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Robot Ethics 2.0 - - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Robot Ethics 2.0 - - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

The robot population is rising on Earth and other planets. (Mars is inhabited entirely by robots.) As robots slip into more domains of human life--from the operating room to the bedroom--they take on our morally important tasks and decisions, as well as create new risks from psychological to physical. This makes it all the more urgent to study their ethical, legal, and policy impacts. To help the robotics industry and broader society, we need to not only press ahead on a wide range of issues, but also identify new ones emerging as quickly as the field is evolving. For instance, where military robots had received much attention in the past (and are still controversial today), this volume looks toward autonomous cars here as an important case study that cuts across diverse issues, from liability to psychology to trust and more. And because robotics feeds into and is fed by AI, the Internet of Things, and other cognate fields, robot ethics must also reach into those domains, too.Expanding these discussions also means listening to new voices; robot ethics is no longer the concern of a handful of scholars. Experts from different academic disciplines and geographical areas are now playing vital roles in shaping ethical, legal, and policy discussions worldwide. So, for a more complete study, the editors of this volume look beyond the usual suspects for the latest thinking. Many of the views as represented in this cutting-edge volume are provocative--but also what we need to push forward in unfamiliar territory.

DKK 283.00
1

Robot Ethics 2.0 - - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Robot Ethics 2.0 - - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

The robot population is rising on Earth and other planets. (Mars is inhabited entirely by robots.) As robots slip into more domains of human life--from the operating room to the bedroom--they take on our morally important tasks and decisions, as well as create new risks from psychological to physical. This makes it all the more urgent to study their ethical, legal, and policy impacts.To help the robotics industry and broader society, we need to not only press ahead on a wide range of issues, but also identify new ones emerging as quickly as the field is evolving. For instance, where military robots had received much attention in the past (and are still controversial today), this volume looks toward autonomous cars here as an important case study that cuts across diverse issues, from liability to psychology to trust and more. And because robotics feeds into and is fed by AI, the Internet of Things, and other cognate fields, robot ethics must also reach into those domains, too.Expanding these discussions also means listening to new voices; robot ethics is no longer the concern of a handful of scholars. Experts from different academic disciplines and geographical areas are now playing vital roles in shaping ethical, legal, and policy discussions worldwide. So, for a more complete study, the editors of this volume look beyond the usual suspects for the latest thinking. Many of the views as represented in this cutting-edge volume are provocative--but also what we need to push forward in unfamiliar territory.

DKK 551.00
1

Robot - Hans Moravec - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Robot - Hans Moravec - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Machines will attain human levels of intelligence by the year 2040, predicts robotics expert Hans Moravec. And by 2050, they will have far surpassed us. In this mind-bending new book, Hans Moravec takes the reader on a roller coaster ride packed with such startling predictions. He tells us, for instance, that in the not-too-distant future, an army of robots will displace workers, causing massive, unprecedented unemployment. But then, says Moravec, a period of very comfortable existence will follow, as humans benefit from a fully automated economy. And eventually, as machines evolve far beyond humanity, robots will supplant us. But if Moravec predicts the end of the domination by human beings, his is not a bleak vision. Far from railing against a future in which machines rule the world, Moravec embraces it, taking the startling view that intelligent robots will actually be our evolutionary heirs. "Intelligent machines, which will grow from us, learn our skills, and share our goals and values, can be viewed as children of our minds." And since they are our children, we will want them to outdistance us. In fact, in a bid for immortality, many of our descendants will choose to transform into "ex humans," as they upload themselves into advanced computers. We will become our children and live forever. In his provocative new book, the highly anticipated follow-up to his bestselling volume Mind Children, Moravec charts the trajectory of robotics in breathtaking detail. A must read for artificial intelligence, technology, and computer enthusiasts, Moravec's freewheeling but informed speculations present a future far different than we ever dared imagine.

DKK 634.00
1

Introduction to Mesoscopic Physics - Yoseph Imry - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Introduction to Mesoscopic Physics - Yoseph Imry - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

"Mesoscopic physics" refers to the physics of structures larger than a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) but smaller than a micrometer (one millionth of a meter). This size range is the stage on which the exciting new research on submicroscopic and electronic and mechanical devices is being done. This research often crosses the boundary between physics and engineering, since engineering such tiny electronic components (as many as one million transistors can be fitted onto a single chip) requires a firm grasp of quantum physics. Applications for the future may include such wonders as microscopic robot surgeons that will travel through the blood stream to repair clogged arteries; submicroscopic actuators and builders; and supercomputers that fit on the head of a pin.

