Philosophy of mind Books

Book SynopsisWe fast all the time, even when we're not conscious of doing so. A fast manifests the idea of holding back, resisting the primal impulse to charge ahead. Its flip side is similarly everywhere: call it splurging, self-indulgence or a variant of 'self-care'. Based on extensive historical, scientific and cultural research and reporting, The Fast illuminates the many facets of this act of self-deprivation. John Oakes interviews doctors, spiritual leaders, activists and others who guide him through this practice - and embarks on fasts of his own - to provide readers curious about fasting with profound new understanding, appreciation and inspiration.Fasting has become increasingly popular for a variety of reasons - from health advocates who see fasting as a method to lose weight or to detox, to the faithful who fast in prayer, to seekers pursuing mindfulness, to activists using hunger strikes as an effective means of peaceful protest. Whether for philosophical, political or health-related reasons, fasting marks a departure from daily routine and offers a chance to look at things anew.Fasting involves doing less but doing less in a radical way, reminding us that a slower, more intentional contemplative life can be more fulfilling. Ultimately, this book shows us that fasting is about much more than food: it is about reconsidering our place in the world.Trade Review'I couldn't stop reading this book about not eating. And I often had food in my mouth as I read. Like any important book in my life, this one leaves me changed. And I don't know what will happen next.' - Eileen Myles, author of For Now (Why I Write) and Evolution'Caloric restriction is one of the scientifically best-established ways to enhance longevity. A fascinating deep dive into the science and history of fasting.' - Steven M. Lipkin, MD, PhD; director, Adult and Cancer Genetics Clinic; Weill Cornell Medicine'This simple yet far-reaching account of a one-week fast shows how any of us can dissolve the constructed boundary between self and universe, experience the awe of undifferentiated existence, and make ourselves available to the greater dance of life. By all means take this inspiring journey with an instantly trustworthy guide.' - Douglas Rushkoff, author of Team Human'John Oakes takes us on an elegant and irresistible journey, all the while engaging us with personal experiences, scientific enlightenment, and the historical context of fasting. Beautifully written and meticulously researched, The Fast will stay with you long after you've read every word.' - Gilbert King, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Devil in the Grove'In this age of ever more, John Oakes dares to seek less in a fascinating, wonderfully researched, and beautifully written examination of the historical, philosophical, medical, and political implications of fasting - as he himself fasts and enjoys and endures the experience of 'the presence of an absence.'' - Jeff Jarvis, author of The Gutenberg Parenthesis'In The Fast, John Oakes, with his vast knowledge base and deep insight, helps us understand how doing without can offer a glimpse of the luminous wisdom within each of us.' - Cuong Lu, author of The Buddha in Jail and Happiness Is Overrated'This book offers a careful look at the historical and religious practices of fasting, beautifully punctuated by daily anecdotes of the author's experiences and emotions while fasting himself. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in better understanding fasting and its historical echoes.' - Dr. Britt Marie Hermes, former naturopathic doctor and current microbiome scientist'John Oakes has written an expansive, encyclopedic book that imparts its lessons with unpretentious conviction. The Fast is as much an appraisal of fasting as a guide for enlarging an inner consciousness. In this consumptive era, we would do well to turn to the generous intellect of Oakes - to learn the wonders of doing without, and like other venerable humans across millennia, to seek an enrichment of spirit.' - Emmanuel Iduma, author of I Am Still With You

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Book SynopsisWalden details Henry David Thoreau''s experiences over the course of two years, two months, and two days in a cabin he built near Walden Pond amidst woodland owned by his friend and mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, near Concord, Massachusetts. The text is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part personal declaration of independence, social experiment, voyage of spiritual discovery, satire, and-to some degree-a manual for self-reliance.Walden can be seen as performance art, a demonstration of how easy it can be to acquire the four necessities of life. Once acquired, he believed people should then focus their efforts on personal growth. Thoreau hoped to gain a more objective understanding of society through personal introspection. Simple living and self-sufficiency were Thoreau''s other goals, and the whole project was inspired by transcendentalist philosophy, a central theme of the American Romantic Period.This case laminate collector''s edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket. 

