Download or read book Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge written by Henry Plotkin and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn and survive. Behind this simple equation lies a revolution in the study of knowledge, which has left the halls of philosophy for the labs of science. This book offers a cogent account of what such a move does to our understanding of the nature of learning, rationality, and intelligence. Bringing together evolutionary biology, psychology, and philosophy, Henry Plotkin presents a new science of knowledge, one that traces an unbreakable link between instinct and our ability to know. Contrary to the modern liberal idea that knowledge is something derived from experience, this science shows us that what we know is what our nature allows us to know, what our instincts tell us we must know. Since our ability to know our world depends primarily on what we call intelligence, intelligence must be understood as an extension of instinct. Drawing on contemporary evolutionary theory, especially notions of hierarchical structure and universal Darwinism, Plotkin tells us that the capacity for knowledge, which is what makes us human, is deeply rooted in our biology and, in a special sense, is shared by all living things. This leads to a discussion of animal and human intelligence as well as an appraisal of what an instinct-based capacity for knowledge might mean to our understanding of language, reasoning, emotion, and culture. The result is nothing less than a three-dimensional theory of our nature, in which all knowledge is adaptation and all adaptation is a specific form of knowledge.
Download or read book Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge written by Henry C. Plotkin and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge written by Henry C. Plotkin and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing together evolutionary biology, psychology, and philosophy, Henry Plotkin presents a new science of knowledge, one that traces an unbreakable link between instinct and our ability to know.
Download or read book Knowledge and Its Place in Nature written by Hilary Kornblith and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2002-08 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Philosophers have traditionally used conceptual analysis to investigate knowledge. Hilary Kornblith argues that this is misguided: it is not the concept of knowledge that we should be investigating, but knowledge itself, a robust natural phenomenon, suitable for scientific study. Cognitive ethologists not only attribute intentional states to non-human animals, they also speak of such animals as having knowledge; and this talk of knowledge does causal and explanatory work withintheir theories. The account of knowledge which emerges from this literature is a version of reliabilism: knowledge is reliably produced true belief.This account of knowledge is not meant merely to provide an elucidation of an important scientific category. Rather, Kornblith argues that knowledge, in this very sense, is what philosophers have been talking about all along. Rival accounts are examined in detail and it is argued that they are inadequate to the phenomenon of knowledge (even of human knowledge).One traditional objection to this sort of naturalistic approach to epistemology is that, in providing a descriptive account of the nature of important epistemic categories, it must inevitably deprive these categories of their normative force. But Kornblith argues that a proper account of epistemic normativity flows directly from the account of knowledge which is found in cognitive ethology. Knowledge may be properly understood as a real feature of the world which makes normative demands uponus.This controversial and refreshingly original book offers philosophers a new way to do epistemology.
Download or read book Darwin Among the Machines written by George Dyson and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2012-03-29 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Full of historical anecdotes . . . but this is much more than a history book. [George Dyson] weaves his threads together for a purpose. Using voices of the past and present, he describes a fresh and sometimes startling viewpoint of the emerging relationship between nature and machines. From vignettes about Olaf Stapledon, George Boole, John von Neumann, and Samuel Butler, a larger story develops in which the twin processes of intelligence and evolution are inseparably intertwined' Danny Hillis, Wired
Download or read book Methodology Theory and Knowledge in the Managerial and Organizational Sciences written by Eliezer Geisler and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 1999-06-30 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Geisler argues that the over-reliance on co-variation techniques and statistical methods, instead of process approach and in-depth analysis, produces meaningless knowledge in the managerial and organizational sciences, and indeed throughout all the social sciences. He offers instead a new and different approach, based on the notion of what he calls dynamic morphologies—an architecture of slicing complex phenomena. This way it is possible to explain many inconsistencies in research findings, and to find a cohesive, systematic outlook on research, research design, and knowledge creation. Intellectually challenging and following in the footsteps of Kuhn, Argyris, and Popper, Geisler's approach is frankly revolutionary in research design and contains its own notions, terms, and nomenclature. A provocative discussion for academics and others well trained in the organizational, managerial, and social sciences. Geisler's dynamic morphologies provide a means to research complex phenomena and gain knowledge about them. They are composed of a chain of events, combined logically and temporally, and a method by which this process is studied. Geisler also contends that knowledge in the organizational and managerial sciences is only viable when it describes and explains the complex, higher-order phenomena. Therefore, theory building and research in these fields must be linked to higher-order constructs and the phenomena that they attempt to explain. This is the central notion of amplitude that Geisler introduces and describes. His book also criticizes the evolutionary epistemology view of knowledge creation and contends that knowledge in all of these fields of study in general is not evolutionary, but instead, cumulative and expansive.
