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Steven Pinker - The Better Angels of our Nature

20 Solution-Focused Techniques

Más acá.

Daniel Dennett: Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness

LINK - pdf/eng

Consciousness puzzles scientists and philosophers as much as it baffles the rest of us. Elusive, enigmatic, and difficult to define and probe, consciousness has a peculiar quality that rouses people to insist that somehow it differs from the rest of the physical world and that there is something unique about each person's subjective experience.

Enter Daniel Dennett, a philosopher who directs the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. In his provocative book, he explores several hot debates over whether consciousness can ever be explained--such as our inability to objectively study subjective experiences or qualia, the impenetrable properties of sensations. Despite our stubborn feelings that consciousness involves something extra--a spirit, soul, miracle or magic--Dennett contends that consciousness is no more than an intriguing but inadequately explained aspect of neural activity.

Consciousness is often celebrated as a mystery, he writes. I think this tradition is not just a mistake, but a serious obstacle to ongoing scientific research that can explain consciousness, just as deeply and completely as it can explain other natural phenomena: metabolism, reproduction, continental drift, light, gravity and so on. Like a persuasive magic show, consciousness fools us into believing that the brain's seamless illusion is real, even though consciousness is a purely biological phenomenon.

To make his point, Dennett works through various thought experiments. One involves imagining a perfect zombie that exactly replicates a person's perceptual and neural processes. Should there be any real difference between the zombie and the conscious person, he wonders? He also attacks the claim that a mechanistic theory of consciousness could not explain such a difference, if it existed. Another thought experiment involves imagining Martian scientists studying human consciousness. In principle, he says, Martians should be able to observe and inspect the mechanisms underlying earthly conscious experiences and, in some sense, grasp what it is like to be human.

In time, Dennett believes people will realize that third-person methods of the natural sciences suffice to investigate consciousness as completely as any phenomenon in nature can be investigated. Like vitalism--the 18thcentury belief that some inexplicable force animates living creatures-- consciousness will ultimately yield to scientific explanation. 

RSA Animate - The Divided Brain

Atheism: A Very Short Introduction - Julian Baggini

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Atheism: A Very Short Introduction By Julian Baggini
Publisher: O U P 2003 | 125 Pages | ISBN: 0192804243 | PDF | 2 MB

Atheism is often considered to be a negative, dark, and pessimistic belief which is characterised by a rejection of values and purpose and a fierce opposition to religion. Atheism: A Very Short Introduction sets out to dispel the myths that surround atheism and show how a life without religious belief can be positive, meaningful, and moral. It also confronts the failure of officially atheist states in the Twentieth Century. The book presents an intellectual case for atheism that rests as much upon positive arguments for its truth as on negative arguments against religion.

A. Vivaldi: Concerto for bassoon, strings & b.c. in E minor (RV 484)

Dimitri Shostakovich - String Quartet No 8

Stephen Eric Bronner "Reclaiming the Enlightenment: Toward a Politics of Radical Engagement"

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Stephen Eric Bronner, "Reclaiming the Enlightenment: Toward a Politics of Radical Engagement"
| ISBN: 0231126085 | 2004 | PDF | 201 pages | 1,06 mb

This book tackles an obvious yet profound problem of modern political life: the disorientation of intellectuals and activists on the left. As the study of political history and theory has been usurped by cultural criticism, a confusion over the origins and objectives of progressive politics has been the result.

Specifically, it has become fashionable for intellectuals to attack the Enlightenment for its imperialism, eurocentrism, and scientism, and for the sexism and racism of some of its major representatives. Although the fact that individual thinkers harbored such prejudices is irrefutable, Stephen Bronner argues that reducing the Enlightenment ethos to these beliefs is wholly unsustainable.

With its championing of democracy, equality, cosmopolitanism, and reason -- and its vociferous attacks on popular prejudice, religious superstition, and arbitrary abuses of power -- the Enlightenment was once hailed as the foundation of all modern, progressive politics. But in 1947, this perspective was dramatically undermined when Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno published their classic work, Dialectic of Enlightenment, which claims that the Enlightenment was the source of totalitarianism and the worst excesses of modernity.

Reclaiming the Enlightenment from purely philosophical and cultural interpretations, Bronner shows that its notion of political engagement keeps democracy fresh and alive by providing a practical foundation for fostering institutional accountability, opposing infringements on individual rights, instilling an enduring commitment to social reform, and building a cosmopolitan sensibility.

