Seven Puzzles of Thought

Seven Puzzles of Thought
Author: R. M. Sainsbury
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2012-02-23
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0191629243

Download Seven Puzzles of Thought Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

How can one think about the same thing twice without knowing that it's the same thing? How can one think about nothing at all (for example Pegasus, the mythical flying horse)? Is thinking about oneself special? One could mistake one's car for someone else's, but it seems one could not mistake one's own headache for someone else's. Why not? R. M. Sainsbury and Michael Tye provide an entirely new theory—called 'originalism'— which provides simple and natural solutions to these puzzles and more. Originalism's central thesis is that concepts, the constituents of thoughts, are to be individuated by their origin, rather than epistemically or semantically. The doctrine has further valuable consequences for the nature of thought, our knowledge of our own thoughts, the nature of experience, the epistemology of perception-based beliefs, and for arguments based on conceivability. Sainsbury and Tye argue that although thought is special, there is no special mystery attaching to the nature of thought. Their account of the mind considers it as part of nature, as opposed to something with supernatural powers—which means that human beings have more opportunities to make mistakes than many have liked to think.

Seven Puzzles of Thought

Seven Puzzles of Thought
Author: Mark Sainsbury
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2013-08-08
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 019968894X

Download Seven Puzzles of Thought Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Sainsbury and Tye present a new theory, 'originalism', which provides natural, simple solutions to puzzles about thought that have troubled philosophers for centuries. They argue that concepts are to be individuated by their origin, rather than epistemically or semantically. Although thought is special, no special mystery attaches to its nature.

Thinking about Things

Thinking about Things
Author: Mark Sainsbury
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2018-05-03
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0192524984

Download Thinking about Things Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

In the blink of an eye, I can redirect my thought from London to Austin, from apples to unicorns, from former president Obama to the mythical flying horse, Pegasus. How is this possible? How can we think about things that do not exist, like unicorns and Pegasus? They are not there to be thought about, yet we think about them just as easily as we think about things that do exist. Thinking About Things addresses these and related questions, taking as its framework a representational theory of mind. It explains how mental states are attributed, what their aboutness consists in, whether or not they are relational, and whether any of them involve nonexistent things. The explanation centers on a new theory of what is involved in attributing attitudes like thinking, hoping, and wanting. These attributions are intensional: some of them seem to involve nonexistent things, and they typically have semantic and logical peculiarities, like the fact that one cannot always substitute one expression for another that refers to the same thing without affecting truth. Mark Sainsburys new theory, display theory, explains these anomalies. For example, substituting coreferring expressions does not always preserve truth because the correctness of an attribution depends on what concepts it displays, not on what the concepts refer to. And a concept that refers to nothing may be used in an accurate display of what someone is thinking.

Mathematical Puzzles

Mathematical Puzzles
Author: Peter Winkler
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 392
Release: 2021-01-21
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 0429557973

Download Mathematical Puzzles Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Research in mathematics is much more than solving puzzles, but most people will agree that solving puzzles is not just fun: it helps focus the mind and increases one's armory of techniques for doing mathematics. Mathematical Puzzles makes this connection explicit by isolating important mathematical methods, then using them to solve puzzles and prove a theorem. Features A collection of the world’s best mathematical puzzles Each chapter features a technique for solving mathematical puzzles, examples, and finally a genuine theorem of mathematics that features that technique in its proof Puzzles that are entertaining, mystifying, paradoxical, and satisfying; they are not just exercises or contest problems.

Self-Reflection for the Opaque Mind

Self-Reflection for the Opaque Mind
Author: T. Parent
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2016-12-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1317210964

Download Self-Reflection for the Opaque Mind Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

This volume attempts to solve a grave problem about critical self-reflection. The worry is that we critical thinkers are all in "epistemic bad faith" in light of what psychology tells us. After all, the research shows not merely that we are bad at detecting "ego-threatening" thoughts à la Freud. It also indicates that we are ignorant of even our ordinary thoughts—e.g., reasons for our moral judgments of others (Haidt 2001), and even mundane reasons for buying one pair of stockings over another! (Nisbett & Wilson 1977) However, reflection on one’s thoughts requires knowing what those thoughts are in the first place. So if ignorance is the norm, why attempt self-reflection? The activity would just display naivety about psychology. Yet while respecting all the data, this book argues that, remarkably, we are sometimes infallible in our self-discerning judgments. Even so, infallibility does not imply indubitability, and there is no Cartesian ambition to provide a "foundation" for empirical knowledge. The point is rather to explain how self-reflection as a rational activity is possible.

Knowing How: Essays on Knowledge, Mind, and Action

Knowing How: Essays on Knowledge, Mind, and Action
Author: John Bengson
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2011-12-09
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 019990958X

Download Knowing How: Essays on Knowledge, Mind, and Action Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Knowledge how to do things is a pervasive and central element of everyday life. Yet it raises many difficult questions that must be answered by philosophers and cognitive scientists aspiring to understand human cognition and agency. What is the connection between knowing how and knowing that? Is knowledge how simply a type of ability or disposition to act? Is there an irreducibly practical form of knowledge? What is the role of the intellect in intelligent action? This volume contains fifteen state of the art essays by leading figures in philosophy and linguistics that amplify and sharpen the debate between intellectualists and anti-intellectualists about mind and action, highlighting the conceptual, empirical, and linguistic issues that motivate and sustain the conflict. The essays also explore various ways in which this debate informs central areas of ethics, philosophy of action, epistemology, philosophy of language, and philosophy of mind and cognitive science. Knowing How covers a broad range of topics dealing with tacit and procedural knowledge, the psychology of skill, expertise, intelligence and intelligent action, the nature of ability, the syntax and semantics of embedded questions, the mind-body problem, phenomenal character, epistemic injustice, moral knowledge, the epistemology of logic, linguistic competence, the connection between knowledge and understanding, and the relation between theory and practice. This is the book on knowing how--an invaluable resource for philosophers, linguists, psychologists, and others concerned with knowledge, mind, and action.

Perplexing Puzzles and Tantalizing Teasers

Perplexing Puzzles and Tantalizing Teasers
Author: Martin Gardner
Publisher: Courier Corporation
Total Pages: 226
Release: 1988-05
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 0486256375

Download Perplexing Puzzles and Tantalizing Teasers Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Combines two previously published works, resulting in ninety-three brain-teasing puzzles, riddles, and questions with an emphasis on humor.

Good Thinking

Good Thinking
Author: Denise D. Cummins
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 213
Release: 2012-04-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 0521192048

Download Good Thinking Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Do you know what economists mean when they refer to you as a "rational agent"? Or why a psychologist might label your idea a "creative insight"? After reading this book, you will know how the best and brightest thinkers judge the ways we decide, argue, solve problems, and tell right from wrong.

The Brainiest Insaniest Ultimate Puzzle Book!

The Brainiest Insaniest Ultimate Puzzle Book!
Author: Robert Leighton
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2006-12-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9780761143864

Download The Brainiest Insaniest Ultimate Puzzle Book! Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle

Fully illustrated in color, this treasure trove features 250 puzzles on every imaginable theme and subject. The book is a bonanza of mazes, word games, visual and logic puzzles, and more.

Teaching to Think

Teaching to Think
Author: Julius Boraas
Publisher:
Total Pages: 312
Release: 1922
Genre: Thought and thinking
ISBN:

Download Teaching to Think Book in PDF, Epub and Kindle