Download or read book Embodiment and the Inner Life written by Murray Shanahan and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To understand the mind and its place in Nature is one of the great intellectual challenges of our time, a challenge that is both scientific and philosophical. How does cognition influence an animal's behaviour? What are its neural underpinnings? How is the inner life of a human being constituted? What are the neural underpinnings of the conscious condition? Embodiment and the Inner Life approaches each of these questions from a scientific standpoint. But it contends that, before we can make progress on them, we have to give up the habit of thinking metaphysically, a habit that creates a fog of philosophical confusion. From this post-reflective point of view, the book argues for an intimate relationship between cognition, sensorimotor embodiment, and the integrative character of the conscious condition. Drawing on insights from psychology, neuroscience, and dynamical systems, it proposes an empirical theory of this three-way relationship whose principles, not being tied to the contingencies of biology or physics, are applicable to the whole space of possible minds in which humans and other animals are included. Embodiment and the Inner Life is one of very few books that provides a properly joined-up theory of consciousness, and will be essential reading for all psychologists, philosophers, and neuroscientists with an interest in the enduring puzzle of consciousness.
Download or read book Inner Life and Soul written by Maurizio Migliori and published by Academia. This book was released on 2011 with total page 359 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of the soul, one of the greatest 'inventions' of Greek philosophy, which crossed the whole history of the Western civilisation, was defined in its fundamental philosophical features by Plato. Developing the numerous issues naturally linked to this concept, Plato's thought does not only focus on metaphysical and religious themes, but also to all issues related to spirituality and the human psyche, including their ethical consequences. Therefore, the concept of soul opens the door to an endless process involving the analysis of a subject's interiority. It is not by chance, that this Platonic theme recurs in many texts and even represents the backbone of whole dialogues. In this collection, some of the most important contemporary Platonic scholars looked at these complex philosophical issues from innovative perspectives, especially with regard to texts that previously were either underestimated or largely ignored. This perspective gives the reader a chance to evaluate the hermeneutic power of different approaches and interpretations of Plato's texts, revaluating as well the richness of Plato's contribution to questions that have been received and developed in contemporary philosophical reflections.
Download or read book The Embodied Mind written by Thomas R. Verny and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As groundbreaking synthesis that promises to shift our understanding of the mind-brain connection and its relationship with our bodies. We understand the workings of the human body as a series of interdependent physiological relationships: muscle interacts with bone as the heart responds to hormones secreted by the brain, all the way down to the inner workings of every cell. To make an organism function, no one component can work alone. In light of this, why is it that the accepted understanding that the physical phenomenon of the mind is attributed only to the brain? In The Embodied Mind, internationally renowned psychiatrist Dr. Thomas R. Verny sets out to redefine our concept of the mind and consciousness. He brilliantly compiles new research that points to the mind’s ties to every part of the body. The Embodied Mind collects disparate findings in physiology, genetics, and quantum physics in order to illustrate the mounting evidence that somatic cells, not just neural cells, store memory, inform genetic coding, and adapt to environmental changes—all behaviors that contribute to the mind and consciousness. Cellular memory, Verny shows, is not just an abstraction, but a well-documented scientific fact that will shift our understanding of memory. Verny describes single-celled organisms with no brains demonstrating memory, and points to the remarkable case of a French man who, despite having a brain just a fraction of the typical size, leads a normal life with a family and a job. The Embodied Mind shows how intelligence and consciousness—traits traditionally attributed to the brain alone—also permate our entire being. Bodily cells and tissues use the same molecular mechanisms for memory as our brain, making our mind more fluid and adaptable than we could have ever imaged.
