. -- Cori Bargmann, Torsten N. Wiesel Professor, The Rockefeller UniversityDr. Rafael Yuste’s lively Lectures in Neuroscience…[is] the perfect beginner’s guide to neuroscience, Complete with ample vibrant pictures and diagrams, each chapter is entertaining to read and makes you excited to investigate the black box that is the brain. If you have ever found yourself wanting to learn more about the neurobiological basis of things like sensory processing or learning and memory but never knew where to start, Yuste’s Lectures in Neuroscience is the book for you. Once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down! ­ * Knowing Neurons *Table of ContentsPreface1. Principles2. Brains3. Neurons4. Circuits5. Networks6. Vision7. Audition8. Olfaction9. Touch10. Pain11. Reflexes12. Motor Planning13. Motor Selection14. Motor Control15. Emotions16. Speech17. Memory18. ThinkingIndex

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Book SynopsisThis book is a conversational and accessible introduction to the brain. Beginning from basic elements of neuroscience, the acclaimed scientist Rafael Yuste guides readers through increasingly sophisticated topics.Trade ReviewLectures in Neuroscience aptly conveys the excitement of a field of research that's continually opening up new vistas. Yuste's style is easygoing, conversational, and often witty. -- Ralph Greenspan, associate director, Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, UC San DiegoRafael Yuste, a leading neuroscientist and early advocate of the BRAIN Initiative, presents his stimulating view of the fundamental organization of the brain: circuits that convert predictions into actions. Focusing on the mammalian cerebral cortex, and emphasizing repeating patterns across sensory perception, action, and cognition, Yuste is enthusiastic, conversational, and opinionated. It’s a book I wish I had read when making the transition from molecular genetics to neuroscience. -- Cori Bargmann, Torsten N. Wiesel Professor, The Rockefeller UniversityDr. Rafael Yuste’s lively Lectures in Neuroscience…[is] the perfect beginner’s guide to neuroscience, Complete with ample vibrant pictures and diagrams, each chapter is entertaining to read and makes you excited to investigate the black box that is the brain. If you have ever found yourself wanting to learn more about the neurobiological basis of things like sensory processing or learning and memory but never knew where to start, Yuste’s Lectures in Neuroscience is the book for you. Once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down! ­ * Knowing Neurons *Table of ContentsPreface1. Principles2. Brains3. Neurons4. Circuits5. Networks6. Vision7. Audition8. Olfaction9. Touch10. Pain11. Reflexes12. Motor Planning13. Motor Selection14. Motor Control15. Emotions16. Speech17. Memory18. ThinkingIndex

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Book SynopsisChiara Cappelletto recasts the relationship between neuroscience and aesthetics and calls for shifting the focus of inquiry from the brain itself to personal experience in the world. Embodying Art offers a strikingly original and profound philosophical account of the human brain as a living artifact.Trade ReviewCappelletto’s Embodying Art marks a new beginning. Skeptics of brain-oriented approaches to art and aesthetics will delight in her trenchant criticisms, even as friends will welcome what is in fact a sympathetic, deeply informed, and highly informative embrace of the emerging field. But whatever side you are on, you will be impressed by her demonstration that neuroaesthetics has become a new arena in which not only scientists of the brain, but also philosophers, art historians, and artists themselves, are reimagining, indeed, remaking what it is to be human. This is a book for anyone interested in why the study of the brain now occupies such a central place in our cultural life. -- Alva Noë, author of Strange Tools: Art and Human NatureChiara Cappelletto is celebrated for writing the first book on neuroaesthetics to come out of Italy, but what we really should be noticing is her powerful ability to dispense with cultural conventions about aesthetics to perform what is among the most careful sifting and analysis of the literatures, including the persistent literature on the mind-body divide, that have informed the disparate threads of this relatively new field, without forcing them into unitary interdisciplinarity. Cappelletto combines an insistence on the field's early and uneven development with measured skepticism about the discipline’s love of its own metaphors and cultures—what she refers to as the 'intractable problem' of neuroesthetics' 'fictional experimental setting' and its narrow thematization of the embodied mind, bringing us to recognize the value of analyzing lived encounters with art in its historical contexts. If you are looking to stay with the trouble of neuroaesthetics without losing sight of the cultural conventions that produce both art and the brain itself, this is the book to stay with. -- Lisa Cartwright, author of Screening the Body: Tracing Medicine’s Visual CultureTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsNeuroaesthetics Reloaded1. 1994: Putting Neuroaesthetics on the Map2. Neuroaesthetics: Cerebral Attributes and Bodily Ghosts3. Neuroarthistory: On Emotions, Matter, and Time4. Neuroartcriticism: From the Artist’s Lesions to the Artwork and Vice Versa5. The Brain’s Iconoclash6. Brains on StageNotesBibliographyAppendix: Artworks on the BrainIndex

