Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? PDF Download
Are you looking for read ebook online? Search for your book and save it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Download Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? PDF full book. Access full book title Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? by Nancey Murphy. Download full books in PDF and EPUB format.
Author: Nancey Murphy
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 0199215391
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Get Book Here
Book Description
The authors here provide a novel contribution to the debate on free will by offering cutting-edge research at the intersection of philosophy and the cognitive sciences. The volume reframes long-standing philosophical problems in light of recent developments in neuroscience and related fields.
Author: Nancey Murphy
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191526916
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Get Book Here
Book Description
If humans are purely physical, and if it is the brain that does the work formerly assigned to the mind or soul, then how can it fail to be the case that all of our thoughts and actions are determined by the laws of neurobiology? If this is the case, then free will, moral responsibility, and, indeed, reason itself would appear to be in jeopardy. Nancey Murphy and Warren S. Brown here defend a non-reductive version of physicalism whereby humans are (sometimes) the authors of their own thoughts and actions. Did My Neurons Make Me Do It? brings together insights from both philosophy and the cognitive neurosciences to defeat neurobiological reductionism. One resource is a 'post-Cartesian' account of mind as essentially embodied and constituted by action-feedback-evaluation-action loops in the environment, and 'scaffolded' by cultural resources. Another is a non-mysterious account of downward (mental) causation explained in terms of a complex, higher-order system exercising constraints on lower-level causal processes. These resources are intrinsically related: the embeddedness of brain events in action-feedback loops is the key to their mentality, and those broader systems have causal effects on the brain itself. With these resources Murphy and Brown take on two problems in philosophy of mind: a response to the charges that physicalists cannot account for the meaningfulness of language nor the causal efficacy of the mental qua mental. Solutions to these problems are a prerequisite to addressing the central problem of the book: how can biological organisms be free and morally responsible? The authors argue that the free-will problem is badly framed if it is put in terms of neurobiological determinism; the real issue is neurobiological reductionism. If it is indeed possible to make sense of the notion of downward causation, then the relevant question is whether humans exert downward causation over some of their own parts and processes. If all organisms do this to some extent, what needs to be added to this animalian flexibility to constitute free and responsible action? The keys are sophisticated language and hierarchically ordered cognitive processes allowing (mature) humans to evaluate their own actions, motives, goals, and rational and moral principles.
Author: Nancey Murphy
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
ISBN: 0199215391
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 353
Get Book Here
Book Description
The authors here provide a novel contribution to the debate on free will by offering cutting-edge research at the intersection of philosophy and the cognitive sciences. The volume reframes long-standing philosophical problems in light of recent developments in neuroscience and related fields.
Author: Nancey C. Murphy
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780199568239
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Get Book Here
Book Description
If humans are purely physical, then must all our thoughts and actions be determined by the laws of neurobiology? Free will, moral responsibility, and reason itself appear to be in jeopardy. But Murphy and Brown present a non-reductive version of physicalism which leaves room for us to be (sometimes) the authors of our own thoughts and actions.
Author: Robert John Russell
Publisher: Templeton Foundation Press
ISBN: 1599475685
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 351
Get Book Here
Book Description
In October 2014, a group of mathematicians, physicists, ecologists, philosophers, and theologians gathered at a special conference in Berkeley, California, to present the results of a two-year research program dubbed “Project SATURN.” This program explored many rich avenues of thought at the intersection of modern science and Christian theology. Chief among them is the possibility that specific processes might be so complex that they do not have sufficient physical causes. Known as “ontological indeterminism,” this idea has profound implications for theology. Specifically, it allows God to be thought of as acting providentially within nature without violating the laws and processes of nature. Such a momentous insight could influence how we understand free will, natural evil, suffering in nature, and the relation between divine providence and human evolution. The essays collected here discussed these topics and were initially presented at the 2014 conference. Part I establishes the scientific basis for conceptualizing specific processes in the universe as inherently random and possibly indeterministic. Part II discusses the philosophical and theological issues that spring from this understanding. Together they represent the cutting edge of thought in the increasingly productive dialogue between science and theology. Short for the “Scientific and Theological Understandings of Randomness in Nature,” Project SATURN was created by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, a Program of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. It was funded with a grant administered by Calvin College and provided by the John Templeton Foundation.