DKK 506.00
1

Animating the Science Fiction Imagination - J. P. (professor In The School Of Literature Telotte - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Animating the Science Fiction Imagination - J. P. (professor In The School Of Literature Telotte - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Long before flying saucers, robot monsters, and alien menaces invaded our movie screens in the 1950s, there was already a significant but overlooked body of cinematic science fiction. Through analyses of early twentieth-century animations, comic strips, and advertising, Animating the Science Fiction Imagination unearths a significant body of cartoon science fiction from the pre-World War II era that appeared at approximately the same time the genre was itself struggling to find an identity, an audience, and even a name. In this book, author J.P. Telotte argues that these films helped sediment the genre''s attitudes and motifs into a popular culture that found many of those ideas unsettling, even threatening. By binding those ideas into funny and entertaining narratives, these cartoons also made them both familiar and non-threatening, clearing a space for visions of the future, of other worlds, and of change that could be readily embraced in the post-war period.

DKK 374.00
1

Ethical Choices - Richard Burnor - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Ethical Choices - Richard Burnor - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Ideal for students with little or no background in philosophy, Ethical Choices: An Introduction to Moral Philosophy with Cases provides a concise, balanced, and highly accessible introduction to ethics. Featuring an especially lucid and engaging writing style, the text surveys a wide range of ethical theories and perspectives, including consequentialist ethics, deontological ethics, natural and virtue ethics, the ethics of care, and ethics and religion.Each chapter of Ethical Choices also includes compelling case studies that are carefully matched with the theoretical material. Many of these cases address issues that students can relate directly to their own lives: student debt, healthcare costs, COVID-19 and vaccinations, grade inflation, generative AI, and video games. Other cases explore current topics like living wills, obesity, child marriage, factory farms, gambling addiction, and robot policing. The cases provide students with practice in addressing real-life moral choices, as well as opportunities to evaluate the usefulness and applicability of each ethical theory. Every case study concludes with a set of Thought Questions to guide students as they reflect upon the issues raised by that case.

DKK 671.00
1

Brave New Words - Jeff Prucher - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Brave New Words - Jeff Prucher - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

From Ray Bradbury to Neil Gaiman, from Blade Runner to "Battle Star Galactica", science fiction has emerged from the margins of popular culture to claim a significant presence across media in print, film, and television. It has shaped our vision of the future and the way we talk about it. Brave New Words, the first historical dictionary devoted to science fiction, has been described by the Library Journal as "an admirable and unique source that demonstrates on nearly every page the surprising extent to which the language of science fiction has entered everyday English terms." It shows exactly how science-fictional words and their associated concepts have developed over time, with full citations and bibliographic information. In addition, the book demonstrates how many words we consider everyday vocabulary-words like "spacesuit," "blast off," and "robot"-had their roots in imaginative literature, and not in hard science. Brave New Words was first published in hardcover in May 2007. On August 9th 2008, the first edition was named recipient of the prestigious Hugo Award (for Best Related Book), given to the best science fiction titles of the previous year.

DKK 143.00
1

Moral Machines - Wendell Wallach - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Moral Machines - Wendell Wallach - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

"An invaluable guide to avoiding the stuff of science-fiction nightmares."--John Gilby, Times Higher Education"Moral Machines is a fine introduction to the emerging field of robot ethics. There is much here that will interest ethicists, philosophers, cognitive scientists, and roboticists."-Peter Danielson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"Written with an abundance of examples and lessons learned, scenarios of incidents that may happen, and elaborate discussions on existing artificial agents on the cutting edge of research/practice, Moral Machines goes beyond what is known as computer ethics into what will soon be called the discipline of machine morality. Highly recommended."-G. Trajkovski, CHOICE"...the book does succeed in making the essential point that the phrase ''moral machine'' is not an oxymoron. It also provides a window onto an area of research with which psychologists are unlikely to be familiar and one from which, at some point, we may be able to learn quite a lot."-PsycCRITIQUES "Moral Machines represents a valuable addition to, and extension of, the current literature on machine morality. As the development of autonomous artificial moral agents becomes closer to being realized, I suspect that this book will only gain in importance."--Metapsychology

DKK 267.00
1

Choreographing in Color - J. Lorenzo Perillo - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Choreographing in Color - J. Lorenzo Perillo - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