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Book SynopsisChiara Cappelletto recasts the relationship between neuroscience and aesthetics and calls for shifting the focus of inquiry from the brain itself to personal experience in the world. Embodying Art offers a strikingly original and profound philosophical account of the human brain as a living artifact.Trade ReviewCappelletto’s Embodying Art marks a new beginning. Skeptics of brain-oriented approaches to art and aesthetics will delight in her trenchant criticisms, even as friends will welcome what is in fact a sympathetic, deeply informed, and highly informative embrace of the emerging field. But whatever side you are on, you will be impressed by her demonstration that neuroaesthetics has become a new arena in which not only scientists of the brain, but also philosophers, art historians, and artists themselves, are reimagining, indeed, remaking what it is to be human. This is a book for anyone interested in why the study of the brain now occupies such a central place in our cultural life. -- Alva Noë, author of Strange Tools: Art and Human NatureChiara Cappelletto is celebrated for writing the first book on neuroaesthetics to come out of Italy, but what we really should be noticing is her powerful ability to dispense with cultural conventions about aesthetics to perform what is among the most careful sifting and analysis of the literatures, including the persistent literature on the mind-body divide, that have informed the disparate threads of this relatively new field, without forcing them into unitary interdisciplinarity. Cappelletto combines an insistence on the field's early and uneven development with measured skepticism about the discipline’s love of its own metaphors and cultures—what she refers to as the 'intractable problem' of neuroesthetics' 'fictional experimental setting' and its narrow thematization of the embodied mind, bringing us to recognize the value of analyzing lived encounters with art in its historical contexts. If you are looking to stay with the trouble of neuroaesthetics without losing sight of the cultural conventions that produce both art and the brain itself, this is the book to stay with. -- Lisa Cartwright, author of Screening the Body: Tracing Medicine’s Visual CultureTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsNeuroaesthetics Reloaded1. 1994: Putting Neuroaesthetics on the Map2. Neuroaesthetics: Cerebral Attributes and Bodily Ghosts3. Neuroarthistory: On Emotions, Matter, and Time4. Neuroartcriticism: From the Artist’s Lesions to the Artwork and Vice Versa5. The Brain’s Iconoclash6. Brains on StageNotesBibliographyAppendix: Artworks on the BrainIndex

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Book Synopsis''The one meditation tactic that will get you through the toughest times'' Oprah DailyOvercome negative thoughts and develop a positive mindset this January with these meditation practices proven by neuroscientific research.In this modern digital age, many of us feel overwhelmed, panicked and short on time. The practice of meditation is an ancient and scientifically proven antidote to that frenzied feeling. Combining scientific expertise and spiritual wisdom, this is a practical guide on how it can help you feel calm and in control.With chapters on Breathing, Compassion and Worry, it is full of empirically proven and easy-to-follow exercises that will help you tackle mental obstacles, including issues such as self-doubt and negative thought patterns. This is a fresh perspective on meditation that will uplift and soothe your mind, whether you''re new to it or not.FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE, DANIEL GOLEMAN ''The perfect guide for finding true inner peace'' Ruby WaxTrade ReviewThis beautiful and inspiring book, arising from the brilliance of two great minds, contains profound yet practical advice on meditation and its power to nourish the world * Gelong Thubten, author of A Monk’s Guide to Happiness *The one meditation tactic that will get you through the toughest times * Oprah Daily *The perfect guide for finding true inner peace * Ruby Wax, author of A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled *Practical, doable techniques for making two game-changing inner moves: getting out of your head, as well as taming your demons [...] all backed up by rigorous science * Dan Harris, author of 10% Happier *Highly recommend * Dan Harris, bestselling author of 10% Happier *An exciting new book that combines recent research into meditation with fresh, accessible, and profound teachings on the actual practice * Pema Chödrön, author of When Things Fall Apart *A rare blend of genuine, far-reaching meditative wisdom and the cutting-edge neuroscience that both explains and supports it. This book is an extraordinary collaboration and a great jewel that will benefit all who read it * Joseph Goldstein, author of Seeking the Heart of Wisdom *PRAISE FOR TSOKNYI RINPOCHE - He is a powerful and eloquent link between the great yogi practitioners of old Tibet and our bewildering twenty-first century. He's completely comfortable in both. And he makes us comfortable, too. * Richard Gere *Goleman offers hope for us all * The Times *[Why We Meditate] shows how we can regain our innate rhythm * Sainsbury's Magazine *Each chapter is a kind of antidote for the scepticism...read this book * New Scientist *

