The Brain and the Meaning of Life

ISBN-10: 1400834619
ISBN-13: 9781400834617
Category: Psychology
Pages: 293
Language: English
Published: 2010-01-25
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Author: Paul Thagard

Description

How brain science answers the most intriguing questions about the meaning of life Why is life worth living? What makes actions right or wrong? What is reality and how do we know it? The Brain and the Meaning of Life draws on research in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience to answer some of the most pressing questions about life's nature and value. Paul Thagard argues that evidence requires the abandonment of many traditional ideas about the soul, free will, and immortality, and shows how brain science matters for fundamental issues about reality, morality, and the meaning of life. The ongoing Brain Revolution reveals how love, work, and play provide good reasons for living. Defending the superiority of evidence-based reasoning over religious faith and philosophical thought experiments, Thagard argues that minds are brains and that reality is what science can discover. Brains come to know reality through a combination of perception and reasoning. Just as important, our brains evaluate aspects of reality through emotions that can produce both good and bad decisions. Our cognitive and emotional abilities allow us to understand reality, decide effectively, act morally, and pursue the vital needs of love, work, and play. Wisdom consists of knowing what matters, why it matters, and how to achieve it. The Brain and the Meaning of Life shows how brain science helps to answer questions about the nature of mind and reality, while alleviating anxiety about the difficulty of life in a vast universe. The book integrates decades of multidisciplinary research, but its clear explanations and humor make it accessible to the general reader.

Get the book

Other editions

The Brain and the Meaning of Life
- 2012-02-26
- 296 pages
- Paperback
- Princeton University Press
The Brain and the Meaning of Life
- 2010-02-14
- 274 pages
- Paperback
- Princeton University Press

Similar books

Designing Preschool Interventions: A Practitioner's Guide
By David W. Barnett, Susan H. Bell, Karen T. Carey
... 165 Thomson , C. , 52 , 59 Thurman , S. K. , 230 Thyer , B. A. , 308 Timberlake , W. , 165 Webster - Stratton , 237 , 251 , 253 , 366 Author Index.
Assessing and Treating Low Incidence/High Severity Psychological Disorders of Childhood
By Stefan C. Dombrowski, Karen L. Gischlar, Martin Mrazik
Haberstick, B.C., Lessem, J. M., Hopfer, C. J., Smolen, A., Ehringer, M.A., Timberlake, D., et al. (2005). Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) and antisocial ...
The War Between Mentalism and Behaviorism: On the Accessibility of Mental Processes
By William R. Uttal
Some, like the “behavior systems” approach of Timberlake(1994)assume thatbehavior can be explained by a system of interactingmodules thatareeither built ...
The Psychology of B F Skinner
By William O'Donohue, Kyle E. Ferguson
However, there is clear evidence that this constant ratio does not always produce reinforcement (Timberlake & Allison, 1974). Second and, as we shall see ...
Finishing Well: Aging And Reparation In The Intergenerational Family
By Terry D. Hargrave, William T. Anderson
... 30, 32 Thomae, H., 40 Thompson, L., 23-24 Timberlake, E. M., 16 Tobin, S. S., ... E, 33 Wolfe, S. M., 81 Wolinsky, M. A., 85 Zarit, J., 11, 30, 31, 32, ...
The Social Insects: Their Origin and Evolution
By William Morton Wheeler
La Crisi Mondiale e Saggi Critici di Marxiano e Socialismo. Bologna, N. Zanichelli. ... TIMBERLAKE (P. H.): 1912. Experimental Parasitism, a Study of the ...
Principles and Practice of Behavioral Assessment
By Stephen N. Haynes, William Hayes O'Brien
... 143 Tharp, R. G., 80 Thompson, R. H., 250 Timberlake, W., 308,309 Tingey, ... B. W., 70 Ries, B.J., 268 Robins, E.,298 Robinson, S. L., 91,244 Roper, ...
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Approaches to a Science of Life: Word Pictures and Correlations Versus Working Models
By William T. Powers, Philip J. Runkel
... R.L., McGrath, Joseph E. McKeachie McPhail, Clark Miller, J.G. Mitchell, ... Jerry 469 Taylor 39 Timberlake, William 464 Tolman 72, 140, 142 Tucker, ...
Discovering Psychology: The Science of Mind
By John T. Cacioppo, Laura Freberg
... 247 Fromme, H., 523 Frost, P., 106 Frost, R., 161 Fryer, R., 291 Fuhrer, D., 4 Fukuyama, H., 408 Fulbright, R. K., 486 Fulero, S., 440 Fuligni, A. J., ...
Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding
By Scott Lilienfeld, Steven Jay Lynn, Laura Namy
... C. 638 Ernst, D. 704 Ernst, E. 278 Esch, T. 110 Eslinger, P.J. 448 Esposito-Smythers, ... E. 197 Frontera, W. R. 408 Frost, J. 332 Frost, R. 699 Frost, ...