Download or read book The Inner Life written by Charles Webster Leadbeater and published by . This book was released on 1917 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Meaning and Embodiment written by Nicholas Mowad and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2019-08-01 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines Hegel’s insights regarding the complexity and significance of embodiment in human life, identity, and experience. Meaning and Embodiment provides a detailed study of Hegel’s anthropology to examine the place of corporeity or embodiment in human life, identity, and experience. In Hegel’s view, to be human means in part to produce one’s own spiritual embodiment in culture and habits. Whereas for animals nature only has meaning relative to biological drives, humans experience meaning in a way that transcends these limits, and which allows for aesthetic appreciation of beauty and sublimity, nihilistic feelings of meaninglessness, and the complex and different systems of symbolic speech and action characterizing language and culture. By elucidating the different forms of embodiment, Nicholas Mowad shows how for Hegel we are embodied in several different ways at once: as extended, subject to physical-chemical forces, living, and human. Many difficult problems in philosophy and everyday experience come down to using the right concept of embodiment. Mowad traces Hegel’s account through the growth and development of the body, gender and racial difference, cycles of sleep and waking, and sensibility and mental illness. “This book offers a lucid explanation of very difficult Hegelian concepts in clear language, along with a passionate, searing, provocative, and intelligent foray into questions of race and gender.” — Lydia Moland, Colby College
Download or read book Supersizing the Mind written by Andy Clark and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2010-12-31 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When historian Charles Weiner found pages of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman's notes, he saw it as a "record" of Feynman's work. Feynman himself, however, insisted that the notes were not a record but the work itself. In Supersizing the Mind, Andy Clark argues that our thinking doesn't happen only in our heads but that "certain forms of human cognizing include inextricable tangles of feedback, feed-forward and feed-around loops: loops that promiscuously criss-cross the boundaries of brain, body and world." The pen and paper of Feynman's thought are just such feedback loops, physical machinery that shape the flow of thought and enlarge the boundaries of mind. Drawing upon recent work in psychology, linguistics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, robotics, human-computer systems, and beyond, Supersizing the Mind offers both a tour of the emerging cognitive landscape and a sustained argument in favor of a conception of mind that is extended rather than "brain-bound." The importance of this new perspective is profound. If our minds themselves can include aspects of our social and physical environments, then the kinds of social and physical environments we create can reconfigure our minds and our capacity for thought and reason.
Download or read book Embodied Enlightenment written by Amoda Maa Jeevan and published by New Harbinger Publications. This book was released on 2017-06-01 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Embodied Enlightenment, contemporary spiritual teacher Amoda Maa Jeevan dispels the outdated view of a transcendent enlightenment and instead presents a new, feminine expression of awakened consciousness for all—one that is felt and known through what our everyday lives are made of: our emotions, bodies, intimate relationships, work, and life’s purpose. This book is a direct invitation to awaken in a profound, embodied way, and to participate in a collective evolution that can create a new world. When many of us think of enlightenment, we may envision a life of seclusion and contemplation, transcending the body and worldly attachments, or the achievement of karmic perfection. But what if, rather than something reserved for the mountaintop meditator or sage, the call to awaken is meant for us all? And how can we consciously live that awakening in the midst of our complex, messy, modern lives? Speaking from her own awakened experience, Amoda Maa Jeevan offers a timeless wisdom, busting some of the common myths about enlightenment and addressing topics often excluded from more traditional spiritual conversations—from the connection between consciousness and the body to relationships to planetary health. In addition, she covers the unfamiliar territory of what happens after enlightenment, delving into awakened action, creative expression, and more. There’s an urgency today to evolve beyond humanity’s current ego-based paradigm, and along with it, a unique expression of enlightenment is emerging. With clarity, passion, and grace, Embodied Enlightenment invites you on an exploration of consciousness that embraces both the messiness of your earthly experience and the non-duality of pure awareness, offering guidance on how your daily life can bring you into alignment with a divine destiny of individual and collective awakening.
