The brain and the meaning of life / Paul Thagard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thagard, Paul.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Life.

Cognitive science.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (293 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Why is life worth living? What makes actions right or wrong? What is reality and how do we know it? The Brain and the Meaning of Life draws on research in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience to answer some of the most pressing questions about life's nature and value. Paul Thagard argues that evidence requires the abandonment of many traditional ideas about the soul, free will, and immortality, and shows how brain science matters for fundamental issues about reality, morality, and the meaning of life. The ongoing Brain Revolution reveals how love, work, and play provide good reasons for living. Defending the superiority of evidence-based reasoning over religious faith and philosophical thought experiments, Thagard argues that minds are brains and that reality is what science can discover. Brains come to know reality through a combination of perception and reasoning. Just as important, our brains evaluate aspects of reality through emotions that can produce both good and bad decisions. Our cognitive and emotional abilities allow us to understand reality, decide effectively, act morally, and pursue the vital needs of love, work, and play. Wisdom consists of knowing what matters, why it matters, and how to achieve it. The Brain and the Meaning of Life shows how brain science helps to answer questions about the nature of mind and reality, while alleviating anxiety about the difficulty of life in a vast universe. The book integrates decades of multidisciplinary research, but its clear explanations and humor make it accessible to the general reader.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter One. We All Need Wisdom

Chapter Two. Evidence Beats Faith

Chapter Three. Minds are Brains

Chapter Four. How Brains Know Reality

Chapter Five. How Brains Feel Emotions

Chapter Six. How Brains Decide

Chapter Seven. Why Life Is Worth Living

Chapter Eight. Needs and Hopes

Chapter Nine. Ethical Brains

Chapter Ten. Making Sense Of It All

Notes

Glossary

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9786612936166

9786612457999

9781400834617

1400834619

9781282936164

1282936166

9781282457997

1282457993

OCLC:

703583042