In Choreographing in Color, J. Lorenzo Perillo investigates the development of Filipino popular dance and performance since the late 20th century. Drawing from nearly two decades of ethnography, choreographic analysis, and community engagement with artists, choreographers, and organizers, Perillo shifts attention away from the predominant Philippine neoliberal and U.S. imperialist emphasis on Filipinos as superb mimics, heroic migrants, model minorities, subservient wives, and natural dancers and instead asks: what does it mean for Filipinos to navigate the violent forces of empire and neoliberalism with street dance and Hip-Hop?Employing critical race, feminist, and performance studies, Perillo analyzes the conditions of possibility that gave rise to Filipino dance phenomena across viral, migrant, theatrical, competitive, and diplomatic performance in the Philippines and diaspora. Advocating for serious engagements with the dancing body, Perillo rethinks a staple of Hip-Hop''s regulation, the "euphemism," as a mode of social critique for understanding how folks have engaged with both racial histories of colonialism and gendered labor migration. Figures of euphemism - the zombie, hero, robot, and judge - constitute a way of seeing Filipino Hip-Hop as contiguous with a multi-racial repertoire of imperial crossing, thus uncovering the ways Black dance intersects Filipino racialization and reframing the ongoing, contested underdog relationship between Filipinos and U.S. global power. Choreographing in Color therefore reveals how the Filipino dancing body has come to be, paradoxically, both globally recognized and indiscernible.

DKK 1085.00
1

Choreographing in Color - J. Lorenzo Perillo - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Choreographing in Color - J. Lorenzo Perillo - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

In Choreographing in Color, J. Lorenzo Perillo investigates the development of Filipino popular dance and performance since the late 20th century. Drawing from nearly two decades of ethnography, choreographic analysis, and community engagement with artists, choreographers, and organizers, Perillo shifts attention away from the predominant Philippine neoliberal and U.S. imperialist emphasis on Filipinos as superb mimics, heroic migrants, model minorities, subservient wives, and natural dancers and instead asks: what does it mean for Filipinos to navigate the violent forces of empire and neoliberalism with street dance and Hip-Hop?Employing critical race, feminist, and performance studies, Perillo analyzes the conditions of possibility that gave rise to Filipino dance phenomena across viral, migrant, theatrical, competitive, and diplomatic performance in the Philippines and diaspora. Advocating for serious engagements with the dancing body, Perillo rethinks a staple of Hip-Hop''s regulation, the "euphemism," as a mode of social critique for understanding how folks have engaged with both racial histories of colonialism and gendered labor migration. Figures of euphemism - the zombie, hero, robot, and judge - constitute a way of seeing Filipino Hip-Hop as contiguous with a multi-racial repertoire of imperial crossing, thus uncovering the ways Black dance intersects Filipino racialization and reframing the ongoing, contested underdog relationship between Filipinos and U.S. global power. Choreographing in Color therefore reveals how the Filipino dancing body has come to be, paradoxically, both globally recognized and indiscernible.

DKK 359.00
1

Artificial Intelligence - Jerry Kaplan - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Artificial Intelligence - Jerry Kaplan - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Over the coming decades, Artificial Intelligence will profoundly impact the way we live, work, wage war, play, seek a mate, educate our young, and care for our elderly. It is likely to greatly increase our aggregate wealth, but it will also upend our labor markets, reshuffle our social order, and strain our private and public institutions. Eventually it may alter how we see our place in the universe, as machines pursue goals independent of their creators and outperform us in domains previously believed to be the sole dominion of humans. Whether we regard them as conscious or unwitting, revere them as a new form of life or dismiss them as mere clever appliances, is beside the point. They are likely to play an increasingly critical and intimate role in many aspects of our lives.The emergence of systems capable of independent reasoning and action raises serious questions about just whose interests they are permitted to serve, and what limits our society should place on their creation and use. Deep ethical questions that have bedeviled philosophers for ages will suddenly arrive on the steps of our courthouses. Can a machine be held accountable for its actions? Should intelligent systems enjoy independent rights and responsibilities, or are they simple property? Who should be held responsible when a self-driving car kills a pedestrian? Can your personal robot hold your place in line, or be compelled to testify against you? If it turns out to be possible to upload your mind into a machine, is that still you? The answers may surprise you.