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Book SynopsisPoverty is not accident, but design. We are not all equal before the law. And the central message of contemporary ethics is that only some people matter. Expanding on work described as “crucial” and “very fine and provocative” by the Editor of The Oxford Handbook of Free Will, author James Miles now shows not only that free will is a delusion but that it is this delusion that has left us with only the illusion of morality. Belief in free will means never having to acknowledge your own great good fortune, or recognise the far greater misfortune of others. It is the conceit of freedom of the will that today ensures that so many at the bottom are denied any chance of social and economic advancement. Some free will theorists even argue that we need not be concerned with ideals of equality, fair play and opportunity. Is this fair? “Is it fair...? Life isn’t fair”, shrugs the free will philosopher Dan Dennett. Yes, life is not fair, and if we leave it up to the priests and the philosophers, it never will be. The Free Will Delusion is an eloquent and rousing call to arms that we can be, we must be, better than this.Trade Review“The Free Will Delusion is a remarkable book that covers an enormous range of positions, ideas, and writers on free will and moral responsibility, which is already impressive. But to take this often esoteric material and form it into a book that is powerful, provocative, clear, accessible, and a joy to read: that is a singular achievement." -- Prof. Bruce Waller“A terrific book… bold and provocative, yet rigorously argued... Miles maintains a hard incompatibilist and anti-utilitarian position against the most prominent defenders of a belief in free will strong enough to support moral responsibility, including Kane, Searle, Dennett, Watson, Fischer, Frankfurt, P. F. Strawson, and the free will illusionist Saul Smilansky... The Free Will Delusion is passionate, compassionate, and an exciting read. Highly recommended” -- Dr Richard Double * both published by OUP *"In this impassioned critique of views on free will, Miles decisively rebuts the morally problematic claim that people are to blame for who they become, lighting the way toward more fair and effective responses to wrong-doing and social inequality." -- Tom Clark * Center for Naturalism *

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Book SynopsisIt is commonly held that our thoughts, beliefs, desires and feelings - the mental phenomena that we instantiate - are constituted by states and processes that occur inside our head. The view known as externalism, however, denies that mental phenomena are internal in this sense. The mind is not purely in the head. Mental phenomena are hybrid entities that straddle both internal state and processes and things occurring in the outside world. The development of externalist conceptions of the mind is one of the most controversial, and arguably one of the most important, developments in the philosophy of mind in the second half of the twentieth century. Yet, despite its significance most recent work on externalism has been highly technical, clouding its basic ideas and principles. Moreover, very little work has been done to locate externalism within philosophical developments in both analytic and continental traditions. In this book, Mark Rowlands aims to remedy both these problems and present for the reader a clear and accessible introduction to the subject grounded in wider developments in the history of philosophy. Rowlands shows that externalism has significant and respectable historical roots that make it much more important than a specific eruption that occurred in late twentieth-century analytic philosophy.Trade Review"Rowland's survey is well designed for its intended audience; the prose is consistently clear and straightforward, avoiding undue complications. Relevant philosophical background is unobtrusively provided when needed. He judiciously balances his own argumentation with his review of the existing literature - what is most remarkable is its breadth: the book could almost double as a general introduction to the philosophy of mind." - Mind "Discussions of externalism have become highly specialized and detailed and we risk losing sight of the broader questions and issues. Rowlands' focus in this fascinating book is on such broader issues and provides a welcome preventive against such myopia." - Philosophical QuarterlyTable of ContentsPreface and acknowledgements 1. Introduction: internalism and externalism 2. Cartesianism 3. Idealism 4. The "radical reversal" of idealism 5. The attack on the inner 6. Content externalism 7. The scope and limits of content externalism 8. Externalism and first-person authority 9. Vehicle externalism 10. Externalism and consciousness 11. Externalist axiology 12. Conclusion: externalism, internalism, and idealism Notes Bibliography Index

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Book Synopsis

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