March 18, 2014
The Secret Life of Sleep by Kat Duff (Atria Books/Beyond Words, 2014)
(kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk)
Book description from the publisher:
It has become increasingly clear that our sleep shapes who we are as much as, if not more than, we shape it.
While most sleep research hasn’t ventured far beyond research labs and treatment clinics, The Secret Life of Sleep taps into the enormous reservoir of human experiences to illuminate the complexities of a world where sleep has become a dwindling resource.
With a sense of infectious curiosity, award winning author Kat Duff mixes cutting-edge research with insightful narratives, surprising insights, and timely questions to help us better understand what we’re losing before it’s too late.
The Secret Life of Sleep tackles the full breadth of what sleep means to people the world over. Embark on an exploration of what lies behind and beyond our eyelids when we surrender to the secret life of sleep.
Google Books preview:
See also: Book website
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- consciousness,new books,psychology
March 17, 2014
Concepts: A Critical Approach by Andy Blunden (Haymarket Books, 2014)
(amazon.co.uk)
Book description from the publisher:
Andy Blunden presents an interdisciplinary review of theories of concepts of interest to cognitive psychology, analytic philosophy, linguistics, and the history of science. Problems within these disciplines establishing reductive theories of the conceptual have led some to abandon concepts altogether in favor of interactionist or narrowly pragmatic approaches.
Blunden responds with an account of the development of the theory of concepts from Descartes through Hegel—with special focus on the latter’s critical appropriation by early critical social science—culminating in the cultural psychology of Lev Vygotsky. He then proposes an approach to concepts which draws on activity theory, according to which concepts are equally subjective and objective: both units of consciousness and of the cultural formation of which one’s consciousness is part. This continues the author’s earlier work in An Interdisciplinary Theory of Activity (Haymarket, 2011).
Google Books preview (of hardcover edition):
See also: Author’s homepage
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- culture,new books,psychology
March 15, 2014
Dream Science: Exploring the Forms of Consciousness by J.F. Pagel (Academic Press, 2014)
(kindle ed.), (amazon.co.uk), (UK kindle ed.)
Book description from the publisher:
Dreaming is the cognitive state uniquely experienced by humans and integral to our creativity, the survival characteristic that allows for the rapid change and innovation that defines our species and provides the basis for our art, philosophy, science, and humanity. Yet there is little empiric or scientific evidence supporting the generally accepted dream-based theories of neuroconsciousness. Dream Science examines the cognitive science of dreaming and offers an evidence-based view of the phenomenon.
Today, such evidence-based breakthroughs in the field of dream science are altering our understanding of consciousness. Different forms of dreaming consciousness occur throughout sleep, and dreamlike states extend into wake. Each dream state is developed on a framework of memories, emotions, representational images, and electrophysiology, amenable to studies utilizing emerging and evolving technology. Dream Science discusses basic insights into the scientific study of dreaming, including the limits to traditional Freudian-based dream theory and the more modern evidence-based science. It also includes coverage of the processes of memory and parasomnias, the sleep-disturbance diagnoses related to dreaming. This comprehensive book is a scientific exploration of the mind-brain interface and a look into the future of dream science.
- Provides a more evidence-based approach than any other work on the market
- Single source of integrated information on all aspects of dream science makes this a critical time-saving reference for researchers and clinicians
- Authored by one of the leaders in the field of dream research
Google Books preview:
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- consciousness,new books