Download or read book Darwin s Conjecture written by Geoffrey M. Hodgson and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2010-12 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A theoretical study dealing chiefly with matters of definition and clarification of terms and concepts involved in using Darwinian notions to model social phenomena.
Download or read book Reflecting on Darwin written by Eckart Voigts and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-08 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking up the historical evolution of Darwin and his theories and the cultural responses they have inspired, Reflecting on Darwin poses the following questions: 'How are the apparatuses in the mid-nineteenth century and at the turn of the twenty-first century interconnected with bio-scientific paradigms in art, literature, culture and science?' 'How are naturalism, determinism and Darwinism - the eugenics of the nineteenth century and the genetic coding of the twentieth century - positioned, embodied and staged in various media configurations and media genres?' and 'How have particular media apparatuses formed, displaced or stabilized the various concepts of humankind in the framework of evolutionary theory?' Ranging from the early circulation of Darwin’s ideas to the present, this interdisciplinary collection pays particular attention to Darwin’s postmillennial reception. Beginning with an overview of the historical development of contemporary ecological and ethical fears, Reflecting on Darwin then turns to Darwin’s influence on contemporary media, neo-Victorian literature and culture, science fiction literature and film, and contemporary theory. In examining the plurality of ways in which Darwin has been rewritten and reappropriated, this unique volume both mirrors and inspects the complexity of recent debates in Victorian and neo-Victorian studies.
Download or read book Karl Popper s Science and Philosophy written by Zuzana Parusniková and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-07-19 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of all philosophers of the 20th century, few built more bridges between academic disciplines than Karl Popper. He contributed to a wide variety of fields in addition to the epistemology and the theory of scientific method for which he is best known. This book illustrates and evaluates the impact, both substantive and methodological, that Popper has had in the natural and mathematical sciences. The topics selected include quantum mechanics, evolutionary biology, cosmology, mathematical logic, statistics, and cognitive science. The approach is multidisciplinary, opening a dialogue across scientific disciplines and between scientists and philosophers.
Download or read book Darwinism and Evolutionary Economics written by John Laurent and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This outstanding collection of essays by leading scholars helps explain how evolutionary economics has come of age. They show how evolutionary economics offers a progressive and diverse research agenda built on strong foundations. These are essays of lasting value. J. Stanley Metcalfe, University of Manchester, UK Darwinism is fast becoming an orthodoxy of modern thought, a framework within which a wide range of knowledge communities conduct their discourse. Ever since its formation, Darwinian theory has experienced a close, though not always comfortable, association with economics. Evolutionary economists now appear to show little concern for the consistency of knowledge in their embrace of Darwinism. Darwinism and Evolutionary Economics brings together contributions from eminent authors who, building on Darwin s own insights and on developments in evolutionary theory, offer challenging views on how economics can use evolutionary ideas effectively. This collection of critical essays provides a thorough examination of the application of Darwinian theory to economic thought, and will appeal to evolutionary economists and all those with an interest in Darwin, innovation and evolutionary science.
