Welcome to our book review site go-pdf.online!
You may have to Search all our reviewed books and magazines, click the sign up button below to create a free account.
Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge
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. S...
Evolutionary Worlds Without End
In Evolutionary Worlds without end, Henry Plotkin considers whether there is any general theory in biology, including the social sciences, that is in any way equivalent to the general theories of physics. He starts by examining Ernest Rutherford's dictum as to what science is. In the later chapters he considers the possibility, within an historical framework, of a general theory being based upon selection processes. --
Darwin Machines and the Nature of Knowledge
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.
The Imagined World Made Real
The Imagined World Made Real changes this by showing how a grasp of human evolution extends the reach of science. Henry Plotkin recognizes that at the heart of human culture are social constructs, such as justice and money, and that collective beliefs, values, and actions are essential to their formation and maintenance. Only when these constructs are integrated into an accepted biological framework will there be a true synthesis between the social and natural sciences.
Taking the Naturalistic Turn, Or How Real Philosophy of Science Is Done
This innovative book presents candid, informal debates among scholars who examine the benefits and problems of studying science in the same way that scientists study the natural world.
Necessary Knowledge
'Necessary Knowledge' takes on one of the big questions at the heart of the cognitive sciences - what knowledge do we possess at birth, and what do we learn along the way? It is now widely accepted that evolution, individual development, and individual learning can no longer be studied in isolation from each-other - they are inextricably linked. Therefore any successful theory must integrate these elements, and somehow relate them to human culture. Clearly we learn from the world around us, but that learning is skewed towards specific things about the world. We do not just attend to and learn about every stimulus that confronts us - if we did, learning would be impossibly time-consuming and ...
Memetics
Memetics is the name commonly given to the study of memes - a term originally coined by Richard Dawkins to describe small inherited elements of human culture. Memes are the cultural equivalent of DNA genes - and memetics is the cultural equivalent of genetics. Memes have become ubiquitous in the modern world - but there has been relatively little proper scientific study of how they arise, spread and change - apparently due to turf wars within the social sciences and misguided resistance to Darwinian explanations being applied to human behaviour. However, with the modern explosion of internet memes, I think this is bound to change. With memes penetrating into every mass media channel, and wit...
The Role of Behavior in Evolution
These six original essays focus on a potentially important aspect of evolutionary biology, the possible causal role of phenotypic behavior in evolution. Balancing theory with actual or potential empiricism, they provide the first full examination of this topic. Plotkin's opening chapter outlines the "conceptual minefields" that the contributors attempt to negotiate: What is an adequate theory of evolution? What is behavior and is it possible to maintain a distinction between behavior and other attributes of the phenotype? is all, or only a special subset, of behavior both a cause and a consequence of evolution? And what do the theoretical issues mean in empirical terms? He concludes that any...
In Search of Human Nature
Human Nature offers a wide-ranging and holistic view of human nature from all perspectives: scientific, historical, and sociological. Mary Clark takes the most recent data from a dozen or more fields, and works it together with clarifying anecdotes and thought-provoking images to challenge conventional Western beliefs with hopeful new insights. Balancing the theories of cutting-edge neuroscience with the insights of primitive mythologies, Mary Clark provides down-to-earth suggestions for peacefully resolving global problems. Human Nature builds up a coherent, and above all positive, picture of who we really are.
The Ethics of Emerging Media
The Ethics of Emerging Media engages with enduring ethical questions while addressing critical questions concerning ethical boundaries at the forefront of new media development. This collection provides a rare opportunity to ask how emerging media affect the ethical choices in our lives and the lives of people across the globe. Centering on different new media forms from eBay to Wikipedia, each chapter raises questions about how changing media formats affect current theoretical understanding of ethics. By interrogating traditional ethical theory, we can better understand the challenges to ethical decision making in an age of rapidly evolving media. Each chapter focuses on a specific case within the broader conceptual fabric of ethical theory. The case studies ground the discussion of ethics in practical applications while, at the same time, addressing moral dilemmas that have plagued us for generations. The specific applications will undoubtedly continue to unfold, but the ethical questions will endure.
