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Homo Prospectus (Hardcover)
Martin E.P. Seligman, Peter Railton, Roy F Baumeister, Chandra Sripada
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R1,429
Discovery Miles 14 290
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Our species is misnamed. Though sapiens defines human beings as
"wise" what humans do especially well is to prospect the future. We
are homo prospectus. In this book, Martin E. P. Seligman, Peter
Railton, Roy F. Baumeister, and Chandra Sripada argue it is
anticipating and evaluating future possibilities for the guidance
of thought and action that is the cornerstone of human success.
Much of the history of psychology has been dominated by a framework
in which people's behavior is driven by past history (memory) and
present circumstances (perception and motivation). Homo Prospectus
reassesses this idea, pushing focus to the future front and center
and opening discussion of a new field of Psychology and
Neuroscience. The authors delve into four modes in which
prospection operates: the implicit mind, deliberate thought,
mind-wandering, and collective (social) imagination. They then
explore prospection's role in some of life's most enduring
questions: Why do people think about the future? Do we have free
will? What is the nature of intuition, and how might it function in
ethics? How does emotion function in human psychology? Is there a
common causal process in different psychopathologies? Does our
creativity change with age? In this remarkable convergence of
research in philosophy, statistics, decision theory, psychology,
and neuroscience, Homo Prospectus shows how human prospection
fundamentally reshapes our understanding of key cognitive
processes, thereby improving individual and social functioning. It
aims to galvanize interest in this new science from scholars in
psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, as well as an educated
public curious about what makes humanity what it is.
We struggle daily with the notions of why we do what we do and of assigning values to our actions, although it seems possible through experience to gain knowledge and understanding of such matters. In contrast to the world of facts, values and morality seem insecure, easily influenced by illusion or ideology. How can objectivity and accuracy be applied to values and morality? Peter Railton's study reveals how a naturalistically informed view of the world might incorporate objective values and moral knowledge.
John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism continues to serve as a rich
source of moral and theoretical insight. This collection of
articles by top scholars offers fresh interpretations of Mill's
ideas about happiness, moral obligation, justice, and rights.
Applying contemporary philosophical insights, the articles
challenge the conventional readings of Mill, and, in the process,
contribute to a deeper understanding of utilitarian theory as well
as the complexity of moral life.
John Stuart Mill's Utilitarianism continues to serve as a rich
source of moral and theoretical insight. This collection of
articles by top scholars offers fresh interpretations of Mill's
ideas about happiness, moral obligation, justice, and rights.
Applying contemporary philosophical insights, the articles
challenge the conventional readings of Mill, and, in the process,
contribute to a deeper understanding of utilitarian theory as well
as the complexity of moral life.
We struggle daily with the notions of why we do what we do and of assigning values to our actions, although it seems possible through experience to gain knowledge and understanding of such matters. In contrast to the world of facts, values and morality seem insecure, easily influenced by illusion or ideology. How can objectivity and accuracy be applied to values and morality? Peter Railton's study reveals how a naturalistically informed view of the world might incorporate objective values and moral knowledge.
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