Author: Pieter F. Craffert
Publisher: AOSIS
ISBN: 1779953135
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 350
Get Book Here
Book Description
Consciousness is central to the quest for being human and for what the world is made of. While there is widespread agreement on the significance of consciousness for clarifying the human condition, there is no agreement on the phenomenon in search of theorising. Although there is no shortage of theories and concepts of consciousness in current consciousness research, the dominant critical analysis of consciousness research in this study, although based on existing analyses, is (as far as I can see) new and unique in arguing for a crisis in consciousness research. This book touches on most aspects of consciousness research (the hard problem of conscious-ness, neural correlates of consciousness, brain models and consciousness, consciousness and dualistic thinking, etc.) but is a critical analysis of consciousness research. It is not an insider but a third-person perspective on current consciousness research. In this regard, it differs from most introductions and overviews where these topics are presented from a first-person perspective (the insiders' claim about their research). Representing the broad spectrum of consciousness research in terms of the theoretical framework of a neuro-ecological perspective is a new and innovative move.
Author: R. Scott Smith
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317089650
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Get Book Here
Book Description
Philosophical naturalism is taken to be the preferred and reigning epistemology and metaphysics that underwrites many ideas and knowledge claims. But what if we cannot know reality on that basis? What if the institution of science is threatened by its reliance on naturalism? R. Scott Smith argues in a fresh way that we cannot know reality on the basis of naturalism. Moreover, the "fact-value" split has failed to serve our interests of wanting to know reality. The author provocatively argues that since we can know reality, it must be due to a non-naturalistic ontology, best explained by the fact that human knowers are made and designed by God. The book offers fresh implications for the testing of religious truth-claims, science, ethics, education, and public policy. Consequently, naturalism and the fact-value split are shown to be false, and Christian theism is shown to be true.
Author: Jeremy Lent
Publisher: New Society Publishers
ISBN: 1771423439
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 358
Get Book Here
Book Description
“A profound personal meditation on human existence . . . weaving together . . . historic and contemporary thought on the deepest question of all: why are we here?” —Gabor Maté M.D., author, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts As our civilization careens toward climate breakdown, ecological destruction, and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. The dominant worldview of disconnection, which tells us we are split between mind and body, separate from each other, and at odds with the natural world, has been invalidated by modern science. Award-winning author Jeremy Lent, investigates humanity’s age-old questions—Who am I? Why am I? How should I live?—from a fresh perspective, weaving together findings from modern systems thinking, evolutionary biology, and cognitive neuroscience with insights from Buddhism, Taoism, and Indigenous wisdom. The result is a breathtaking accomplishment: a rich, coherent worldview based on a deep recognition of connectedness within ourselves, between each other, and with the entire natural world. It offers a compelling foundation for a new philosophical framework that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on a flourishing Earth. The Web of Meaning is for everyone looking for deep and coherent answers to the crisis of civilization. “One of the most brilliant and insightful minds of our age, Jeremy Lent has written one of the most essential and compelling books of our time.” —David Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World and The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community “We need, now more than ever, to figure out how to make all kinds of connections. This book can help—and therefore it can help with a lot of the urgent tasks we face.” —Bill McKibben, author, Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
Author: Nancey Murphy
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
ISBN: 1611649285
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 350
Get Book Here
Book Description
Each field of study comes with its own set of questions; each period of time refines and redirects those questions. The Christian religion as we find it in the twenty-first century presents a unique set of problems to be solved and questions to be answered. In this introduction to the philosophy of the Christian religion, eminent philosopher and theologian Nancey Murphy applies the tools of philosophical analysis to a set of core yet contemporary religious questions: what does our historical moment mean for the possibility of knowing God? Is faith still possible? Does God intervene in human history? Is there such a thing as universal knowledge of God? Written with the needs of students encountering the philosophy of religion for the first time in mind, this book provides a comprehensive introduction to the fundamental questions inherent in Christian faith. Murphy also provides tools for how to answer those questions.
Author: Ted Peters
Publisher: ATF Press
ISBN: 1922737682
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 1150
Get Book Here
Book Description
Public theologians are already thundering like prophets at climate change and racial injustice. But the gale force winds of natural science blow through society as well. The public theologian should be on storm watch.
Author: Victor Lee Austin
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725255200
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 110
Get Book Here
Book Description
From a Christian perspective, it could well be said that humanity, a good gift of God, is being undermined by the technology and thought-patterns and practices of contemporary Western culture. In response to what is seen as an attack, many books have been written on the harm of these technologically driven practices. These articles and books focus on what is wrong: with euthanasia, with surrogate motherhood, with the denial of the male-female difference, and so forth. Yet to make a compelling cultural witness, it is more important for Christians to know what is right, and essential that they be able to articulate the positive. Why do babies matter? What is the goodness embedded in being made male and female? How can one approach death in a godly manner? We need, in other words, to be able to give an account of God’s “Yes” (2 Cor 1:20), the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15). In this collection of essays, an ecumenical group of scholars, of diverse perspectives, discuss these and other important questions, in order to help discern what is good for humanity. With contributions by: Phillip Cary Donna Freitas Paul Hinlicky Edith M. Humphrey Patrick Lee Gilbert Meilaender Nancey Murphy