DKK 380.00
1

Artificial Intelligence - Jerry (fellow Kaplan - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Artificial Intelligence - Jerry (fellow Kaplan - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Over the coming decades, Artificial Intelligence will profoundly impact the way we live, work, wage war, play, seek a mate, educate our young, and care for our elderly. It is likely to greatly increase our aggregate wealth, but it will also upend our labor markets, reshuffle our social order, and strain our private and public institutions. Eventually it may alter how we see our place in the universe, as machines pursue goals independent of their creators and outperform us in domains previously believed to be the sole dominion of humans. Whether we regard them as conscious or unwitting, revere them as a new form of life or dismiss them as mere clever appliances, is beside the point. They are likely to play an increasingly critical and intimate role in many aspects of our lives.The emergence of systems capable of independent reasoning and action raises serious questions about just whose interests they are permitted to serve, and what limits our society should place on their creation and use. Deep ethical questions that have bedeviled philosophers for ages will suddenly arrive on the steps of our courthouses. Can a machine be held accountable for its actions? Should intelligent systems enjoy independent rights and responsibilities, or are they simple property? Who should be held responsible when a self-driving car kills a pedestrian? Can your personal robot hold your place in line, or be compelled to testify against you? If it turns out to be possible to upload your mind into a machine, is that still you? The answers may surprise you.

DKK 126.00
1

Brave New Words - Jeff Prucher - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Brave New Words - Jeff Prucher - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

The first historical dictionary devoted to science fiction, Brave New Words:The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction shows exactly how science-fictional words and their associated concepts have developed over time, with full citations and bibliographic information. It''s a window on a whole genre of literature through the words invented and passed along by the genre''s most talented writers. In addition, it shows how many words we consider everyday vocabulary-words like "space shuttle," "blast off," and "robot"-had their roots in imaginative literature, and not in hard science. Citations are included for each definition, starting with the earliest usage that can be found. These citations are drawn not only from science fiction books and magazines, but also from mainstream publications, fanzines, screenplays, newspapers, comics, folk songs, and the Internet. In addition to illustrating the different ways each word has been used, citations also show when and where words have moved out of the science fiction lexicon and into that of other subcultures or mainstream English. Brave New Words covers the shared language of science fiction, as well as the vocabulary of science fiction criticism and its fans--those terms that are used by many authors in multiple settings. Words coined in science fiction have become part of the vocabulary of any number of subcultures and endeavors, from comics, to neo-paganism, to aerospace, to computers, to environmentalism, to zine culture. This is the first book to document this vocabulary transfer. Not just a useful reference and an entertaining browse, this book also documents the enduring legacy of science fiction writers and fans.

DKK 229.00
1

Relationships 5.0 - Elyakim (assistant Professor In The School Of Public Policy And Government Kislev - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Relationships 5.0 - Elyakim (assistant Professor In The School Of Public Policy And Government Kislev - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

A trailblazing inquiry into human love and relationships in the age of super-smart technology Technology is our new life partner. No longer confined to the sidelines, new interactive technologies like AI therapists, avatar friends, and robot assistants are ready to transform technology''s role from basic tools of convenience to intimate elements of our social and emotional lives. This turn towards human-like technology signals the beginning of a new epoch in human history, a change already facing both excitement and resistance. Blending science, sociology, history, and psychology, Relationships 5.0 asks how recent technological developments cause us to think differently about our family lives, love affairs, and emotional needs. It argues that we are currently living through a technological paradigm shift similar in magnitude to the preceding agricultural, industrial, and informational revolutions in human history. Thanks to the convergence of the cognitive revolution (AI), the sensorial revolution (VR and AR), and the physical revolution (robots), technology can now fulfill emotional, intellectual, and physical needs that have until now been met by other humans. While many are still wary of human-technology companionship, Relationships 5.0 reveals that these novel interactions aren''t as risky as we''d once thought, but can instead make our social and emotional lives richer and more diverse. Still, we must ask: What will the age of Relationships 5.0 look like? How should we prepare for such an age? Who might already be ready to embrace these changes, and why? Guiding readers away from fear and toward a new reality, Relationships 5.0 exposes the fundamental questions behind such essentials as companionship, trust, and love--and offers fascinating and revealing ideas about what the coming years will look like.

