The search for a theory of cognition : early mechanisms and new ideas /
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The book brings into relief the variety of approaches and disciplines that have informed the quest for a theory of cognition. The center of interest are the historical, geographical, and theoretical peripheries of classic AI's mainstream research program. The twelve chapters bring back into focus the variety of strategies and theoretical questions that researchers explored while working toward a scientific theory of cognition and pre-cognition. The volume is organized in four parts, each one including three essays. The first one deals with cybernetics, the approach that may be considered as the most important periphery of classic AI research. The second part focuses on the geographical periphery of AI research. It examines how the theories and techniques developed on AI's home ground were translated into countries with different cultures and traditions: Italy, France, and the Soviet Union. The third part focuses on AI's periphery understood in the cultural and historical meaning of the term. It contains essays that locate some of the central concepts of AI, like representation and computability, within a broader philosophical (Descartes, Aristotle, Leibniz) and technical background (programming theory and practice). The fourth and final part of the volume is focused directly on the limitation of Turing's classic computability theory and its possible alternatives, some of which were studied in the early years of AI's research (e.g. Ashby's re-entrant information model), while others have been intensely studied in recent times (quantum automata).
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1 online resource (xxvii, 375 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-351) and index. :
9789401207157 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A new kind of containment : "the war on terror," race, and sexuality /
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This book addresses "containment" as it relates to interlocking discourses around the "War on Terror" as a global effort and its link to race and sexuality within the United States. The project emerged from the recognition that the events of 11 September 2001, prompted new efforts at containment with both domestic and international implications.
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1 online resource (xii, 205 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-183) and index. :
9789042029194 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Love as a guide to morals.
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Love as a Guide to Morals is an entry-level introduction to the ethical importance of love. Written in conversational format this book looks uniquely at the complexity of love in human relationships and how love can guide ethical decision-making. The book suggests that love in all its intricacy-erotic/erosic love, friendship, affection, and agapic love-is the great good of human life. The book argues that love has a unifying power for morality, and is more suited to ethical thinking and practice than any other idea. Love as a Guide to Morals uses a modified Aristotelian argument (after Alsdair MacIntyre) and suggests "loving relationships" rather than happiness as the goal of human life.
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1 online resource (155 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401208055 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
"Truth" is a divine name : hitherto unpublished papers of Edward A. Synan, 1918-1997 /
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This volume contains essays on an array of topics originally presented orally by a master teacher and scholar. With characteristic rhetorical elegance, Msgr. Synan, late professor at the Pontifical Institute in Toronto, delivered these papers in a variety of settings on issues relating to his specialty of mediaeval Christian philosophy and to his interest in Jewish-Christian dialogue, on the theology of sanctity and of death, and on morally significant historical events. Medieval figures represented here include Aquinas, Augustine, Abelard, and Godfrey of St. Victor; some topics treated are war and peace, philosophical innovations, ecclesiology, evil, goliardic verse, law and abortion, Church councils and Jews in the Middle Ages, and convictions uniting Jews and Christians. This book also contains representative sermons-including a Month's Mind for Etienne Gilson, an introduction detailing Synan's background and professional contributions, an updated bibliography of his published works, and an extensive index. Especially appealing to those who knew Synan are three posthumous tributes and thirteen photographs from throughout his life. The selections in this volume are scholarly but non-technical, intended for anyone moved to seek elucidation of the topics discussed.
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1 online resource (xxxiv, 264 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-238) and index. :
9789042031555 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
A lab of my own /
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What was it like to be a woman scientist battling the "old boy's" network during the 1960s and 1970s? Neena Schwartz, a prominent neuroendocrinologist at Northwestern University, tells all. She became a successful scientist and administrator at a time when few women entered science and fewer succeeded in establishing independent laboratories. She describes her personal career struggles, and those of others in academia, as well as the events which lead to the formation of the Association of Women in Science, and Women in Endocrinology, two national organizations, which have been successful in increasing the numbers of women scientists and their influence in their fields. The book intersperses this socio-political story with an account of Schwartz's personal life as a lesbian and a description of her research on the role of hormones in regulating reproductive cycles. In a chapter titled "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," she examines the "evidence" from a scientist's point of view for the hormonal and genetic theories for homosexuality. Other chapters provide advice on mentoring young scientists and a discourse on why it matters to all of us to have more women doing and teaching science. She also describes the process of putting together an interdisciplinary Center on Reproductive Science at Northwestern, which brought together basic and clinical scientists in an internationally recognized program of research and practice.
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1 online resource (xx, 307 pages) : illustrations, portraits. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789042027381 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Thinking about addiction : hyperbolic discounting and responsible agency /
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What is addiction? Why do some people become addicted while others do not? Is the addict rational? In this book, Craig Hanson attempts to answer these questions and more. Using insights from the beginnings of philosophy to contemporary behavioral economics, Hanson attempts to assess the variety of ways in which we can and cannot, understand addiction. Special consideration is given to a challenging (and controversial) proposal dubbed "hyperbolic discounting." Hanson proposes some modifications to the hyperbolic discounting view that permit it to explain not only addiction, but also a variety of psychological maladies, such as self-deception.
