Coherence in thought and action / Paul Thagard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Thagard, Paul.

Series:

Life and mind

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Truth--Coherence theory.

Truth.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 312 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : MIT Press, ©2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is an essay on how people make sense of each other and the world they live in. Making sense is the activity of fitting something puzzling into a coherent pattern of mental representations that include concepts, beliefs, goals, and actions. Paul Thagard proposes a general theory of coherence as the satisfaction of multiple interacting constraints, and discusses the theory's numerous psychological and philosophical applications. Much of human cognition can be understood in terms of coherence as constraint satisfaction, and many of the central problems of philosophy can be given coherence-based solutions. Thagard shows how coherence can help to unify psychology and philosophy, particularly when addressing questions of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and aesthetics. He also shows how coherence can integrate cognition and emotion.

Notes:

"A Bradford book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages [287]-303) and index.

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

9780262284820

0262284820

9780585446028

0585446024

OCLC:

52289132