books on the mind, consciousness, cognitive science…
November 2, 2011
Amazon continues to add perks to its Amazon Prime membership program, now offering a Kindle Owners’ Lending Library for Amazon Prime members. According to Amazon’s website, “Kindle owners can now choose from thousands of books to borrow for free including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers – as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.”
Failures of Agency: Irrational Behavior and Self-Understanding by Annemarie Kalis (Lexington Books, 2011)
Product description from the publisher:
Failures of Agency: Irrational Behavior and Self-Understanding begins by exploring classic philosophical questions regarding the phenomenon of weakness of will or akrasia: doing A, even though all things considered, you judge it best to do B. Does this phenomenon really exist and if so, how should it be explained? Author Annemarie Kalis provides an historical overview of some traditional answers to these questions and addresses the main question: how does the phenomenon of ‘going against your own judgment’ relate to the idea that we are rational beings? She elaborates on the notion of rational agency and shows how different types of behavior express or fail to express our rational agency. This leads to the speculation of what is needed for akratic action to be free action. A novel position is developed, stating that certain widespread philosophical accounts of free action must conclude that ‘going against your own judgment’ is necessarily unfree. This also requires a reflection on possible implications for moral responsibility. Would it mean that people cannot be held accountable for irrational behavior? Kalis offers insight on whether everyday irrational behavior differs from irrational behavior occurring in the context of psychiatric dysfunction, and develops a view on how we should understand ourselves when we do something other than what we judge best. Written for philosophers, psychologists and psychiatrists interested in issues of irrationality and philosophy of action, this is an indispensable book for both professionals and students interested in interdisciplinary endeavors in the science of mind and behavior.
November 1, 2011
Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters by Gordon Shepherd (Columbia University Press, 2011)
Product description from the publisher:
Leading neuroscientist Gordon M. Shepherd embarks on a paradigm-shifting trip through the “human brain flavor system,” laying the foundations for a new scientific field: neurogastronomy. Challenging the belief that the sense of smell diminished during human evolution, Shepherd argues that this sense, which constitutes the main component of flavor, is far more powerful and essential than previously believed.
Shepherd begins Neurogastronomy with the mechanics of smell, particularly the way it stimulates the nose from the back of the mouth. As we eat, the brain conceptualizes smells as spatial patterns, and from these and the other senses it constructs the perception of flavor. Shepherd then considers the impact of the flavor system on contemporary social, behavioral, and medical issues. He analyzes flavor’s engagement with the brain regions that control emotion, food preferences, and cravings, and he even devotes a section to food’s role in drug addiction and, building on Marcel Proust’s iconic tale of the madeleine, its ability to evoke deep memories.
Shepherd connects his research to trends in nutrition, dieting, and obesity, especially the challenges that many face in eating healthily. He concludes with human perceptions of smell and flavor and their relationship to the neural basis of consciousness. Everyone from casual diners and ardent foodies to wine critics, chefs, scholars, and researchers will delight in Shepherd’s fascinating, scientific-gastronomic adventures.