DKK 241.00
1

In the Shadow of Death - Arlene Andrews - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

In the Shadow of Death - Arlene Andrews - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

The press called Martin''s actions a "crime spree." Already convicted of armed robbery, Martin was facing the death penalty. In less than two weeks the jury would decide his fate. Terrified that his son would be sentenced to die, Phillip did the only thing he felt he could do: in an act of faith and desperation in his garage with the car exhaust running, Phillip made the consummate sacrifice to spare his son the ultimate punishment. Ironically, his suicide presented Martin''s with another chance at life; the jury, moved by Martin''s loss, spared his life. Phillip''s story-like those of the other parents, siblings, children, and cousins chronicled in this book-vividly illustrates the precarious position family members of capital offenders occupy in the criminal justice system. At once outsiders and victims, they live in the shadow of death, crushed by trauma, grief, and helplessness. In this penetrating account of guilt and innocence, shame and triumph, devastating loss and ultimate redemption, the voices of these family members add a new dimension to debates about capital punishment and how communities can prevent and address crime.Restorative justice theory, which views violent crime as an extreme violation of relationships, searches for ways to hold offenders accountable and meet the needs of victims and communities torn apart by the crime, organizes these narratives and integrates offenders'' families into the process of transforming conflict and promoting justice and healing for all. What emerges from hundreds of hours'' worth of in-depth interviews with family members of offenders and victims, legal teams, and leaders in the abolition and restorative justice movements is a vision of justice strongly rooted in the social fabric of communities. Showing that forgiveness and recovery are possible in the wake of even the most heinous crimes, while holding victims'' stories sacred, this eye-opening book bridges the pain of living in the shadow of death with the possibility of a reparative form of justice. Anyone working with victims, offenders, and their families-from lawyers and social workers to mediators and activists-will find this riveting work indispensable to their efforts.

DKK 627.00
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A New Dictionary of Eponyms - Morton S. Freeman - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

A New Dictionary of Eponyms - Morton S. Freeman - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Do you approve of censoring the works of great writers? Some might contend that to bowdlerize a great writer''s work would be to diminish its overall quality. Others, like Thomas Bowdler, whose eraser danced over every Shakespeare play, would argue that all modest people should be able to read a great work without blushing. For attacking the classics, Mr. Bowdler has been immortalized as the world''s best-known, self-appointed literary censor. And because of his efforts the term bowdlerize has become eponymous with his name. Alternatively, the word bikini--defined as a two-piece bathing suit for women--has been a linguistic mystery since 1947 when these suits were first seen on the beaches of the French Riviera, a year after the United States began testing atom bombs on the Bikini atoll of the Marshall Islands. Some shocked people said that the impact of the scanty swimsuit on male beach loungers was like the devastating effect of the atomic bomb. Whoosh! A simpler and more credible notion is that the daring swimsuits resembled the attire worn by women on the Bikini atoll. Created about a century ago, the term eponym is itself a coinage from two Greek words, epi, "on" or "upon," and onuma, "a name." But its broadened meaning, as dictionaries set it out, refers to a word derived from a proper name. For instance, Salisbury steak--a popular diner menu item created from common hamburger and dressed up with brown gravy to make it more appealing--is named after James H. Salisbury, an English physician who promoted a diet of ground beef. A Dictionary of Eponyms explores the origins of hundreds of these everyday words from Argyle socks to zeppelins. Written in an entertaining and anecdotal style, and with a foreword by Edwin Newman, the book includes a brief biography of the individual whose name became associated with an item or concept as well as information on how and when the name entered the language. If you''ve ever wondered just where terms like cardigan sweater, pamphlet, and robot come from, Morton Freeman does more than simply define them--he brings them to life.

DKK 184.00
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Sound Choices - Wilma Machover - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Sound Choices - Wilma Machover - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