Download or read book Restorative Embodiment and Resilience written by Alan Fogel, Ph.D. and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An expanded take on traditional Embodied Self-Awareness therapy, ideal for practitioners in all areas of body-focused work, including yoga, meditation, and somatic psychotherapy Embodied Self-Awareness (ESA) is a somatic approach to treat trauma and other mental health concerns by helping people connect directly to thoughts, sensations, and emotions as they arise within the body. Here, psychologist Alan Fogel introduces Restorative ESA, an expansion of traditional ESA that incorporates three new and unique ESA states: Restorative, Modulated, and Dysregulated. Using a research-backed approach, Fogel explains their underlying neuroscience with concrete examples to illustrate how these states impact our personal and professional lives. Fogel shows that wellness is more than the ability to moderate one’s inner state by regulating and tolerating emotions. By shi ing from states of doing to allowing, from activation to receptivity, and from thinking to felt experience, we can access the expansive power of the restorative state and heal the body, mind, and spirit.
Download or read book Embodiment and Agency written by Sue Campbell and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Cosmic Consciousness written by Richard Maurice Bucke and published by Penguin. This book was released on 1991-10-05 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This classic study in the evolution of the human mind is a pioneering work as valuable today as when it was first published in 1901. At that time, it was enthusiastically acclaimed by both William James and P. D. Ouspensky. It has long been accepted as a landmark in the field of mysticism. In reviewing the mental and spiritual activity of the human race, Dr. Bucke discovers that at intervals certain individuals have appeared who are gifted with the power of transcendent realization—or Illumination. Their experiences constitute a definite advance in man’s relation with the Infinite. Moreover, the author shows from available records that this transfiguring endowment of Illumination is on the increase, and he gives full details of practically all the cases on record up to the time when the book was written.
Download or read book The Embodiment of Knowledge written by William Carlos Williams and published by New Directions Publishing. This book was released on 1974 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WCW, The Embodiment of Knowledge. Early essays.
Download or read book Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment written by Niva Piran and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For five decades, negative body image has been a major focus of study due to its association with psychological and social morbidity, including eating disorders. However, more recently the body image construct has broadened to include positive ways of living in the body, enabling greater understanding of embodied well-being, as well as protective factors and interventions to guide the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Handbook of Positive Body Image and Embodiment is the first comprehensive, research-based resource to address the breadth of innovative theoretical concepts and related practices concerning positive ways of living in the body, including positive body image and embodiment. Presenting 37 chapters by world-renowned experts in body image and eating behaviors, this state-of-the-art collection delineates constructs of positive body image and embodiment, as well as social environments (such as families, peers, schools, media, and the Internet) and therapeutic processes that can enhance them. Constructs examined include positive embodiment, body appreciation, body functionality, body image flexibility, broad conceptualization of beauty, intuitive eating, and attuned sexuality. Also discussed are protective factors, such as environments that promote body acceptance, personal safety, diversity, and activism, and a resistant stance towards objectification, media images, and restrictive feminine ideals. The handbook also explores how therapeutic interventions (including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Dissonance, and many more) and public health and policy initiatives can inform scholarly, clinical, and prevention-based work in the field of eating disorders.
Download or read book Secret Language of the Mind written by David Cohen and published by Chronicle Books. This book was released on 1996-09 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's the significance of a Freudian slip? Is there a difference between men's and women's brain chemestry? Does hypnosis really work? The Secret Language of the Mind explores in fascinating detail the intriguing and ongoing mysteries about why and who we are. Over 200 full-color and b&w illustrations.
Download or read book The Technological Singularity written by Murray Shanahan and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2015-08-07 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of technological singularity, and what it would mean if ordinary human intelligence were enhanced or overtaken by artificial intelligence. The idea that human history is approaching a “singularity”—that ordinary humans will someday be overtaken by artificially intelligent machines or cognitively enhanced biological intelligence, or both—has moved from the realm of science fiction to serious debate. Some singularity theorists predict that if the field of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to develop at its current dizzying rate, the singularity could come about in the middle of the present century. Murray Shanahan offers an introduction to the idea of the singularity and considers the ramifications of such a potentially seismic event. Shanahan's aim is not to make predictions but rather to investigate a range of scenarios. Whether we believe that singularity is near or far, likely or impossible, apocalypse or utopia, the very idea raises crucial philosophical and pragmatic questions, forcing us to think seriously about what we want as a species. Shanahan describes technological advances in AI, both biologically inspired and engineered from scratch. Once human-level AI—theoretically possible, but difficult to accomplish—has been achieved, he explains, the transition to superintelligent AI could be very rapid. Shanahan considers what the existence of superintelligent machines could mean for such matters as personhood, responsibility, rights, and identity. Some superhuman AI agents might be created to benefit humankind; some might go rogue. (Is Siri the template, or HAL?) The singularity presents both an existential threat to humanity and an existential opportunity for humanity to transcend its limitations. Shanahan makes it clear that we need to imagine both possibilities if we want to bring about the better outcome.
