Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics

Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: M. Esfeld
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401717877
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
The Scope of the Project The concept of holism is at the centre of far-reaching changes in various areas of philosophy in the second half of the twentieth century. Holism in epistemology and the philosophy of mind is widespread among analytic philosophers subsequent to the work of the later Wittgenstein and to Quine's "Two Dogmas of Empiricism". Roughly speaking, the claim is that (a) for a person to have beliefs, a social, linguistic community is required and that (b) single beliefs have a meaning only within a whole system of beliefs. Furthermore, holism is discussed in science, in particular in the interpretation of quantum physics. In fact, the term "holism" goes back to Smuts (1926), who introduces this term in a biological context. I Holism in any of these areas has considerable consequences for our philosophical view of the world and ourselves. Holism in quantum physics is said to refute atomism, which has been predominant in modem philosophy of nature. Holism in epistemology and the philosophy of mind is seen as an alternative to what is known as the Cartesian tradition, which dominated modem thought down to logical empiricism.

Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics

Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: M. Esfeld
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401717877
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Get Book

Book Description
The Scope of the Project The concept of holism is at the centre of far-reaching changes in various areas of philosophy in the second half of the twentieth century. Holism in epistemology and the philosophy of mind is widespread among analytic philosophers subsequent to the work of the later Wittgenstein and to Quine's "Two Dogmas of Empiricism". Roughly speaking, the claim is that (a) for a person to have beliefs, a social, linguistic community is required and that (b) single beliefs have a meaning only within a whole system of beliefs. Furthermore, holism is discussed in science, in particular in the interpretation of quantum physics. In fact, the term "holism" goes back to Smuts (1926), who introduces this term in a biological context. I Holism in any of these areas has considerable consequences for our philosophical view of the world and ourselves. Holism in quantum physics is said to refute atomism, which has been predominant in modem philosophy of nature. Holism in epistemology and the philosophy of mind is seen as an alternative to what is known as the Cartesian tradition, which dominated modem thought down to logical empiricism.

Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics

Holism in Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Physics PDF Author: M. Esfeld
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780792370031
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 392

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Book Description
The topic of this book is a comparison between holism in the philosophy and language and social holism on the one hand and holism about space-time and quantum systems on the other hand. The main claim is that holism in the humanities and holism in fundamental physics come under the same substantial, general conception of holism. That is to say: arguments to the effect that the holism of the mental is unscientific or that the mental is separated from the physical owing to holism are not sound. The holism of the mental fits into a world-view that bases itself on scientific realism. The addressees of this book are all those who care about our view of the world and ourselves in the spirit of an argumentative examination of different positions. No familiarity with physics is presupposed.

Holism--a Philosophy for Today

Holism--a Philosophy for Today PDF Author: Harry Settanni
Publisher: Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
This book deals with the necessity for a revival of an ancient philosophical world-view, the world-view of holism, in order to solve current global problems. Today, worldwide problems such as the threat of nuclear war and environmental destruction, poverty, and drug-related crime demand a global approach. Such a global approach is found in holism, the philosophy which claims that reality is an interconnected, interdependent whole, which radically changes the nature of each element within it. The author applies the holistic approach to the natural and social sciences, to art and religion, and then traces holism back to its roots in philosophy.

Beyond Conceptual Dualism

Beyond Conceptual Dualism PDF Author: Giuseppe Vicari
Publisher: Rodopi
ISBN: 9042024666
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
This book is a systematic analysis of John R. Searle's philosophy of mind. Searle's view of mind, as a set of subjective and biologically embodied processes, can account for our being part of nature qua mindful beings. This model finds support in neuroscience and offers reliable solutions to the problems of consciousness, mental causation, and the self.

A Phenomenological Revision of E. E. Harris's Dialectical Holism

A Phenomenological Revision of E. E. Harris's Dialectical Holism PDF Author: James Schofield
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030650294
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 363

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Book Description
The purpose of this work is to critically assess Errol E. Harris’s process philosophy in the face of contemporary research in the special sciences. Harris devoted his life to grappling with the big questions concerning the relationships between nature, mind, and knowledge. His 70-plus year career was distinguished, his texts on the history of philosophy, philosophy of science, political philosophy, philosophy of religion, and consciousness were widely published, and yet his metaphysics has until now remained excluded from mainstream discussions. This book’s contention is that Harris’s work reveals as yet unnoticed connections between theories in numerous scientific disciplines ranging from psychology to cosmology and that an examination of certain theories within these disciplines may serve to strengthen his original arguments. This work maintains that the resulting metaphysics frames a transdisciplinary paradigm shift and provides a viable solution to the hard problem of consciousness.

