The Consciousness Instinct
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The Consciousness Instinct
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Author : Michael S. Gazzaniga
language : en
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date : 2018-04-03
The Consciousness Instinct written by Michael S. Gazzaniga and has been published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-04-03 with Psychology categories.
“The father of cognitive neuroscience” illuminates the past, present, and future of the mind-brain problem How do neurons turn into minds? How does physical “stuff”—atoms, molecules, chemicals, and cells—create the vivid and various worlds inside our heads? The problem of consciousness has gnawed at us for millennia. In the last century there have been massive breakthroughs that have rewritten the science of the brain, and yet the puzzles faced by the ancient Greeks are still present. In The Consciousness Instinct, the neuroscience pioneer Michael S. Gazzaniga puts the latest research in conversation with the history of human thinking about the mind, giving a big-picture view of what science has revealed about consciousness. The idea of the brain as a machine, first proposed centuries ago, has led to assumptions about the relationship between mind and brain that dog scientists and philosophers to this day. Gazzaniga asserts that this model has it backward—brains make machines, but they cannot be reduced to one. New research suggests the brain is actually a confederation of independent modules working together. Understanding how consciousness could emanate from such an organization will help define the future of brain science and artificial intelligence, and close the gap between brain and mind. Captivating and accessible, with insights drawn from a lifetime at the forefront of the field, The Consciousness Instinct sets the course for the neuroscience of tomorrow.
The Human Instinct
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Author : Kenneth R. Miller
language : en
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date : 2018-04-17
The Human Instinct written by Kenneth R. Miller and has been published by Simon and Schuster this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2018-04-17 with Science categories.
A radical, optimistic exploration of how humans evolved to develop reason, consciousness, and free will. Lately, the most passionate advocates of the theory of evolution seem to present it as bad news. Scientists such as Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Sam Harris tell us that our most intimate actions, thoughts, and values are mere byproducts of thousands of generations of mindless adaptation. We are just one species among multitudes, and therefore no more significant than any other living creature. Now comes Brown University biologist Kenneth R. Miller to make the case that this view betrays a gross misunderstanding of evolution. Natural selection surely explains how our bodies and brains were shaped, but Miller argues that it’s not a social or cultural theory of everything. In The Human Instinct, he rejects the idea that our biological heritage means that human thought, action, and imagination are pre-determined, describing instead the trajectory that ultimately gave us reason, consciousness and free will. A proper understanding of evolution, he says, reveals humankind in its glorious uniqueness—one foot planted firmly among all of the creatures we’ve evolved alongside, and the other in the special place of self-awareness and understanding that we alone occupy in the universe. Equal parts natural science and philosophy, The Human Instinct is a moving and powerful celebration of what it means to be human.
Who S In Charge
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Author : Michael Gazzaniga
language : en
Publisher: Hachette UK
Release Date : 2012-04-19
Who S In Charge written by Michael Gazzaniga and has been published by Hachette UK this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2012-04-19 with Psychology categories.
The prevailing orthodoxy in brain science is that since physical laws govern our physical brains, physical laws therefore govern our behaviour and even our conscious selves. Free will is meaningless, goes the mantra; we live in a 'determined' world. Not so, argues the renowned neuroscientist Michael S. Gazzaniga as he explains how the mind, 'constrains' the brain just as cars are constrained by the traffic they create. Writing with what Steven Pinker has called 'his trademark wit and lack of pretension,' Gazzaniga ranges across neuroscience, psychology and ethics to show how incorrect it is to blame our brains for our behaviour. Even given the latest insights into the physical mechanisms of the mind, he explains, we are responsible agents who should be held accountable for our actions, because responsibility is found in how people interact, not in brains. An extraordinary book, combining a light touch with profound implications, Who's in Charge? is a lasting contribution from one of the leading thinkers of our time.
Animals And Psychedelics
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Author : Giorgio Samorini
language : en
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Release Date : 2002-08-01
Animals And Psychedelics written by Giorgio Samorini and has been published by Simon and Schuster this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2002-08-01 with Body, Mind & Spirit categories.
An Italian ethnobotanist explores the remarkable propensity of wild animals to seek out and use psychoactive substances. • Throws out behaviorist theories that claim animals have no consciousness. • Offers a completely new understanding of the role psychedelics play in the development of consciousness in all species. • Reveals drug use to be a natural instinct. From caffeine-dependent goats to nectar addicted ants, the animal kingdom offers amazing examples of wild animals and insects seeking out and consuming the psychoactive substances in their environments. Author Giorgio Samorini explores this little-known phenomenon and suggests that, far from being confined to humans, the desire to experience altered states of consciousness is a natural drive shared by all living beings and that animals engage in these behaviors deliberately. Rejecting the Western cultural assumption that using drugs is a negative action or the result of an illness, Samorini opens our eyes to the possibility that beings who consume psychedelics--whether humans or animals--contribute to the evolution of their species by creating entirely new patterns of behavior that eventually will be adopted by other members of that species. The author's fascinating accounts of mushroom-loving reindeer, intoxicated birds, and drunken elephants ensure that readers will never view the animal world in quite the same way again.
Mind Matters
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Author : Michael S. Gazzaniga
language : en
Publisher:
Release Date : 1988
Mind Matters written by Michael S. Gazzaniga and has been published by this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 1988 with Mental illness categories.
Describes how research is showing how the mind and the body affect each other and how each individual can better manage their bodies and lives.
Neurodynamics Of Cognition And Consciousness
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Author : Leonid I. Perlovsky
language : en
Publisher: Springer
Release Date : 2007-08-26
Neurodynamics Of Cognition And Consciousness written by Leonid I. Perlovsky and has been published by Springer this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2007-08-26 with Technology & Engineering categories.