Download or read book Body Mind Psychotherapy Principles Techniques and Practical Applications written by Susan Aposhyan and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2018-08-14 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Body-mind psychotherapy (BMP) takes the basic tools of mind-body integration and joins them with an awareness of emotional development. Working with techniques such as body awareness, touch, breath, and movement, BMP reintroduces the body and its innate wisdom to the theory and practice of psychotherapy. This alternative practice is one of the exciting frontiers of therapy and will enrich the work of therapists, medical practitioners, and bodyworkers.Body and mind are functionally inseparable. The cultural separation of body and mind, however, has confused our thinking and created obstacles for psychological health. This separation is itself firmly planted in the practices of standard psychotherapy. In the first part of the book, Aposhyan discusses this false division and goes on to articulate the theoretical basis for the unity of body and mind. Drawing on research in neuroscience and developmental conceptions of human attachment, bodily processes including nonverbal attunement, processing, and regulation are shown to be basic to what transpires in therapy. This account culminates in a chapter on the links between biology and consciousness that are critical for therapeutic that addresses the whole person.Part 2 provides an overview of the basic form of BMP. Beginning with the tasks of therapy, the chapters in this part describe the format of therapy in terms of a cycle of interaction between body and mind concluding with a consideration of the primary goal of BMP--i.e., a synchronization of body and mind founded in body awareness. The therapy professional is also offered methods to cultivate his or her own embodiment. For the psychotherapist, personal embodiment is the single most important key to integrating the body into psychotherapy practice.The body systems are reviewed in Part 3. Aposhyan takes the reader on a detailed tour of various important systems including the muscular, skeletal, and nervous systems as well as the skin, fluids, viscera, and endocrine systems. The result is an articulate picture of an integrated set of body functions all of which have their distinct roles and yet communicate with and have a bearing upon the functioning of each other. The specific techniques of BMP are grounded in this detailed picture of the various body systems. In Part 4 Aposhyan instructs readers in how to anchor in the body the change affected by BMP. Discussions here consider change at the cellular level and address specific clinical issues critical to BMP. Body-Mind Psychotherapy offers a simple, user-friendly, and safe approach to integrating the body into therapy and psychological exploration. The techniques involved are consistent with research from neuroscience, psychological development, and traumatology. As a result, the reader will find BMP both an effective and research-based therapeutic approach.
Download or read book Embodiment written by James B. Nelson and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Few would doubt that this is a time of transition in our understanding of human sexuality. The confusion about sexual morals and mores is the more obvious evidence of this. But there is something else. For too long the bulk of Christian reflection about sexuality has asked an essentially one-directional question: what does Christian faith have to say about our lives as sexual beings?
Download or read book Inward written by Michal Pagis and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2019-09-04 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western society has never been more interested in interiority. Indeed, it seems more and more people are deliberately looking inward—toward the mind, the body, or both. Michal Pagis’s Inward focuses on one increasingly popular channel for the introverted gaze: vipassana meditation, which has spread from Burma to more than forty countries and counting. Lacing her account with vivid anecdotes and personal stories, Pagis turns our attention not only to the practice of vipassana but to the communities that have sprung up around it. Inward is also a social history of the westward diffusion of Eastern religious practices spurred on by the lingering effects of the British colonial presence in India. At the same time Pagis asks knotty questions about what happens when we continually turn inward, as she investigates the complex relations between physical selves, emotional selves, and our larger social worlds. Her book sheds new light on evergreen topics such as globalization, social psychology, and the place of the human body in the enduring process of self-awareness.