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Book SynopsisThe comprehensive guide to preventing Alzheimer''s and other thinking disorders, from the leading authority and bestselling author of The Complete Guide to Memory, Dr Richard Restak.According to the WHO, Alzheimer's ranks as the seventh leading cause of death globally. By 2050, or earlier in the absence of a breakthrough, the number of people aged 65 and older with Alzheimer's is projected to reach 12.7 million people.But the more you know about dementia, the more tools you'll have to prevent or delay its onset and the more thoughtfully you'll be able to understand and interact with loved ones living with the condition.In How to Prevent Dementia, top neurologist Dr Richard Restak arms us with practical advice for how to reduce the risk factors - from better sleep, diet, regular exercise and physical activity to the importance of maintaining social networks and intellectual stimulation, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of new mTrade Review[A] comprehensive compendium of everything we know about memory and how we might improve it * New Scientist *Our memory defines both who we are and who we think we are. Memory makes us human and explains why one of our greatest fears is the cruel loss of memory associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. In this wonderfully lucid and erudite book Richard Restak explains the varied nature of memory, how we can enhance our memory, why memory fails, and the action of aids, that may or may not, enhance our memory. I recommend this book as an essential read for anybody interested in knowing what it is to be human * Russell Foster, Professor of Circadian Neuroscience, University of Oxford and bestselling author of Life Time *Thought provoking .... Tips its hat at some very big ideas * The Times *Drawing on relevant scientific findings, as well as practical wisdom dating back to ancient times, Richard Restak has written a fine and comprehensive book about human memory. Whether you are a cognitive scientist, an interested student, a worried elder, or simply a curious reader, you are likely to marvel at and possibly enhance your mnemonic skills * Howard Gardner, Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education, Harvard University *

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Book SynopsisA neuroscientifically informed theory arguing that the core of qualitative conscious experience arises from the integration of sensory and cognitive modalities.Although science has made considerable progress in discovering the neural basis of cognitive processes, how consciousness arises remains elusive. In this book, Cyriel Pennartz analyzes which aspects of conscious experience can be peeled away to access its core: the “hardest” aspect, the relationship between brain processes and the subjective, qualitative nature of consciousness. Pennartz traces the problem back to its historical roots in the foundations of neuroscience and connects early ideas on sensory processing to contemporary computational neuroscience. What can we learn from neural network models, and where do they fall short in bridging the gap between neural processes and conscious experience? Do neural models of cognition resemble inanimate systems, and how can this help us define requiremen

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Book SynopsisAn authoritative overview of current research on human attention, emphasizing the relation between cognitive phenomena observed in the laboratory and in the real world. Laboratory research on human attention has often been conducted under conditions that bear little resemblance to the complexity of our everyday lives. Although this research has yielded interesting discoveries, few scholars have truly connected these findings to natural experiences. This book bridges the gap between “laboratory and life” by bringing together cutting-edge research using traditional methodologies with research that focuses on attention in everyday contexts. It offers definitive reviews by both established and rising research stars on foundational topics such as visual attention and cognitive control, underrepresented domains such as auditory and temporal attention, and emerging areas of investigation such as mind wandering and embodied attention. The contributors discuss a ran

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Book SynopsisA collection of essays that use John Haugeland's work on intentionality, embodiment, objectivity, and caring to explore contemporary issues in philosophy of mind.In his work, the philosopher John Haugeland (1945-2010) proposed a radical expansion of philosophy's conceptual toolkit, calling for a wider range of resources for understanding the mind, the world, and how they relate. Haugeland argued that “giving a damn” is essential for having a mind—suggesting that traditional approaches to cognitive science mistakenly overlook the relevance of caring to the understanding of mindedness. Haugeland's determination to expand philosophy's array of concepts led him to write on a wide variety of subjects that may seem unrelated—from topics in cognitive science and philosophy of mind to examinations of such figures as Martin Heidegger and Thomas Kuhn. Haugeland's two books with the MIT Press, Artificial Intelligence and Mind Design, show the range

