Your brain on pseudoscience: the rise of popular neurobollocks An intellectual pestilence is upon us. Shop shelves groan with books purporting to explain, through snazzy brain-imaging studies, not only how thoughts and emotions function, but how politics and religion work, and what the correct answers are to age-old philosophical controversies. The dazzling real achievements of brain research are routinely pressed into service for questions they were never designed to answer. In my book-strewn lodgings, one literally trips over volumes promising that “the deepest mysteries of what makes us who we are are gradually being unravelled” by neuroscience and cognitive psychology. The New Atheist polemicist Sam Harris, in The Moral Landscape, interprets brain and other research as showing that there are objective moral truths, enthusiastically inferring – almost as though this were the point all along – that science proves “conservative Islam” is bad. Shades of grey The human brain, it is said, is the most complex object in the known universe.
Posts - Research Blogging Aristotle's Political Theory First published Wed Jul 1, 1998; substantive revision Wed Jan 26, 2011 Aristotle (b. 384 – d. 322 BCE), was a Greek philosopher, logician, and scientist. Along with his teacher Plato, Aristotle is generally regarded as one of the most influential ancient thinkers in a number of philosophical fields, including political theory. Aristotle was born in Stagira in northern Greece, and his father was a court physician to the king of Macedon. 1. The modern word ‘political’ derives from the Greek politikos, ‘of, or pertaining to, the polis’. In the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle describes his subject matter as political science, which he characterizes as the most authoritative science. Supplement: Characteristics and Problems of Aristotle's Politics 2. Political science studies the tasks of the politician or statesman (politikos), in much the way that medical science concerns the work of the physician (see Politics IV.1). Aristotle frequently compares the politician to a craftsman. 3. 4.
Thomas P. 'Tip' O'Neill - Biography Project Implicit® - Take a Test Whichever IAT you do, we will ask you (optionally) to report your attitudes toward or beliefs about these topics, and provide some general information about yourself. These demonstrations should be more valuable if you have also tried to describe your self-understanding of the characteristic that the IAT is designed to measure. Also, we would like to compare possible differences among groups in their IAT performance and opinions, at least among those who decide to participate. Data exchanged with this site are protected by SSL encryption, and no personally identifying information is collected. IP addresses are routinely recorded, but are completely confidential. Important disclaimer: In reporting to you results of any IAT test that you take, we will mention possible interpretations that have a basis in research done (at the University of Washington, University of Virginia, Harvard University, and Yale University) with these tests.
Famous Philosophers on Politics, Political Science, Globalisation, Oligarchy, Democracy Famous Philosophers on Politics, Political Philosophy, Political Science, Globalisation, Oligarchy & Democracy Quotes from Plato, Aristotle, Caesar, Machiavelli, Hobbes, Stalin, Lenin, Hitler, Bismarck, Mussolini, de Montaigne. On the Evolution of a True Democracy Founded on True Knowledge of Reality: Globalisation as the Interconnected Ecology of Political States and Reality. .. by nature man is a political animal. Hence men have a desire for life together, even when they have no need to seek each other’s help. Nevertheless, common interest too is a factor in bringing them together, in so far as it contributes to the good life of each. Mankind has tried the other two roads to peace - the road of political jealousy and the road of religious bigotry - and found them both equally misleading. Politics is derived from the Greek words 'Polis' which means community and 'Poli' meaning many. Geoff Haselhurst Famous Philosophers & Politicians Quotes on Politics & Political Philosophy ...
The Love of One's Own and the Importance of Place If you are a current subscriber, log in here. Stratfor - the leader in Geopolitical Analysis: Political Economic Military Our readers get: Situational Awareness - real-time reports of key events - no fluff. We will never sell or share your information. Mind Hacks Books: 'The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Religion and Politics' By Angie Drobnic Holan Published on Saturday, April 28th, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Editor's note: From time to time, we interview authors about books we think would be of interest to our readers. (See a previous installment here.) Sometimes we wring our hands over the extreme partisanship in Congress, on cable TV and all over the Internet. That dynamic might not be healthy, but it is real. Haidt reaches some surprising conclusions. Haidt’s ideas aren’t just theories, though. Haidt recently spoke with PolitiFact about some of the ideas at work in his book. One of the main ideas of your book is that political sentiment is partially learned, but partially innate. The most important thing to realize is we’re not blank slates at birth. But even if you have a brain predisposed to liberalism, you might end up with some conservative friends or find inspiring conservative role models who could be very influential on you, and that could send you down a different track in life. I’m an intuitionist.
Science - News for Your Neurons Why we love to lose ourselves in religion Jonathan Haidt: Religion, like love and ethical action, offers a way to transcend the self He says whether you believe or not, religion accomplishes the miracle of group inspiration Haidt says religion's ability to move people makes it an evolutionary advantage for groups He says our minds evolved to be more religious in tandem with our cultures Editor's note: Jonathan Haidt is a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, and a visiting professor of business ethics at the NYU-Stern School of Business. He is the author of a new book, " The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion ". He spoke at the TED2012 conference last month. (CNN) -- What's an atheist scientist like me doing writing good things about religion? In my 20s, I obtained a Ph.D. in social psychology and began to study morality. Watch Jonathan Haidt's TED Talk Jonathan Haidt: Self-transcendence In my 30s, I began to study the emotion of "moral elevation."
Track Your Happiness Matthew Dowd: Honor in Politics Taking the romantic and rhythmic train ride through the Spanish countryside from Avila to Madrid, I was contemplating the speech I was scheduled to give the next day on campaigns and communications to an international gathering of political operatives. I had taken a walk on the stone streets of the ancient walled city of Avila, a place of journey for pilgrims over the centuries, and it had got me to thinking about what I could say to the strategists and tacticians gathered from 27 countries. A quote from the 16th-century mystic St. Teresa of Avila kept ringing in my head: "The feeling remains that God is on the journey, too." Having worked for both Republicans and Democrats during the past 30 years, I have come to realize that the vast majority of people who work in politics, including those in the media, are doing it for the right reasons and with noble intentions. Most of us don't question the intentions of a neighbor who disagrees with us on an issue.