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1 online resource (129 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-120) and index. :
9789042026636 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Reburial of nonexistents : reconsidering the Meinong-Russell debate /
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Alexius Meinong claimed to uncover a brave new world of nonexistent objects. He contended that unreal objects, such as the golden mountain and the round square, genuinely had properties (such as nonexistence itself) and therefore, deserved a place in an all-inclusive science. Meinong's notion of nonexistents was initially not well-received, largely due to the influence and criticisms of Bertrand Russell. However, it has gained considerable popularity in more recent years as academics have uncovered shortfalls in Russell's philosophy and strived to explain apparent "facts" about the beingless. Some philosophers have continued Meinong's project, further explaining nonexistent objects or formulating logic systems that incorporate them. The more recent developments beg for a re-examination of Meinongianism. This book does just that, putting the theory on trial. Part One considers if Russell truly defeated Meinongianism. It addresses Meinongian rejoinders in response to Russell's main criticisms and further defends Russell's alternative solution, his Theory of Descriptions. Part Two explores the rationale for nonexistents and their use in interpreting three types of statements: characterization, negative existential, and intentional. The book argues that, despite appearances, Meinongianism cannot plausibly account for its own paradigm claims, whereas Russell's framework, with some further elucidation, can explain these statements quite well. Part Three primarily addresses claims about fiction, exploring the short-comings of Meinongian and Russellian frameworks in interpreting them. The book introduces a contextualization solution and symbolic method for capturing the logical form of such claims - one with the complexity to handle cross-contextual statements, including negative existential and intentional ones. It finally considers where that leaves nonexistent objects, ultimately rejecting such so-called entities.
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1 online resource (viii, 133 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401200615 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Positive peace : reflections on peace education, nonviolence, and social change /
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Positive Peace is a scholarly and creative compilation of articles on peace education, nonviolence and social change. Arun Gandhi (grandson of Mahatma Gandhi) sets the scene in his introduction with the challenge that positive peace is both a resisting of the physical violence of war and the passive violence of the psychological structures that lead to conflict. Peace education rises to meet that challenge. In twelve chapters, philosophers and educators look at a variety of topics from Gandhian nonviolence, to pragmatic conflict solving; hope and the ethics of belief, to the way we use violent language; mothering and peace activism, to multiculturalism and peace. Recurring themes are: pragmatic nonviolence, the ethics of care as an antidote to violence, and hope in a violent world. Chapters on the use of film in peace education, song and nonviolent activism, and teaching art history and peace, demonstrate pragmatic possibilities for would-be peace educators. Arun Gandhi in his introduction asks, "For generations human beings have strived to attain peace, but with little or no success. ... Why is peace so illusive? Is it unattainable? Are humans incapable of living in peace?" This book suggests that peace education has a large part to play. It is an important attempt to begin to meet the challenge.
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1 online resource (xxii, 183 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789042029927 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Feminist philosophy in Latin America and Spain /
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This book demonstrates the vast range of philosophical approaches, regional issues and problems, perspectives, and historical and theoretical frameworks that together constitute feminist philosophy in Latin America and Spain. It makes available to English-Speaking readers recent feminist thought in Latin America and Spain to facilitate dialogue among Latin American, North American, and European thinkers.
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1 online resource (xii, 222 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401204439 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ethics in biomedical research : international perspectives /
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This book deals with the international assessment and regulation of biomedical research. In its chapters, some of the leading figures in today's bioethics address questions centred on global development, scientific advances, and vulnerability. The series Values In Bioethics makes available original philosophical books in all areas of bioethics, including medical and nursing ethics, health care ethics, research ethics, environmental ethics, and global bioethics.
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1 online resource (xii, 248 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401204194 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Trust : analytic and applied perspectives /
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"Whatever matters to human beings, trust is the atmosphere in which it thrives" writes Sissela Bok. Although trust is ubiquitous, understanding trust is a non-trivial challenge. Trust: Analytic and Applied Perspectives addresses critical and analytical issues of trust. It examines trust from a conceptual perspective as well as considers it in practical contexts ranging from the public sphere broadly understood to particular social institutions, such as universities and medical care. Trust: Analytic and Applied Perspectives explores what kind of good trust is, what kind of goods it can protect and how it can bring about goods, and develops subtle distinctions between trust and other virtues, and between trust and other forms of dependence. The pluralism of the volume reflects the diversity of the real world contexts and theoretical perspectives indispensable in the search of a deeper understanding of trust. Without such an understanding of the nature of trust and the good reasons why people might trust one another or the institutions, we are in danger of designing institutions that will reduce trust or even drive it out. Trust: Analytic and Applied Perspectives sheds new light on the intersecting dimensions of our social cooperation, in which trust can be responsibly undertaken.