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive introduction to the latest research and theory on learning and instruction with computer games.This book offers a comprehensive introduction to the latest research on learning and instruction with computer games. Unlike other books on the topic, which emphasize game development or best practices, Handbook of Game-Based Learning is based on empirical findings and grounded in psychological and learning sciences theory. The contributors, all leading researchers in the field, offer a range of perspectives, including cognitive, motivational, affective, and sociocultural. They explore research on whether (and how) computer games can help students learn educational content and academic skills; which game features (including feedback, incentives, adaptivity, narrative theme, and game mechanics) can improve the instructional effectiveness of these games; and applications, including games for learning in STEM disciplines, for training cognitive skills, for workforce lea

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Book SynopsisAn introduction to the study of children's language development that provides a uniquely accessible perspective on generative/universal grammar-based approaches.How children acquire language so quickly, easily, and uniformly is one of the great mysteries of the human experience. The theory of Universal Grammar suggests that one reason for the relative ease of early language acquisition is that children are born with a predisposition to create a grammar. This textbook offers an introduction to the study of children's acquisition and development of language from a generative/universal grammar-based theoretical perspective, providing comprehensive coverage of children's acquisition while presenting core concepts crucial to understanding generative linguistics more broadly. After laying the theoretical groundwork, including consideration of alternative frameworks, the book explores the development of the sound system of language—children's perception and production o

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Book SynopsisWhy you are more than just a brain, more than just a brain-and-body, and more than all your assumptions about who you are.Who are you? Are you just a brain? A brain and a body? All the things you have done and the friends you have made? Many of us assume that who we really are is something deep inside us, an inner sanctuary that contains our true selves. In Who You Are, Michael Spivey argues that the opposite is true: that you are more than a brain, more than a brain-and-body, and more than all your assumptions about who you are. Rather than peeling layers away to reveal the inner you, Spivey traces who you are outward. You may already feel in your heart that something outside your body is actually part of you—a child, a place, a favorite book. Spivey confirms this intuition with scientific findings.With each chapter, Spivey incrementally expands a common definition of the self. After (gently) helping you to discard your assumptions about who you ar

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Book SynopsisA data-driven exploration of how children's language learning varies across different languages, providing both a theoretical framework and reference.The Wordbank Project examines variability and consistency in children's language learning across different languages and cultures, drawing on Wordbank, an open database with data from more than 75,000 children and twenty-nine languages or dialects. This big data approach makes the book the most comprehensive cross-linguistic analysis to date of early language learning. Moreover, its data-driven picture of which aspects of language learning are consistent across languages suggests constraints on the nature of children's language learning mechanisms. The book provides both a theoretical framework for scholars of language learning, language, and human cognition, and a resource for future research.

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Book SynopsisThe first comprehensive textbook on regression modeling for linguistic data offers an incisive conceptual overview along with worked examples that teach practical skills for realistic data analysis.In the first comprehensive textbook on regression modeling for linguistic data in a frequentist framework, Morgan Sonderegger provides graduate students and researchers with an incisive conceptual overview along with worked examples that teach practical skills for realistic data analysis. The book features extensive treatment of mixed-effects regression models, the most widely used statistical method for analyzing linguistic data. Sonderegger begins with preliminaries to regression modeling: assumptions, inferential statistics, hypothesis testing, power, and other errors. He then covers regression models for non-clustered data: linear regression, model selection and validation, logistic regression, and applied topics such as contrast coding and nonline

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Book SynopsisHow we can all be lifelong wonderers: restoring the sense of joy in discovery we felt as children.From an early age, children pepper adults with questions that ask why and how: Why do balloons float? How do plants grow from seeds? Why do birds have feathers? Young children have a powerful drive to learn about their world, wanting to know not just what something is but also how it got to be that way and how it works. Most adults, on the other hand, have little curiosity about whys and hows; we might unlock a door, for example, or boil an egg, with no idea of what happens to make such a thing possible. How can grown-ups recapture a child’s sense of wonder at the world? In this book, Frank Keil describes the cognitive dispositions that set children on their paths of discovery and explains how we can all become lifelong wonderers. Keil describes recent research on children’s minds that reveals an extraordinary set of emerging abilities

