Archives for: September 2008
Why Psychology still has a Problem with Consciousness by Stuart Hameroff M.D.
William James, the father of American psychology, wrote gloriously about consciousness a hundred years ago. But following James, his field became dominated by behaviorism which focused exclusively on experimental methods with measurable data. Because conscious awareness can neither be observed nor measured, the very concept became marginalized, and consciousness became quite literally a ‘dirty word’ in academic psychology for most of the 20th century. Beginning in the late 1980s, consciousness re-emerged as an important scientific topic, but has remained largely hidden in psychology’s closet. One reason, I believe, is that psychology is wedded to a strictly computational view of brain function.
Towards a Materialistic Resolution of the "Hard Problem" of Consciousness - An interview with Haim D. Heilprin, Ph.D.
Let us begin with what is arguably the toughest question of all, the question of subjective experience. Please pardon my skepticism, but it is my understanding that you purport to offer an explanation to the "hard problem" of consciousness…
Yes. The nature of consciousness is one of the most fundamental enigmas of science, on par with the ultimate nature of matter. Yet unlike the study of any other scientific subject, in the case of consciousness we seem to be clueless even as to where to begin our investigation. It's as if consciousnesses lies beyond the scope of science, or indeed, as some argue, even beyond the scope of our intellectual grasp.
I believe that we can understand consciousness, and that the answer to this enigma lies with the consistent application of Occam's razor to the plain facts at hand. I start out with a few necessary postulates which, following a short and rather straightforward mental expedition, nonetheless lead to one the most profound conceptual revolutions in the history of science.
Narratives: Is This How We Think? By Russell Eisenman, Ph.D.
Narratives are the stories we tell. From a radical standpoint, one could say that there is no reality, just narratives. Even without this radical position, one can appreciate the importance of the narrative as a way we communicate and think. In recent years, the study of narratives has increased, and there are now journals devoted to the study of the narrative.
From an evolutionary psychology viewpoint, the brain has evolved over the course of thousands of years. We know from historical findings that earlier cultures did not have the language or intelligence that we now possess. As a result, certain structures could be inherent in our language and thinking (Chomsky, 1972), that has helped us evolve language and thinking, and which could explain the narrative findings I am about to present.
Some Insights About Video Games By Russell Eisenman, Ph.D.
Abstract
Data show that, over time, video games have become more complex and more violent. The effects of this are discussed. Further, the views of 200 Hispanic college students in five college classes taught by the author in Texas, USA, are discussed. Many Hispanic college students play video games, approximately 50% on a regular basis and 75% altogether, based on the present data. However, their impressions of the violence in video games is small, prior to discussion about video game violence. Only 40% initially said that video games are violent, but that changed to 75% after discussion. Most of the students did not think that playing video games could lead to violence, although some research, especially that of C. A. Anderson and colleagues, suggest that it does lead to violence.
The Organic Mind by Dr. Leon James
Mental psychology is an everyday self-help tool for modifying our inherited hellish traits and acquiring heavenly traits.
Human beings are born with a temporary physical body and an immortal mental body. Our mind or mental organs are located in the mental body because mental events such as our sensations, our thoughts, and our feelings, are objects than can exist only in the mental world through our mental body. When we undergo the dying and resuscitation process, which takes about 33 hours to complete, we are separated from the physical world and are resuscitated in the mental world with our mental body. We then continue our immortal life in that world of eternity. It is then that we have to face our endless future, which consists of entering either of two worlds of existence, one called heaven, the other hell. No other option exists. It makes good sense therefore that each of us seriously examine the proposal of mental psychology in order to find out how we control this awesome outcome.
Cats Showing Intelligent Behavior by Russell Eisenman Ph.D. & Susan C. Eisenman
INTRODUCTION
How smart are animals? Do they show intelligent behavior or just rote learning? Dingfelder (2008) reported that people may often read into the behavior of animals, attributing intelligence to them that the animal does not have. The following three examples of intelligent behavior in two domestic, long hair housecats, Thimble and Maxwell, would seem to show their intelligent behavior, well beyond mere rote learning. They were observed by the two authors, a Dad (first author) and his Daughter (second author) over a time period of 9 months, when Susan Eisenman moved from California and lived with Russell Eisenman.
09/29/08 02:35:53 pm,