This forceful and timely reinterpretation of the Enlightenment and its powerful influence on contemporary political life is a resounding wake-up call to critics on both the left and the right.

Mini-guía para el Pensamiento crítico: Conceptos y herramientas

Mini-guía para el Pensamiento crítico: Conceptos y herramientas - Richard Paul y Linda Elder
PDF (154kb - ESP)


Todo el mundo piensa; es parte de nuestra naturaleza. Pero, mucho de nuestro pensar, por sí solo, es arbitrario, distorsionado, parcializado, desinformado o prejuiciado. Sin embargo, nuestra calidad de vida y de lo que producimos, hacemos o construimos depende, precisamente, de la calidad de nuestro pensamiento. El pensamiento de mala calidad cuesta tanto en dinero como en calidad de vida. La excelencia en el pensamiento, sin embargo, debe ejercitarse de forma sistemática.

Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction

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Adam J. Silverstein - Islamic History: A Very Short Introduction
Publisher: Oxfоrd Univеrsity Prеss | 2010-02-01 | ISBN: 0199545723 | PDF | 144 pages | 2.71 MB

Opening with a lucid overview of the rise and spread of Islam, from the seventh to the twenty-first century, this Very Short Introduction introduces the story of Islamic history, charting the evolution of what was originally a small, localized community of believers into an international religion with over a billion adherents.

The book examines how Islam rose from the obscurity of seventh-century Arabia to the forefront of modern global concerns, and it highlights how we know what we claim to know about Islam's rise and development. Historian Adam J. Silverstein also discusses the peoples--Arabs, Persians, and Turks--who shaped Islamic history, and sheds light on three representative institutions--the mosque, jihad, and the caliphate--that highlight Islam's diversity over time.

Finally, the book analyzes the roles that Islamic history has played in both religious and political contexts, while stressing the unique status that history enjoys among Muslims, especially compared to its lowly place in Western societies where history is often seen as little more than something that is not to be repeated.

James O. Prochaska and John C. Norcross, "Systems of Psychotherapy: A Transtheoretical Analysis"

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James O. Prochaska and John C. Norcross, "Systems of Psychotherapy: A Transtheoretical Analysis"
Broo ks C ole | 2009 | ISBN: 049560187X | 624 pages | PDF | 7,5 MB

Systematic and balanced, this comprehensive text uses a wealth of clinical case illustrations to help readers understand a wide variety of psychotherapies including psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, existential, person-centered, experiential, interpersonal, exposure, behavioral, cognitive, systemic, multicultural, and integrative. The Seventh Edition thoroughly analyzes 15 leading systems of psychotherapy and briefly surveys another 30, thus providing a broader scope than is available in most textbooks.

Prochaska and Norcross explore each system's theory of personality, theory of psychopathology, and resulting therapeutic process and relationship. By doing so, they demonstrate how much psychotherapy systems agree on the processes producing change, while showing how they disagree on the content that needs to be changed. To bring these similarities and differences to life, the authors also present the limitations, practicalities, and outcome research of each system of psychotherapy.

Philosophy of Mind A-Z

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Philosophy of Mind A-Z
Edinburgh University Press | July 1, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0748620958 | 192 pages | PDF | 1.3 mb

From Plato and Leibniz to externalism and the frame problem, from Husserl to neural Darwinism, from mental causation to the problem of consciousness, this guide outlines the main positions, key figures, important terms, and longstanding debates of the philosophy of mind.

Enigmas del Cerebro

“El cerebro dicta toda nuestra actividad mental, desde procesos inconscientes como respirar hasta los pensamientos filosóficos más complejos. Contiene más neuronas que estrellas en una galaxia. Por miles de años la civilización se ha preguntado sobre el origen del pensamiento, la conciencia, la interacción social, la creatividad, la percepción, el libre albedrio y la emoción. 
Hasta la actualidad, estas preguntas eran abordadas por filósofos, artistas, líderes religiosos y científicos, ahora las neurociencias emerge como una nueva herramienta para intentar entender estos enigmas. En las últimas décadas hemos aprendido más sobre el funcionamiento del cerebro que en toda la historia de la humanidad. 

