Consciousness

The reticular theory versus neuron doctrine debate was one of the most divisive and controversial intellectual debates of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The reticularist side, championed by Camillo Golgi and Joseph von Gerlach, believed that the entire nervous system consisted of a single continuous network of nerve fibers and cell bodies. Santiago Ramon y Cajal and the neuronists, on the other hand, were convinced that the nervous system was composed of discrete nerve cells…

The idea of a subconscious mind with thoughts the conscious mind is unaware of has been around for a long time. Popularized by Sigmund Freud’s research on psychoanalysis, his theory focused on the idea that everyone has thoughts and urges in their subconscious mind that never make it to the conscious mind for them to be acted on. The book, Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, explores a similar idea in terms of unconscious bias and preferences present in everyone. The book also examines the…

In philosophy, physicalism is the thesis that states "everything is physical", that there is "nothing over and above" the physical, or that everything supervenes on the physical. It is the one-substance view of reality as opposed to dualism, which is two-substance. It states that the mind is made up of purely physical material, and can eventually be explained entirely by physical theory. However, physicalism faces one of its most serious challenges in a thought experiment involving a scientist…

Jessica Eustache Dr. Christopher Stabile 6/1/17 PHI2010-2175-4877 A2: Reading/Discussion Questions Assignment 2 John Searle’s View on dualism is the body shares the same nature as the mind but they are not alike. John's theory is called “supervenience”. Rene Descartes Faith live in substance dualism. To Desecrate our existence is produced by the mind and the body, the mind is non-physical and the body being physical. In comparison, both of these…

How to avoid failing in the classes University is probably the biggest change in an individual life but not for everyone. Students are under pressure right from the first class they attend and rumors make it worse as lots of other students say you might end up failing in your class if you do not try very hard. Therefore the steps below will help you on how to avoid failing in your classes. Preparing a study schedule like master calendar, weekly calendar and a to do list is a useful technique.…

What is courage? Every person exhibits courage in their own way throughout their lives. One of the most recognizable examples of courage is bravery in a military setting. Other examples include facing dangers for the sake of others, facing social ridicule, and being fearless in the face of death. People such as Chris Kyle, Cecilia Balli, Caitlyn Jenner, and Austin Armstrong have shown courage with these methods. Courage is a less complicated term than perceived; courage is facing a fear or…

I found that this chapter really made a connection with the kind of person I am and how I think. It is something that I already knew in a way but put into words. The self is extremely important and I find it to be a major part when being involved with interpersonal communication. There must be a certain balance in a conversation that uses this interpersonal rhetoric and having a high self esteem always improves the situation immensely. The chapter was very descriptive but I found the last…

Wordsworth critics have often used the Two-Part Prelude as a basis for psychoanalytic critique. Scholars often cite Lacan as a contributing philosopher for understanding Wordsworth’s implementation of the “blessed babe” in part two of the Two-Part Prelude. However, there seems to be a gap in the scholarship when it comes to discussing the Lacanian Real in connection with the death drive within Wordsworth’s “spots of time.” By first using Lacan's "mirror stage" to investigate the meaning of the…

Sigmund Freud, in his psycho-analytical theory, presented the idea that people give meaningless reasons to things when their previous intentions were deeply disturbing or hindering. This is about rationalization. People will conceal the real reasons that are uncomfortable, unbearable and unconscious. As human beings we begin a life in which we perform actions that we can not reasonably claim to have done consciously. Different studies regarding the notion of intent have shown that children…

The vital force can be defined using two adjectives spiritual and autocracy. Autocracy means self-governed or ruled by a single entity. It is different to democracy, which means that it is ruled by agreements. Therefore the primary property that we know about vital force is that it is domineering. It is the one that governs our biological system. Societies with scientific observances have rejected the concept of vital force because it has been defined as being mystical. It is the dynamis that…