What should you do when your three-year old Sesame-Street afficianado suddenly announces that he wants to study the violin? Or when your seven-year old informs you that he does not want the shiny new red bicycle you just bought him for his birthday, nor the spiffy new box of high-tech paints, but really wants to have piano lessons--today? What should you say when your ten-year old shouts that she hates that nasty new $1500 violin you just invested in, hates violin period, and is never going to practice again? Are there any software packages that can teach that teen-age Jimi Hendrix rehearsing in the garage next door how to read music? How should you answer the bewildered parent whose little girl wants to study the tuba and can take it for free at school? These and many other commonly asked and often puzzling questions are answered in Sound Choices: Guiding Your Child''s Musical Experiences . This invaluable resource empowers over-busy, frequently harried, and technically- savvy twenty-first century parents to be consumer-wise participants in the music education of their children. Written by nationally recognized music educators who have been asked--and have answered--all these questions thousands of times, this user-friendly book offers information and practical advice about a large and varied number of issues in an accessible format that will enable parents to make informed decisions about music experiences and training for their children. Beginning with an ages and stages organization from infancy to adolescence, Sound Choices offers concise, age-specific information on musical experiences from generating interest to motivating practice and life-long enjoyment. Subsequent chapters provide detailed suggestions for choosing an instrument, finding a qualified teacher, and assessing the financial implications of musical study. Here also are practical strategies for such troublesome issues as evaluating the student-teacher relationship, changing teachers, monitoring practice, and useful comparisons of the varying points-of-view of parents, teachers, and children. A separate section discusses how parents might deal with a musically gifted child or how music might enhance the development of a child with special needs. Concise, comprehensive, and easy-to-use, Sound Choices features wide margins and useful icons to highlight key information and helpful questions. It is also a treasure trove of annotated resources that serves as an outstanding reference source for music related books, recordings, CD-ROMs, software, videos, movies, magazines, games, teaching aids, catalogs, and directories (including a directory of national sources for finding a qualified teacher). There are over thirty-one million family households in the United States with young children under the age of eighteen. Parents in these households now, more than ever, are looking outside and beyond the public school system to furnish educational opportunities for their children. For many parents, enrolling their children in music instruction is an attractive option. Yet most parents have no idea how to go about this. Sound Choices provides the answers for those who want to create an environment that will prepare their children for a lifetime of active involvement with music.

DKK 249.00
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Why Think? - Ronald De Sousa - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

Why Think? - Ronald De Sousa - Bog - Oxford University Press Inc - Plusbog.dk

In a world where natural selection has shaped adaptations of astonishing ingenuity, what is the scope and unique power of rational thinking?In this short but wide-ranging book, philosopher Ronald de Sousa looks at the twin set of issues surrounding the power of natural selection to mimic rational design, and rational thinking as itself a product of natural selection.While we commonly deem ourselves superior to other species, the logic of natural selection should not lead us to expect that nature does everything for the best. Similarly, rational action does not always promote the best possible outcomes. So what is the difference? Is the pursuit of rationality actually an effective strategy?Part of the answer lies in language, including mathematics and science. Language is the most striking device by which we have made ourselves smarter than our nearest primate cousins. Sometimes the purely instinctual responses we share with other animals put explicit reasoning to shame: the movements of a trained athlete are faster and more accurate than anything she could explicitly calculate. Language, however, with its power to abstract from concrete experience and to range over all aspects of nature, enables breathtakingly precise calculations, which have taken us to the moon and beyond. Most importantly, however, language enables us to formulate an endless multiplicity of values, in potential conflict with one another as well as with instinctual imperatives.In short, this sophisticated and entertaining book shows how our rationality and our irrationality are inextricably intertwined. Ranging over a wide array of evidence, it explores the true ramifications of being human in the natural world."This is a delightful book, in which de Sousa articulates some challenging convictions concerning the role of rationality in human thought, while also retaining and making deft use of some of his longest held views.... Why Think? is an important touchstone in helping us to understand how we can approach rationality as a phenomenon that must ultimately be part of a successful theory of mind."--Craig DeLancy, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"De Sousa remarks: ''When enough people share a delusion, it loses its status as a psychosis and gets a religious tax exemption instead.'' At that point, I knew I was going to love this book--and it is indeed a lot of fun. Why Think? is also good and clever. I have always said that the reason why philosophers are so disliked on university campuses is that we are brighter than anyone else and have trouble concealing the fact. Ronnie de Sousa does nothing to change this perception.... This is a great little book that should be read by many people." --Michael Ruse, Florida State University, Literary Review of Canada"Why Think? is Ronnie de Sousa at his brilliant best-- immensely learned, witty, bold, and a model of clarity. This book is a timely balance to the weight of data emphasizing the emotions and nonconscious processing in decision-making. It weaves coherent story out of a lot of bits and pieces lying about in loose confusion." --Patricia Smith Churchland, President''s Professor of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego"This book is a tour de force of scholarly insights on one of the most subtle puzzles in cognitive science--the relation between rationality and evolution." --Keith E. Stanovich, author of The Robot''s Rebellion: Finding Meaning in the Age of Darwin

DKK 285.00
1