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Book SynopsisThe story of a quest to uncover the evolutionary history of consciousness from one of the world's leading theoretical psychologists.We feel, therefore we are. Conscious sensations ground our sense of self. They are crucial to our idea of ourselves as psychic beings: present, existent, and mattering. But is it only humans who feel this way? Do other animals? Will future machines? Weaving together intellectual adventure and cutting-edge science, Nicholas Humphrey describes in Sentience his quest for answers: from his discovery of blindsight in monkeys and his pioneering work on social intelligence to breakthroughs in the philosophy of mind.The goal is to solve the hard problem: to explain the wondrous, eerie fact of “phenomenal consciousness”—the redness of a poppy, the sweetness of honey, the pain of a bee sting. What does this magical dimension of experience amount to? What is it for? And why has it evolved? Humphrey presents here his new

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Book SynopsisAn introduction to the mind-body problem, covering all the proposed solutions and offering a powerful new one.Philosophers from Descartes to Kripke have struggled with the glittering prize of modern and contemporary philosophy: the mind-body problem. The brain is physical. If the mind is physical, we cannot see how. If we cannot see how the mind is physical, we cannot see how it can interact with the body. And if the mind is not physical, it cannot interact with the body. Or so it seems.In this book the philosopher Jonathan Westphal examines the mind-body problem in detail, laying out the reasoning behind the solutions that have been offered in the past and presenting his own proposal. The sharp focus on the mind-body problem, a problem that is not about the self, or consciousness, or the soul, or anything other than the mind and the body, helps clarify both problem and solutions.Westphal outlines the history of the mind-body problem, beginning with Descartes. H

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Book SynopsisAn anniversary edition of a classic in cognitive science, with a new introduction by the author.When Brainstorms was published in 1978, the interdisciplinary field of cognitive science was just emerging. Daniel Dennett was a young scholar who wanted to get philosophers out of their armchairs—and into conversations with psychologists, linguists, computer scientists. This collection of seventeen essays by Dennett offers a comprehensive theory of mind, encompassing traditional issues of consciousness and free will. Using careful arguments and ingenious thought experiments, the author exposes familiar preconceptions and hobbling intuitions. The essays are grouped into four sections: “Intentional Explanation and Attributions of Mentality”; “The Nature of Theory in Psychology”; “Objects of Consciousness and the Nature of Experience”; and “Free Will and Personhood.”This anniversary edition includes a new introductio

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Book SynopsisA textbook for advanced students that goes beyond basic phonetics and phonology to investigate their interaction.Is speech in the mouth or in the brain? Do we hear with our ears or our minds? The answer is: both. The sounds of language are both physical objects and cognitive constructs. The physical aspects of speech are the province of phonetics: sound waves that are produced by the movement of articulators and received by the ear. Phonology, by contrast, studies cognitive aspects: systematic patterns in the ways that languages combine sounds to create meaning. Many books look at phonology and phonetics as separate disciplines. This book looks at the interaction between the two.

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Book SynopsisA short, accessible primer on human memory, its workings, feats, and flaws, by two leading psychological researchers.Why do we vividly recall a traumatic childhood event but forget where we left our keys five minutes ago? How can a scent take us back fifty years while a colleague’s name eludes us? In this compact introduction, two leading psychological researchers describe memory—how it works and why it sometimes doesn’t; how it can be tricked, trained, or improved; and what changes with time. In a manner as engaging as it is informative, Fergus Craik and Larry Jacoby explain the strengths and weaknesses of memory. They trace evolving ideas about memory’s function and present a down-to-earth account of modern views. Citing the latest research, they outline the processes for acquiring and retrieving memories and explore the distinction between conscious and unconscious processes. With insights into the workings of the brain, Craik and

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Book SynopsisFrom the influential author of Dynamics in Action, how the concepts of constraints provide a way to rethink relationships, opening the way to intentional, meaningful causation.Grounding her work in the problem of causation, Alicia Juarrero challenges previously held beliefs that only forceful impacts are causes. Constraints, she claims, bring about effects as well, and they enable the emergence of coherence. In Context Changes Everything, Juarrero shows that coherence is induced by enabling constraints, not forceful causes, and that the resulting coherence is then maintained by constitutive constraints. Constitutive constraints, in turn, become governing constraints that regulate and modulate the way coherent entities behave. Using the tools of complexity science, she offers a rigorously scientific understanding of identity, hierarchy, and top-down causation, and in so doing, presents a new way of thinking about the natural world. Juarrero

