The Brain and the Meaning of Life PDF
Preview The Brain and the Meaning of Life
the brain and the meaning of life the brain and the meaning of life Paul Thagard princeton university press princeton and oxford Copyright © 2010 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Thagard, Paul. The brain and the meaning of life / Paul Thagard. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-691-14272-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Life. 2. Cognitive science. I. Title. BD431.T28 2010 128—dc22 2009025312 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Berkeley Printed on acid-free paper. ∞ press.princeton.edu Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my sons, Adam and Dan Contents Preface xi Acknowledgments xv 1. We All Need Wisdom 1 Why Live? 1 Sources of Wisdom 3 Philosophical Approaches 5 The Relevance of Minds and Brains 6 Looking Ahead 8 Conclusion 12 2. Evidence Beats Faith 13 Faith versus Evidence 13 How Faith Works 14 How Evidence Works 20 Evidence and Inference in Science 23 Medicine: Evidence or Faith? 27 Evidence, Truth, and God 32 A Priori Reasoning and Thought Experiments 35 Conclusion 40 3. Minds Are Brains 42 The Brain Revolution 42 Evidence That Minds Are Brains 43 Evidence for Dualism? 54 Objections to Mind-Brain Identity 59 Who Are You? 63 Conclusion 64 4. How Brains Know Reality 67 Reality and Its Discontents 67 Knowing Objects 69 Appearance and Reality 72 Concepts 76 Knowledge beyond Perception 81 Coherence in the Brain 85 Coherence and Truth 90 Conclusion 92 viii contents 5. How Brains Feel Emotions 94 Emotions Matter 94 Valuations in the Brain 95 Cognitive Appraisal versus Bodily Perception 98 Synthesis: The EMOCON Model 100 Emotional Consciousness 105 Multilevel Explanations 108 Rationality and Affective Afflictions 111 Conclusion 116 6. How Brains Decide 119 Big Decisions 119 Inference to the Best Plan 121 Decisions in the Brain 123 Changing Goals 126 How to Make Bad Decisions 133 Living without Free Will 137 Conclusion 140 7. Why Life Is Worth Living 142 The Meaning of Life 142 Nihilism 143 Happiness 146 Goals and Meaning 149 Love 152 Work 158 Play 161 Conclusion 165 8. Needs and Hopes 168 Wants versus Needs 168 Vital Needs 169 How Love, Work, and Play Satisfy Needs 171 Balance, Coherence, and Change 176 Hope versus Despair 177 Conclusion 182 9. Ethical Brains 183 Ethical Decisions 183 Conscience and Moral Intuitions 184 Mirror Neurons 188 Empathy 190 Moral Motivation 192 contents ix Ethical Theory 195 Moral Objectivity 201 Responsibility 204 Conclusion 206 10. Making Sense of It All 209 Connections Made 209 Wisdom Gained 213 What Kind of Government Should Countries Have? 215 How Can Creative Change Be Produced? 217 What Is Mathematical Knowledge? 221 Why Is There Something and Not Nothing? 224 The Future of Wisdom 226 Notes 231 Glossary 251 References 255 Index 271
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