Download or read book Psychotherapy and Science written by Robert Langs and published by SAGE. This book was released on 1999-10-06 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: `This book issues a challenge to anyone in the field of psychotherapy who is resigned to seeing psychotherapy as solely a service activity or an art or craft. Instead, Langs invites us to see that psychotherapy, clinical technique and practice may have intricate and fundamental conditions to the scientific laws of nature and the universe. This work will also be of value to those psychotherapists who are interested in asking research questions about the process and technique of psychotherapy. It is also a refreshing read in a postmodern era where the pursuit of validity and fundamental laws seems to have gone out of fashion′ - New Therapist
Download or read book From Darwinian Metaphysics Towards Understanding the Evolution of Evolutionary Mechanisms written by Momme von Sydow and published by Universitätsverlag Göttingen. This book was released on 2012 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Although Charles Darwin predicted that his theory 'would give zest to ... metaphysics, ' even he would be astonished at the variety of paths his theory has in fact taken. This holds with regard to both gene-Darwinism, a purified Darwinian approach biologizing the social sciences, and process- Darwinism found in the disciplines of psychology, philosophy of science, and economics. Although Darwinism is often linked to highly confirmed biological theories, some of its interpretations seem to profit from tautological claims as well, where scientific reputation cloaks ideological usage. This book discusses central tenets of Darwinism historically as well as systematically, for example the history of different Darwinian paradigms, the units-of-selection debate, and the philosophical problem of induction as basis of metaphysical Darwinism. Crucially the book addresses the Darwinian claim that evolution is governed by an immutable and unrelentingly cruel law of natural selection. Paradoxically, Darwins theory is a static, non-evolutionary theory of evolution. The current book sketches the historical background and provides suggestions that may help to replace this approach by the idea of an evolution of evolutionary mechanisms (see Escher's 'Drawing Hands' on the cover). This view even suggests a tendency to overcome the blindness of the knowledge acquisition of primordial Darwinian processes and allows for some freedom from external environments. This book first develops a radically Darwinian approach, then criticises this approach from within. Even Darwinism has a tendency to transcend itself. Although the book addresses several empirical issues, it does not challenge particular findings. Instead it builds on many insights of Darwinism and provides a proposal for interpreting known empirical evidence in a different light. It should help pave the way for further developing an understanding of nature that transcends Darwinian metaphysics"--Publisher's description.
Download or read book Understanding Economic Change written by Ulrich Witt and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-29 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shows how thinking in evolutionary terms enhances our understanding of the economic and social change taking place at all levels.
Download or read book The Philosophy of Science A M written by Sahotra Sarkar and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2006 with total page 536 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first in-depth reference to the field that combines scientific knowledge with philosophical inquiry, this encyclopedia brings together a team of leading scholars to provide nearly 150 entries on the essential concepts in the philosophy of science. The areas covered include biology, chemistry, epistemology and metaphysics, physics, psychology and mind, the social sciences, and key figures in the combined studies of science and philosophy. (Midwest).
Download or read book Darwin Among The Machines written by George B. Dyson and published by . This book was released on 2012-09-04 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As timely now as it was when it was first published in 1997, Darwin Among the Machines tells the story of humankind’s long journey into the digital age. Historian of technology George Dyson traces the course of the information revolution, illuminating the lives and work of visionaries—from Thomas Hobbes to John von Neumann—who foresaw the development of artificial intelligence, artificial life, and artificial mind. Weaving a convincing, occasionally frightening narrative of the evolution of the global network, Dyson explores the limits of Darwinian evolution to suggest what lies ahead. Computer programs and worldwide networks are combining to produce an evolutionary theater in which the distinctions between nature and technology are increasingly obscured, he argues. We are living in the midst of an experiment—one that echoes the prehistory of human intelligence and the origins of life. Now in a new paperback edition, this classic work on the emergence of collective mechanical intelligence will resonate for generations to come.
Download or read book Evolution and Transitions in Complexity written by Gerard A.J.M Jagers op Akkerhuis and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-18 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book discusses several recent theoretic advancements in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary integration in the field of evolution. While exploring novel views, the text maintains a close link with one of the most broadly held views on evolution, namely that of “Darwinian evolution.” This work puts forth a new point of view which allows researchers to define in detail the concept of evolution. To create this conceptual definition, the text applies a stringent object-based focus. With this focus, the editor has been able to develop an object-based pattern of evolution at the smallest scale. Subsequently, this smallest scale pattern is used as an innovative basis for generalizations. These generalizations create links between biological Darwinism and generalized Darwinism. The object-based approach that was used to suggest innovations in the field of Darwinian evolution also allowed for contributions to other topics, such as major evolutionary transitions theory, the definition of life and the relationships between evolution, self-organization and thermodynamics. Together, the chapters of this book and the multidisciplinary reflections and comments of various specialists on these chapters offer an exciting palette of innovative ideas.
Download or read book The Evolution of Knowledge written by Rajendra K. Bera and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