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1 online resource (xii, 149 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401209410 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Friendship : a central moral value /
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Friendship was recognized as a central moral value in the classical period, but it was dismissed from medieval, modern, and twentieth century moral theories. This book argues that this dismissal is unjustifiable. The validity of this claim is established in four steps. First, it proposes the concept of moral paradigm. This concept enables us to explore the source of moral value and to provide a criterion for the evaluation of the adequacy of moral theory. Second, the book explains why medieval, modern and twentieth century moral theorists neglected friendship as a central moral value in their analysis of moral behavior and why this neglect was unjustifiable. Third, it explains why the classical moral philosophers viewed friendship as a central moral value. Fourth, it argues that friendship is an ontological need, therefore, a necessary condition of the moral life. This need is implicitly recognized in the moral paradigms that underlie the moral theories of the medieval, modern, and twentieth century moral theories. Accordingly it cannot be neglected in the process of moral theorizing.
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1 online resource (233 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401207256 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Queer philosophy : presentations of the Society for Lesbian and Gay Philosophy, 1998-2008 /
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The book is a collection of the presentations of the Society for Lesbian and Gay Philosophy from 1998 to 2008. The essays are organized historically, starting in 1998. Their topics cover virtually every philosophical field, and such that each is connected to gay and lesbian studies. Topics include how we are to understand sexual orientation, whether same-sex leads to polygamy, teaching gay studies to undergraduates, promiscuity and virtue, the "war on terror" and gay oppression, the rationality of coming out, the ethics of outing, connections between being gay and being happy, and last, but not least, dignity and being gay.
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1 online resource (xix, 412 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401208352 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Communities of peace : confronting injustice and creating justice /
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This volume examines the many ways in which violence, domination, and oppression manifest themselves. This examination opens the way to creative suggestions for overcoming injustice. The authors in this volume also describe the features of a just community and inspire readers to implement peaceful transformation.
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1 online resource (viii, 103 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-89) and index. :
9789401200356 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Environmental ethics : intercultural perspectives /
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This book shows that environmental protection is a global concern that must enlist all of humanity's cultural, religious, and moral resources. The nine essays in this volume explore the foundations of environmental ethics in the Western philosophical tradition as well as from the perspectives of Christianity, Islam, Daoism, and Buddhism and propose morally responsible attitudes towards nature and the environment.
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1 online resource (178 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789042029231 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Politics otherwise : Shakespeare as social and political critique /
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The book is comprised of essays that utilize Shakespeare as a productive window into topics of contemporary social and political relevance. Its interdisciplinary qualities make the book relevant for students of political studies, literature, philosophy, cultural studies, and history.
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1 online resource (xiv, 180 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401207461 :
0929-8436 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Postethnophilosophy /
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This book makes a bold announcement for the beginning of a postethnophilosophical phase in modern African thought. It re-considers the question: "What is African philosophy," and introduces a strategy for setting a broad and productive agenda for contemporary African philosophical thought.
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1 online resource (xx, 230 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-207) and indexes. :
9789042033184 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Morality : reasoning on different approaches /
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This book of essays focuses on the new approaches to moral issues from two perspectives. The first part, 'Various Concepts of Morality', analyses certain central approaches to moral study, and creates the methodological starting point for the more specific enquiries of the second part. 'New Trends in Understanding Morality' contains five articles focusing on these new approaches, especially as they are related to their conceptions of scientific knowledge. This section deals with selected special issues of morality in biology, natural sciences, but also in humanities.
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1 online resource (vi, 169 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789401209816 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Reconstructing subjects : a philosophical critique of psychotherapy /
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This work is about the deceptive nature of psychotherapy. In particular, it is about those therapies that claim to provide the client with insight and self-knowledge when in practice they are a means of social control absorbing clients into socially acceptable norms. Through a philosophical analysis of key concepts such as knowledge, insight, and subjectivity, and through an examination of mechanisms intrinsic to psychotherapeutic practice, such as power, interpretation, and suggestion, this monograph unveils how psychotherapy deludes clients into believing they have discovered their true self. Rather than gaining self-knowledge and insight into their true or core self, clients are subtly reconstructed and reconfigured along prevailing social values. Furthermore, the very epistemological and metaphysical world-view clients are deceived into believing is highly suspect and founded upon a fascistic understanding of knowledge. As an alternative to such domination, psychotherapy needs to reconstruct itself along Nietzschean-Deleuzian lines where the focus is on multiple identities, difference, and creativity. Rather than focusing on an analysis of past memories to alleviate symptoms such as anxiety or depression, therapeutic intervention should aim for a non-repressive conception of self-knowledge and insight based upon a creative future and not a regretful past. This entails a different understanding of knowledge and reality that is not based on subjugating the world to what we know about it, but on immersing ourselves within reality in all of its concrete richness. And such an approach is preferable not because it is "true" but because it is more liberating.
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1 online resource (137 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-131) and index. :
9789401206914 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.