The Rational Imagination

The Rational Imagination PDF Author: Ruth M. J. Byrne
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262261845
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
The human imagination remains one of the last uncharted terrains of the mind. This accessible and original monograph explores a central aspect of the imagination, the creation of counterfactual alternatives to reality, and claims that imaginative thoughts are guided by the same principles that underlie rational thoughts. Research has shown that rational thought is more imaginative than cognitive scientists had supposed; in The Rational Imagination, Ruth Byrne argues that imaginative thought is more rational than scientists have imagined. People often create alternatives to reality and imagine how events might have turned out "if only" something had been different. Byrne explores the "fault lines" of reality, the aspects of reality that are more readily changed in imaginative thoughts. She finds that our tendencies to imagine alternatives to actions, controllable events, socially unacceptable actions, causal and enabling relations, and events that come last in a temporal sequence provide clues to the cognitive processes upon which the counterfactual imagination depends. The explanation of these processes, Byrne argues, rests on the idea that imaginative thought and rational thought have much in common.

The Rational Imagination

The Rational Imagination PDF Author: Ruth M. J. Byrne
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262261845
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Get Book Here

Book Description
The human imagination remains one of the last uncharted terrains of the mind. This accessible and original monograph explores a central aspect of the imagination, the creation of counterfactual alternatives to reality, and claims that imaginative thoughts are guided by the same principles that underlie rational thoughts. Research has shown that rational thought is more imaginative than cognitive scientists had supposed; in The Rational Imagination, Ruth Byrne argues that imaginative thought is more rational than scientists have imagined. People often create alternatives to reality and imagine how events might have turned out "if only" something had been different. Byrne explores the "fault lines" of reality, the aspects of reality that are more readily changed in imaginative thoughts. She finds that our tendencies to imagine alternatives to actions, controllable events, socially unacceptable actions, causal and enabling relations, and events that come last in a temporal sequence provide clues to the cognitive processes upon which the counterfactual imagination depends. The explanation of these processes, Byrne argues, rests on the idea that imaginative thought and rational thought have much in common.

Ways Of Thinking: The Limits Of Rational Thought And Artificial Intelligence

Ways Of Thinking: The Limits Of Rational Thought And Artificial Intelligence PDF Author: Mero Laszlo
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9814506842
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
This book goes right into the the causes and reasons of the diversity of ways of thinking. It is about the tricks of how our thinking works and about the efforts and failures of artificial intelligence. It discusses what can and cannot be expected of `intelligent' computers, and provides an insight into the deeper layers of the mechanism of our thinking.-An enjoyable piece of reading, this thought-provoking book is also an exciting mental adventure for those with little or no computer competence at all.

Why Think?

Why Think? PDF Author: Ronald de Sousa
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198040938
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
In a world where natural selection has shaped adaptations of astonishing ingenuity, what is the scope and unique power of rational thinking? In this short but wide-ranging book, philosopher Ronald de Sousa looks at the twin set of issues surrounding the power of natural selection to mimic rational design, and rational thinking as itself a product of natural selection. While we commonly deem ourselves superior to other species, the logic of natural selection should not lead us to expect that nature does everything for the best. Similarly, rational action does not always promote the best possible outcomes. So what is the difference? Is the pursuit of rationality actually an effective strategy? Part of the answer lies in language, including mathematics and science. Language is the most striking device by which we have made ourselves smarter than our nearest primate cousins. Sometimes the purely instinctual responses we share with other animals put explicit reasoning to shame: the movements of a trained athlete are faster and more accurate than anything she could explicitly calculate. Language, however, with its power to abstract from concrete experience and to range over all aspects of nature, enables breathtakingly precise calculations, which have taken us to the moon and beyond. Most importantly, however, language enables us to formulate an endless multiplicity of values, in potential conflict with one another as well as with instinctual imperatives. In short, this sophisticated and entertaining book shows how our rationality and our irrationality are inextricably intertwined. Ranging over a wide array of evidence, it explores the true ramifications of being human in the natural world.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow PDF Author: Daniel Kahneman
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 1429969350
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 511

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Book Description
*Major New York Times Bestseller *More than 2.6 million copies sold *One of The New York Times Book Review's ten best books of the year *Selected by The Wall Street Journal as one of the best nonfiction books of the year *Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient *Daniel Kahneman's work with Amos Tversky is the subject of Michael Lewis's best-selling The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds In his mega bestseller, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman, world-famous psychologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. The impact of overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning our next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems shape our judgments and decisions. Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Topping bestseller lists for almost ten years, Thinking, Fast and Slow is a contemporary classic, an essential book that has changed the lives of millions of readers.