Holistic Science

Holistic Science PDF Author: Mustafa Özcan
Publisher: eKitap Projesi & Cheapest Books
ISBN: 6258196799
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
INTRODUCTION Mustafa ÖZCAN's book on "HOLISM" With the beginning of the Renaissance in the 17th century, a new way of thinking was initiated in the world of philosophy and science. Although the holistic approach was a popular way of thinking among philosophers in ancient Greece, it cannot be said that there was an important theoretical recovery in these periods. This movement in Europe is primarily Rene Descartes, who wrote books on scientific methods and brought important rules. This groundbreaking philosopher was followed by the great physicist Isaac NEWTON. On the other hand, in Germany, Leibniz has taken important steps on theoreticality and holism with an approach similar to Descartes. In the 20th century, with the great journey Charles Darwin made with his holistic point of view, holisticization also took an important step. At the beginning of the 20th century, Albert EINSTEIN fundamentally established the Darwin's-like important point of view in physics and astrophysics in his perspective on the universe and atoms. This book, in my opinion, was an important step calling for holistic thought, which became increasingly impoverished at the beginning of the 20th century. I believe that this book, which tries to make a synthesis by reflecting in the views of many thinkers on both the history of philosophy, the history of science and holism, will try to fill an important deficiency in the literature. Prof. Dr. Erol Başar Beyond the blissful integration of classical, analytical, familiar science and philosophy, Mustafa Özcan, thinking about the design and use of holistic science, went beyond the holistic science, which is still in the embryo stage in Western science, and what he describes as "meta-theory". It aims to make HAK (Understanding Everything - (or Explainer) - Theory) understandable. You will try to grasp an extraordinary effort and an intellectual challenge with pleasure in this work. Ateşan Aybars Mustafa Özcan's Holistic Science book opens new horizons for those who think on these issues with a wide inclusive and integrative approach in the world intellectual environment where the debates about the end of science, philosophy and even history continue. Prof. Dr. Fuat İnce Holistic Science... It takes great courage to prepare a book on such a subject. Dear researcher and author, Mustafa Özcan, has made a great contribution to our society and our scientific world, as he has made such a subject into a book as a result of his research over the years. Prof. Dr. Murat Dinçmen

Matter and Mind

Matter and Mind PDF Author: Mario Bunge
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9048192250
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 322

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Book Description
This book discusses two of the oldest and hardest problems in both science and philosophy: What is matter?, and What is mind? A reason for tackling both problems in a single book is that two of the most influential views in modern philosophy are that the universe is mental (idealism), and that the everything real is material (materialism). Most of the thinkers who espouse a materialist view of mind have obsolete ideas about matter, whereas those who claim that science supports idealism have not explained how the universe could have existed before humans emerged. Besides, both groups tend to ignore the other levels of existence—chemical, biological, social, and technological. If such levels and the concomitant emergence processes are ignored, the physicalism/spiritualism dilemma remains unsolved, whereas if they are included, the alleged mysteries are shown to be problems that science is treating successfully.

Duhem and Holism

Duhem and Holism PDF Author: Milena Ivanova
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1009020145
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Book Description
The holistic thesis developed by Pierre Duhem challenges the idea that our evidence can conclusively falsify a theory. Given that no scientific theory is tested in isolation, a negative experiment can always be attributed to components other than the theory we test – to the auxiliary hypotheses and background assumptions. How do scientists decide whether the experimental result undermines the theory or points at an error in the underlying assumptions? Duhem argues that we cannot offer a rule that directs when the scientist should employ a radical or conservative strategy in light of a negative result, and ultimately they will appeal to their intuition. More recently philosophers have offered a number of strategies of how to locate error and justify the abandonment of a theory or an auxiliary hypothesis. This Element analyses Duhem's response to holism and subsequent accounts of how the problem can be resolved.

Beyond Reduction

Beyond Reduction PDF Author: Steven Horst
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190295589
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
Contemporary philosophers of mind tend to assume that the world of nature can be reduced to basic physics. Yet there are features of the mind consciousness, intentionality, normativity that do not seem to be reducible to physics or neuroscience. This explanatory gap between mind and brain has thus been a major cause of concern in recent philosophy of mind. Reductionists hold that, despite all appearances, the mind can be reduced to the brain. Eliminativists hold that it cannot, and that this implies that there is something illegitimate about the mentalistic vocabulary. Dualists hold that the mental is irreducible, and that this implies either a substance or a property dualism. Mysterian non-reductive physicalists hold that the mind is uniquely irreducible, perhaps due to some limitation of our self-understanding. In this book, Steven Horst argues that this whole conversation is based on assumptions left over from an outdated philosophy of science. While reductionism was part of the philosophical orthodoxy fifty years ago, it has been decisively rejected by philosophers of science over the past thirty years, and for good reason. True reductions are in fact exceedingly rare in the sciences, and the conviction that they were there to be found was an artifact of armchair assumptions of 17th century Rationalists and 20th century Logical Empiricists. The explanatory gaps between mind and brain are far from unique. In fact, in the sciences it is gaps all the way down.And if reductions are rare in even the physical sciences, there is little reason to expect them in the case of psychology. Horst argues that this calls for a complete re-thinking of the contemporary problematic in philosophy of mind. Reductionism, dualism, eliminativism and non-reductive materialism are each severely compromised by post-reductionist philosophy of science, and philosophy of mind is in need of a new paradigm. Horst suggests that such a paradigm might be found in Cognitive Pluralism: the view that human cognitive architecture constrains us to understand the world through a plurality of partial, idealized, and pragmatically-constrained models, each employing a particular representational system optimized for its own problem domain. Such an architecture can explain the disunities of knowledge, and is plausible on evolutionary grounds.

Quantum Physics Meets the Philosophy of Mind

Quantum Physics Meets the Philosophy of Mind PDF Author: Antonella Corradini
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110351064
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Quantum physics, in contrast to classical physics, allows non-locality and indeterminism in nature. Moreover, the role of the observer seems indispensable in quantum physics. In fact, quantum physics, unlike classical physics, suggests a metaphysics that is not physicalism (which is today’s official metaphysical doctrine). As is well known, physicalism implies a reductive position in the philosophy of mind, specifically in its two core areas, the philosophy of consciousness and the philosophy of action. Quantum physics, in contrast, is compatible with psychological non-reductionism, and actually seems to support it. The essays in this book explore, from various points of view, the possibilities of basing a non-reductive philosophy of mind on quantum physics. In doing so, they not only engage with the ontological and epistemological aspects of the question but also with the neurophysiological ones.