Este conocimiento ha sido posible por los avances en la tecnológica como las neuroimágenes que nos permiten estudiar la actividad del cerebro humano en vivo y por la decodificación del genoma humano que, como nunca antes, nos ilumina sobre como los genes influyen en nuestras conductas. Esta serie nos introducirá en el cerebro humano."  Dr. Facundo Manes

Capítulos hasta el 27/08/11

• Percepción Visual Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Cerebro Motor Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Atención y Cerebro Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Política y Cerebro Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Lenguaje y Cerebro Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Cine y Cerebro Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Cerebro Económico Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Cerebro-Corazón Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Felicidad y Recompensa Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Casos Misteriosos Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Ansiedad Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Música y Cerebro Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Sueño y Cognición Parte 1 | Parte 2 
• Enfermedad de Alzheimer Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Cerebro y Desarrollo Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Inteligencia Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Creatividad Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Cerebro Social Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Conciencia Parte 1 | Parte 2 | Parte 3
• Toma de Decisiones Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Memoria Parte 1 | Parte 2
• Emoción Parte 1 | Parte 2

Affective circumplex

Burton Porter, "What the Tortoise Taught Us: The Story of Philosophy"

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Burton Porter, "What the Tortoise Taught Us: The Story of Philosophy"
R.wman & L.ttlefield Publishers | 2011 | ISBN: 1442205512 | 200 pages | PDF | 1,3 MB

What the Tortoise Taught Us offers a lively, concise journey through western philosophy that explores the lives of major philosophers, their ideas, and how their thinking continues to influence our lives today. Using a chronological approach, Burton Porter shows how various philosophers address life's big questions. By putting each philosopher and their ideas into historical context, he helps us understand how certain ideas developed based on the thinking of the time, and how those ideas have influenced our modern perceptions.

Using familiar language and interesting anecdotes, Porter provides us with an extremely readable and lively history that takes themes that characterize each age to reflect on the greater human experience. The book includes the philosophies and lives of the ancient philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, and continues through time into the Middle Ages with St. Thomas Aquinas, to the Renaissance, and beyond.

Porter explores the metaphysics of Descartes and Hobbs; the epistemology of Hume and Berkeley, and the ethics of Kant and Mill among others. Finally he concludes with contemporary issues, including racism, abortion and modern feminism. Porter is able to explain these complex ideas in a clear, simple, and straightforward way.

What the Tortoise Taught Us is a balanced and approachable look at life's basic questions through the eyes of the philosophers that have helped shape modern thought.

Bart Ehrman - Jesus, Interrupted (2009)

PDF

“Ehrman’s ability to translate scholarship for a popular audience has made the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill a superstar in the publishing world” (IndyWeek )

“For both scholars and the masses who read about religion, Bart D. Ehrman needs no introduction . . . He adds the personal to the scholarly for some of his works, detailing how he went from a Moody Bible Institute-educated fundamentalist evangelical to an agnostic . (Durham Herald-Sun )

“There’s something delicious (for nonbelievers, anyway) about the implacable, dispassionate way that Ehrman reveals how the supposedly “divine truth” of Christianity was historically constructed.”

Bart_D._Ehrman

A history of roman art

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Fred S. Kleiner, "A History of Roman Art"
W,...rth P.blishing | ISBN: 0495909874 | 2010 | 385 pages | PDF | 74 MB

A History of Roman Art (Enhanced Edition) is a lavishly-illustrated survey of the art of Rome and the Roman Empire from the time of Romulus to the death of Constantine, presented in its historical, political, and social context. This Enhanced Edition has added coverage on Etruscan art in the beginning of the text. All aspects of Roman art and architecture are treated, including private art and domestic architecture, the art of the Eastern and Western provinces, the art of freedmen, and the so-called minor arts, including cameos, silverware, and coins.

Hesher (2010)

"Narra la historia de un veinteañero perdedor con un pasado problemático (Gordon-Levitt) que irrumpe en la vida de un delicado y torpe adolescente de 13 años que vive con un padre adicto a las pastillas y con su abuela, ejerciendo en él una influencia simultáneamente positiva y negativa como mentor. Wilson interpretará al padre del niño, un hombre que intenta mantener a la familia unida tras la muerte de su esposa, mientras que Portman asumirá el papel de la empleada de un supermercado, de la que el muchacho se enamora después de que ella le proteja de un matón."

Auditory Neuroscience: Making Sense of Sound

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Jan Schnupp, Israel Nelken, Andrew J King, "Auditory Neuroscience: Making Sense of Sound"

Publisher: The MIT Press | ISBN 10: 026211318X | 2010 | PDF | 366 pages | 4.9 MB

An integrated overview of hearing and the interplay of physical, biological, and psychological processes underlying it.