A Guide to Rational Living

A Guide to Rational Living PDF Author: Albert Ellis
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Psychotherapy
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1 How Far Can You Go with Self-Analysis? 2 You Feel As You Think. 3 Feeling Well by Thinking Straight. 4 What Your Feelings Really Are. 5 Thinking Yourself Out of Emotional Disturbances. 6 Recognizing and Attacking Neurotic Behavior. 7 Overcoming the Influences of the Past. 8 How Reasonable is Reason? 9 The Art of Never Being Desperately Unhappy. 10 Tackling Dire needs for Approval. 11 Eradicating Dire Fears of Failure. 12 How to Stop Blaming and Start Living. 13 How to Be Happy Though Frustrated. 14 Controlling Your Own Destiny. 15 Counquering Anxiety. 16 Acquiring Self-Discipline. 17 Rewriting Your Personal History. 18 Accepting Reality. 19 Overcoming Inertia and Becoming Creatively Absorbed. 20 Living Rationally in an Irrational World.

Unsettled Thoughts

Unsettled Thoughts PDF Author: Julia Staffel
Publisher:
ISBN: 0198833717
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
How should thinkers cope with uncertainty? Julia Staffel breaks new ground in the study of rationality by answering this question and many others. She also explains how it is better to be less irrational, because less irrational degrees of belief are generally more accurate and better at guiding our actions.

Dementia with Dignity

Dementia with Dignity PDF Author: Judy Cornish
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781974027620
Category : Alzheimer's disease
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The revolutionary how-to guidebook that details ways to make it easier to provide dementia home care for people experiencing Alzheimer's or dementia. Alzheimer's home care is possible! Dementia with Dignity explains the groundbreaking new approach: the DAWN Method(R), designed so families and caregivers can provide home care. It outlines practical tools and techniques to help your loved one feel happier and more comfortable so that you can postpone the expense of long-term care. In this book you'll learn: -The basic facts about Alzheimer's and dementia, plus the skills lost and those not lost; -How to recognize and respond to the emotions caused by Alzheimer's or dementia, and avoid dementia-related behaviors; -Tools for working with an impaired person's moods and changing sense of reality; -Home care techniques for dealing with hygiene, safety, nutrition and exercise issues; -A greater understanding and appreciation of what someone with Alzheimer's or dementia is experiencing, and how your home care can increase home their emotional wellbeing. Wouldn't dementia home care be easier if you could get on the same page as your loved one? When we understand what someone experiencing Alzheimer's or dementia is going through, we can truly help them enjoy more peace and security at home. This book will help you recognize the unmet emotional needs that are causing problems, giving you a better understanding and ability to address them. The good news about dementia is that home care is possible. There are infinitely more happy times and experiences to be shared together. Be a part of caring for, honoring, and upholding the life of someone you love by helping them experience Alzheimer's or dementia with dignity. Judy Cornish is the author of The Dementia Handbook-How to Provide Dementia Care at Home, founder of the Dementia & Alzheimer's Wellbeing Network(R) (DAWN), and creator of the DAWN Method. She is also a geriatric care manager and elder law attorney, member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the American Society on Aging (ASA).

Feeling Smart

Feeling Smart PDF Author: Eyal Winter
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1610394917
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
Which is smarter -- your head or your gut? It's a familiar refrain: you're getting too emotional. Try and think rationally. But is it always good advice? In this surprising book, Eyal Winter asks a simple question: why do we have emotions? If they lead to such bad decisions, why hasn't evolution long since made emotions irrelevant? The answer is that, even though they may not behave in a purely logical manner, our emotions frequently lead us to better, safer, more optimal outcomes. In fact, as Winter discovers, there is often logic in emotion, and emotion in logic. For instance, many mutually beneficial commitments -- such as marriage, or being a member of a team -- are only possible when underscored by emotion rather than deliberate thought. The difference between pleasurable music and bad noise is mathematically precise; yet it is also something we feel at an instinctive level. And even though people are usually overconfident -- how can we all be above average? -- we often benefit from our arrogance. Feeling Smart brings together game theory, evolution, and behavioral science to produce a surprising and very persuasive defense of how we think, even when we don't.

Irrationality

Irrationality PDF Author: Justin E. H. Smith
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691210519
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Preface -- Preamble: a mathematician's murder -- Introduction -- The self-devouring octopus, or, logic -- "No-brainers", or, reason in nature -- The sleep of reason, or, dreams -- Dreams into things, or, art -- "I believe because it is absurd", or, pseudoscience -- Enlightenment, or, myth Enlightenment into myth -- The human beast, or, the Internet -- Explosions, or, jokes and lies --The impossible symbolism, or, death -- Conclusion.

The Psychology of Personality

The Psychology of Personality PDF Author: Bernardo J. Carducci
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1405136359
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 737

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Book Description
This engaging, comprehensive introduction to the field of personality psychology integrates discussion of personality theories, research, assessment techniques, and applications of specific theories. The Psychology of Personality introduces students to many important figures in the field and covers both classic and contemporary issues and research. The second edition reflects significant changes in the field but retains many of the special features that made it a textbook from which instructors found easy to teach and students found easy to learn. Bernardo Carducci’s passion for the study of personality is evident on every page.