Experimental evidence in humans and other mammalians indicates that complex neurodynamics is crucial for the emergence of higher-level intelligence. Dynamical neural systems with encoding in limit cycle and non-convergent attractors have gained increasing popularity in the past decade. The role of synchronization, desynchronization, and intermittent synchronization on cognition has been studied extensively by various authors, in particular by authors contributing to the present volume. This book addresses dynamical aspects of brain functions and cognition.
A Brain For Numbers
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Author : Andreas Nieder
language : en
Publisher: MIT Press
Release Date : 2019-11-19
A Brain For Numbers written by Andreas Nieder and has been published by MIT Press this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2019-11-19 with Science categories.
How our intuitive understanding of numbers is deeply rooted in our biology, traceable through both evolution and development. Humans' understanding of numbers is intuitive. Infants are able to estimate and calculate even before they learn the words for numbers. How have we come to possess this talent for numbers? In A Brain for Numbers, Andreas Nieder explains how our brains process numbers. He reports that numerical competency is deeply rooted in our biological ancestry; it can be traced through both the evolution of our species and the development of our individual minds. It is not, as it has been traditionally explained, based on our ability to use language. We owe our symbolic mathematical skills to the nonsymbolic numerical abilities that we inherited from our ancestors. The principles of mathematics, Nieder tells us, are reflections of the innate dispositions wired into the brain. Nieder explores how the workings of the brain give rise to numerical competence, tracing flair for numbers to dedicated “number neurons” in the brain. Drawing on a range of methods including brain imaging techniques, behavioral experiments, and twin studies, he outlines a new, integrated understanding of the talent for numbers. Along the way, he compares the numerical capabilities of humans and animals, and discusses the benefits animals reap from such a capability. He shows how the neurobiological roots of the brain's nonverbal quantification capacity are the evolutionary foundation of more elaborate numerical skills. He discusses how number signs and symbols are represented in the brain; calculation capability and the “neuromythology” of mathematical genius; the “start-up tools” for counting and developmental of dyscalculia (a number disorder analogous to the reading disorder dyslexia); and how the brain processes the abstract concept of zero.
Nietzsche On Instinct And Language
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Author : João Constâncio
language : en
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Release Date : 2011
Nietzsche On Instinct And Language written by João Constâncio and has been published by Walter de Gruyter this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011 with Philosophy categories.
The volume offers various considerations of Nietzsche's attempt to connect language to the instinctive activity of the human body. In focusing on how Nietzsche tries to dissolve the traditional opposition between instinct and language, as well as between instinct and consciousness and instinct and reason, the different papers address a great variety of topics, e.g. morality, value, the concept of philosophy, dogmatism, naturalization, metaphor, affectivity and emotion, health and sickness, tragedy, and laughter. Among the authors: Scarlett Marton, Werner Stegmaier, Patrick Wotling, and many ot.
The Willpower Instinct
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Author : Kelly McGonigal
language : en
Publisher: Penguin
Release Date : 2011-12-29
The Willpower Instinct written by Kelly McGonigal and has been published by Penguin this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2011-12-29 with Psychology categories.
Based on Stanford University psychologist Kelly McGonigal's wildly popular course "The Science of Willpower," The Willpower Instinct is the first book to explain the science of self-control and how it can be harnessed to improve our health, happiness, and productivity. Informed by the latest research and combining cutting-edge insights from psychology, economics, neuroscience, and medicine, The Willpower Instinct explains exactly what willpower is, how it works, and why it matters. For example, readers will learn: • Willpower is a mind-body response, not a virtue. It is a biological function that can be improved through mindfulness, exercise, nutrition, and sleep. • Willpower is not an unlimited resource. Too much self-control can actually be bad for your health. • Temptation and stress hijack the brain's systems of self-control, but the brain can be trained for greater willpower • Guilt and shame over your setbacks lead to giving in again, but self-forgiveness and self-compassion boost self-control. • Giving up control is sometimes the only way to gain self-control. • Willpower failures are contagious—you can catch the desire to overspend or overeat from your friends—but you can also catch self-control from the right role models. In the groundbreaking tradition of Getting Things Done, The Willpower Instinct combines life-changing prescriptive advice and complementary exercises to help readers with goals ranging from losing weight to more patient parenting, less procrastination, better health, and greater productivity at work.
Tales From Both Sides Of The Brain
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Author : Michael S. Gazzaniga
language : en
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date : 2015-02-03
Tales From Both Sides Of The Brain written by Michael S. Gazzaniga and has been published by Harper Collins this book supported file pdf, txt, epub, kindle and other format this book has been release on 2015-02-03 with Biography & Autobiography categories.
Michael S. Gazzaniga, one of the most important neuroscientists of the twentieth century, gives us an exciting behind-the-scenes look at his seminal work on that unlikely couple, the right and left brain. Foreword by Steven Pinker. In the mid-twentieth century, Michael S. Gazzaniga, “the father of cognitive neuroscience,” was part of a team of pioneering neuroscientists who developed the now foundational split-brain brain theory: the notion that the right and left hemispheres of the brain can act independently from one another and have different strengths. In Tales from Both Sides of the Brain, Gazzaniga tells the impassioned story of his life in science and his decades-long journey to understand how the separate spheres of our brains communicate and miscommunicate with their separate agendas. By turns humorous and moving, Tales from Both Sides of the Brain interweaves Gazzaniga’s scientific achievements with his reflections on the challenges and thrills of working as a scientist. In his engaging and accessible style, he paints a vivid portrait not only of his discovery of split-brain theory, but also of his comrades in arms—the many patients, friends, and family who have accompanied him on this wild ride of intellectual discovery.