7. The Witness and the Watched: Yoga and Sāṃkhya
Sue Hamilton
in Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
The mental exercises, or meditative disciplines, known as ‘yoga’ have been a part of Indian tradition since very early times. Over time, many different varieties of yoga have been taught. ...
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2. The mechanical mind
Tim Bayne
in Thought: A Very Short Introduction
What makes a thinker? It has been argued that thought comes from a non-physical medium such as a soul or immaterial mind. This notion has few advocates in science or philosophy, who endorse ...
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1. Matter and Metaphysics
Tom Sorell
in Descartes: A Very Short Introduction
‘Matter and Metaphysics’ explores Descartes' theory that only geometrical properties — length, depth, and breadth — were essential to matter, and that only these properties and motion were ...
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2. From humours to cells: components of mind
Michael O’Shea
in The Brain: A Very Short Introduction
‘From humours to cells’ explores historical perspectives on the brain. The Greeks were the first to see that the brain was central to thought. Hippocrates postulated that there were four ...
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5. Categories and Method: Vaiśeṣika and Nyāya
Sue Hamilton
in Indian Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
One of the earliest systems of thought to emerge from the early milieu (2nd century bce), which was concerned with ‘what to look at’, was that of Kaṇāda, as recorded in his Vaiśeṣika Sūtra. ...
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6. Philosophical problems in physics, biology, and psychology
Samir Okasha
in Philosophy of Science: Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Philosophical problems in physics, biology, and psychology’ examines three philosophical questions that are specific to particular sciences. First, the debate between Gottfried Leibniz and ...
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1. Life and work
A. C. Grayling
in Russell: A Very Short Introduction
‘Life and work’ outlines the contributions of Bertrand Russell to the technical fields of logic and philosophy as well as describing his private life — his marriages, agnosticism, pacifism, ...
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5. Social communication: the heart of the matter
Uta Frith
in Autism: A Very Short Introduction
‘Social communication: the heart of the matter’ asks: Why can't you fully share in the social world if you are autistic? Is there an extra social sense, beyond sound, sight, or touch, that ...
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5. ‘They don’t think like we do’
Tim Bayne
in Thought: A Very Short Introduction
Are the structures of thought fundamentally invariant across changes of cultural context, or is it true that ‘they’ do not think like ‘we’ do? Most psychologists consider human thought as ...
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3. The inner sanctum
Tim Bayne
in Thought: A Very Short Introduction
Thinking is a private activity. Thought can't be accessed by anyone else. This concept of thoughts is described as Cartesian after René Descartes. ‘The inner sanctum’ focuses on the ...
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5. The voice of conscience: is it still to be heard?
Paul Strohm
in Conscience: A Very Short Introduction
Conscience retains its Roman inheritance of a spoken intervention. It is a voice. It needs to secure rights and means of speech if it is to make its influence felt. However, conscience ...
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5. Material minds
Catherine Wilson
in Epicureanism: A Very Short Introduction
‘Material minds’ considers Epicurus’ theory of perception and his views on knowledge and truth. The Epicureans maintained that the soul, like everything else, was material, composed of very ...
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15. The Mind
Tom Sorell
in Descartes: A Very Short Introduction
Descartes' sharp distinction between mind and body is known as Cartesian Dualism: the mind is one sort of substance, the body another. ‘The Mind’ argues that Descartes classifies minds ...
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16. Body
Tom Sorell
in Descartes: A Very Short Introduction
Just as Descartes conceived the mind without attributes involving a body as complete, so a conception of body that omits all properties dependent on a mind was also considered complete. ...
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1. ‘Who am I?’ Identity in philosophy
Florian Coulmas
in Identity: A Very Short Introduction
The question of how consciousness and self-awareness connect with personal identity has accompanied philosophy since antiquity. Sages of diverse orientations have put forth various ...
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6. The learning brain
Usha Goswami
in Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
‘The learning brain’ looks at the influence of personal experience on how we apply logical reasoning and how we learn to detach logic from our own experience. Schooling helps children to ...
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4. Friendships, families, pretend play, and the imagination
Usha Goswami
in Child Psychology: A Very Short Introduction
‘Friendships, families, pretend play, and the imagination’ examines the influence of the people around infants as well as their imaginative games on cognitive and social/emotional ...
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4. Brute thought
Tim Bayne
in Thought: A Very Short Introduction
Do animals think? What do they think about? Can they make predictions? It is clear that there are profound differences between the cognitive capacities of humans and those of non-human ...
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Thought: A Very Short Introduction
Tim Bayne
Thought: A Very Short Introduction looks at the nature of thought. Beginning with questions about what thought is and what distinguishes it from other kinds of mental states, ...
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7. Mind, body, and mortality (Averroes and Pomponazzi)
John Marenbon
in Medieval Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction
The contemporary problem of mind and body differs from the Aristotelian and medieval discussion because of the Aristotelian framework within which most medieval thinkers thought about mind ...
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