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Book SynopsisA new, updated edition of the 1979 classic from one of the foremost authors in cognitive science and theoretical biology, with the original text as well as more than 200 citations to current scientific developments.Francisco Varela?s Principles of Biological Autonomy was a groundbreaking text when it was first published in 1979, putting forth a novel theory of how living systems produce and maintain themselves. This new edition, edited and annotated by cognitive scientists Ezequiel Di Paolo and Evan Thompson?revised and complemented with introductory essays for each part of the book?contains a wealth of ideas relevant to current projects in theoretical biology, cognitive science, systems theory, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of biology. Over 220 margin annotations supplement the reading of the text, linking to subsequent research and broader contemporary debates.This foundational book introduces the key concept of autonomy derived as an elaboration of the idea of autopoiesis (the self-production and self-distinction) of living organisms. Varela covers topics in systems theory, neuroscience, theories of perception, and immune networks, and offers a participatory epistemology that goes on to be further developed in later enactive literature. These ideas are compelling not only for historical reasons but also because they still illuminate current efforts in developing the enactive approach toward wider and more challenging goals (language, human cognition, ethics, environmentalism, etc.).

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Book SynopsisA novel account of the explanatory role of representation in both the cognitive sciences and commonsense practice that preserves the virtues without the defects of the prevailing two views about mental representation.Philosophers of mind tend to hold one of two broad views about mental representation: they are either robustly realist about mental representations, taking them to have determinate, objective content independent of attributors? explanatory interests and goals, or they embrace some form of anti-realism, holding that mental representations are at best useful fictions. Neither view is satisfactory. In Deflating Mental Representation, Frances Egan develops and defends a distinctive third way?a view she calls a deflationary account of mental representation?that both resolves philosophical worries about content and best fits actual practice in science and everyday life.According to Egan?s deflationary account, appeal to mental representation does indeed pick out causes of behavior, but the attribution of content to these causes is best understood as a pragmatically motivated gloss, justified in part by attributors? explanatory interests and goals. Content plays an explanatory role in the deflationary account, but one quite different than that assumed by robust representational realists. Egan also develops a novel account of perceptual experience as a kind of modeling of our inner lives by aspects of external reality and explains the role of appeal to representation in this process.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“The scope of this book is impressive . . . it provokes us to think deeply about our views on what we consider as reality.”—John H. Kaas, Vanderbilt University“Miguel is proposing an Enlightenment of the 21st century, in which all the old values of human society are reassessed and new values are proposed based on how the human brain is the measure of all things.”—Gordon Shepherd, Yale Medical School, author of Creating Modern Neuroscience: The Revolutionary 1950s“Nicolelis’s neuroscientific descriptions that form the basis of his theories expand and transcend current thinking in neuroscience—a characteristic that has epitomized his scientific career.”—Ron Frostig, University of California Irvine“In a sweeping style befitting his passion for neuroscience, Miguel Nicolelis takes the reader on a journey across his decades of scientific inquiry regarding a most amazing organ and into a future he foresees, challenging contemporary thinking. E pur si muove.”—Marshall G. Hussain Shuler, Johns Hopkins University"Miguel Nicolelis’ marvelous book is a great adventure story about the brain’s central role in creating our conception of the universe and its contents; it is colorful, electrifying and deep. He’s one of our great scientific adventurers and this book leverages his expertise and passion in formulating a theory on the origins of everything."—Asif A. Ghazanfar, Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University

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Book Synopsis#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation tackles the most fascinating and complex object in the known universe: the human brain.“Compelling…Kaku thinks with great breadth, and the vistas he presents us are worth the trip.” —The New York Times Book ReviewThe Future of the Mind brings a topic that once belonged solely to the province of science fiction into a startling new reality. This scientific tour de force unveils the astonishing research being done in top laboratories around the world—all based on the latest advancements in neuroscience and physics—including recent experiments in telepathy, mind control, avatars, telekinesis, and recording memories and dreams. The Future of the Mind is an extraordinary, mind-boggling exploration of the frontiers of neuroscience. Dr. Kaku looks toward the day when we may achi

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Book SynopsisA trailblazing philosopher’s exploration of the latest brain science—and its ethical and practical implications.Trade Review"...accurate and commendably up to date." -- Nature"...the philosopher Patricia Churchland defies her neuro-fundamentalist reputation to present a supremely measured, sensible and readable account of the brain's role in making us who we are." -- Julian Baggani, Books of the Year 2013 - The Observer

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