The Analysis of mind, by Bertrand Russell.
Russell, Bertrand, 1872-1970. . The Analysis of mind, by Bertrand Russell. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia Library | Table of Contents for this work | | All on-line databases | Etext Center Homepage | There are certain occurrences which we are in the habit of calling "mental." I wish in these lectures to analyse as fully as I can what it is that really takes place when we, e.g. believe or desire. The reasons which I shall give against this theory will be mainly derived from previous authors. (2) Indirect reasons, derived from observation of animals (comparative psychology) and of the insane and hysterical (psycho-analysis). Few things are more firmly established in popular philosophy than the distinction between mind and matter. The stuff of which the world of our experience is composed is, in my belief, neither mind nor matter, but something more primitive than either. sense above them both, like a common ancestor. First, there is the way of perception. exists.
Conformity
The pressure to conform affects everyone. Understanding how and when puts you one step ahead of the pack. Conformity is such a strong influence in society that it’s impossible to understand human behaviour without it. But as Professor John C. “Anyone who looks outside the window at daily events around the globe will find that [...] resistance, conflict and change are as normal as the sun rising.” Understanding when we conform has all kinds of practical real-world benefits, depending on your aims: it can help you understand your own behaviour as well as understand how others will behave under a variety of different situational pressures. Here are the ten timeless influencers of conformity: Conformity and group size One of the most important factors affecting whether or not people conform is the size of the group around them. Add more people and it makes little difference, less than 3, though, and conformity is substantially reduced (Bond, 2005). Dissent Are they one of us? Conformity and mood
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And enhancing cognitive prowess later in life could naturally influence one's openness to new experiences, according to a new set of studies. VLADGRIN/Shutterstock Every day it seems like researchers are discovering something else that overturns long-held notions about how the brain operates. In contrast to conventional wisdom, for example, the brain is able to form new neural connections into young adulthood. Seniors from 60 to 94 years old were split into two groups: One group was assigned to a 16-week course of brain puzzles, completed at home; the other received no special treatment. The brain games challenged the participants' inductive reasoning skills: for example, finding patterns in numbers and letters, along with crossword puzzles and Sudoku puzzles. All participants took tests that measured their inductive reasoning skills both before and after the 16-week study period.
The Bitch is Back: Books: GQ
goddamn, the experience of being 19 years old and reading Ayn Rand! The crystal-shivering-at-the-breaking-pitch intensity of it! Not just for that 19-year-old, but for everybody unfortunate enough to be caught in his psychic blast radius. Is "experience" even the right word for The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged? Ayn Rand's idolization of Mickey Spillane and cigarettes and capitalism—an experience? Does a 19-year-old "experience" the likes of "She looked at the lone straight shaft of the Taggart Building rising in the distance—and…understood: these people hated Jim because they envied him"? A weirdly specific thing happens with the books of Ayn Rand. Enter Howard Roark, the heroic and misunderstood architect, square of jaw and Asperger-ish of mien, who at the end of The Fountainhead blows up his own masterpiece after a bunch of sniveling "parasites" and "second-handers" tinker with the blueprints. None of this matters, right? Make it go away, he thinks. No. 1. 2. the speech. 3.
The psychology of gullibility
wo years ago, 14-year-old Nathan Zohner, a student at Eagle Rock Junior High in Idaho Falls, announced on the Internet that he had circulated a petition demanding strict control of a chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This substance, he wrote, caused excessive sweating and vomiting, can be lethal if accidentally inhaled, contributes to erosion, and has been found in tumors of cancer patients. The student asked 50 people whether they supported the ban. While embracing a ban on H2O seems more foolish than dangerous, this anecdote shows how quickly people embrace some kinds of ideas without subjecting them to critical scrutiny. It is easy to dismiss these ideas as amusing and eccentric, but in some situations they pose concrete dangers to individuals; they occasionally even affect society. Another reason people find pseudoscience plausible is a cognitive ability to "see" relationships that don't exist. In some cases, contradictory evidence can even strengthen the belief. Dr. 1. 2.
Psychopathic Traits Linked to Brain Reward System - NIH Research Matters
March 29, 2010 People who scored high on a test that measures impulsive and antisocial traits had exaggerated brain responses to certain “rewards,” like winning money or taking stimulant drugs. The new study provides evidence that a dysfunctional brain reward system may underlie vulnerability to a personality disorder known as psychopathy. Impulsive and antisocial personality traits correlate with amphetamine-induced dopamine release (red and yellow) in the brain. Psychopathy is characterized by a combination of superficial charm, manipulative and antisocial behavior, impulsivity, blunted empathy and shallow emotional experiences. Many studies of psychopathy have focused on the emotional and interpersonal aspects of the disorder, like lack of fear and empathy. In one experiment, the researchers used positron emission tomography (PET) to image the brain’s dopamine response when participants received a low oral dose of amphetamine.
SCHOPENHAUER'S 38 STRATAGEMS, OR 38 WAYS TO WIN AN ARGUMENT
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), was a brilliant German philosopher. These 38 Stratagems are excerpts from "The Art of Controversy", first translated into English and published in 1896. Carry your opponent's proposition beyond its natural limits; exaggerate it. The more general your opponent's statement becomes, the more objections you can find against it. The more restricted and narrow his or her propositions remain, the easier they are to defend by him or her. (abstracted from the book:Numerical Lists You Never Knew or Once Knew and Probably Forget, by: John Boswell and Dan Starer)
How the Power of Positive Thinking Won Scientific Credibility - Hans Villarica - Health
Psychologist Michael F. Scheier reflects on his groundbreaking 1985 research, which provided the scientific framework for exploring the real power of optimism. In just the last year, hundreds of academic papers have been published studying the health effects of expecting good things to happen, which researchers call "dispositional optimism." Oddly enough, three decades ago, the outlook for research on optimism didn't look very good. In the Q&A below, Scheier reflects on his influential work with Carver and shares how their humble study on human motivation ultimately inspired countless studies on mind-body interactions. How did the research come about? Chuck Carver from the University of Miami and I were doing research on human motivation. Initially, we considered outcome expectancies in a very circumscribed way. At some point in the early 1980s, things changed. What were your goals? "We know why optimists do better than pessimists," says Scheier. What don't we know still? Two things.
