The brain and the meaning of life
By: Paul Thagard.
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Princeton, N.J
Language: eng
ISBN-13: 9780691142722
Subjects: Life; Cognitive science
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: We all need wisdom; title: Why live?; title: Sources of wisdom; title: Philosophical approaches; title: The relevance of minds and brains; title: Looking ahead; title: Evidence beats faith; title: Faith versus evidence; title: How faith works; title: How evidence works; title: Evidence and inference in science; title: Medicine : evidence or faith?; title: Evidence, truth, and God; title: A priori reasoning and thought experiments; title: Minds are brains; title: The brain revolution; title: Evidence that minds are brains; title: Evidence for dualism; title: Objections to mind-brain identity; title: Who are you?; title: How brains know reality; title: Reality and its discontents; title: Knowing objects; title: Appearance and reality; title: Concepts; title: Knowledge beyond perception; title: Coherence in the brain; title: Coherence and truth; title: How brains feel emotions; title: Emotions matter; title: Valuations in the brain; title: Cognitive appraisal versus bodily perception; title: Synthesis : the emocon model; title: Emotional consciousness; title: Multilevel explanations; title: Rationality and affective afflictions; title: How brains decide; title: Big decisions; title: Inference to the best plan; title: Decisions in the brain; title: Changing goals; title: How to make bad decisions; title: Living without free will; title: Why life is worth living; title: The meaning of life; title: Nihilism; title: Happiness; title: Goals and meaning; title: Love; title: Work; title: Play; title: Needs and hopes; title: Wants versus needs; title: Vital needs; title: How love, work, and play satisfy needs; title: Balance, coherence, and change; title: Hope versus despair; title: Ethical brains; title: Ethical decisions; title: Conscience and moral intuitions; title: Mirror neurons; title: Empathy; title: Moral motivation; title: Ethical theory; title: Moral objectivity; title: Responsibility; title: Making sense of it all; title: Connections made; title: Wisdom gained; title: What kind of government should countries have?; title: How can creative change be produced?; title: What is mathematical knowledge?; title: Why is there something and not nothing?; title: The future of wisdom.