Contemporary Psychology

Locke, John (1632-1704): Essay concerning Human Understanding, London 1700

4 In Four Books. London: Awnsham & Churchill, 1700. 4th Revised & enlarged Edition. [First published 1690]. [484]pp. + engraved copperplate frontis portrait of Locke by Vanderbanck after Brounower. 242 leaves: collation exactly as in Yolton with the same misnumbered pages. Folio. Contemporary paneled calf. Some wear to the boards, spine label mostly effaced and illegible, old repair to the crown, foot of spine and lower corners worn, occasional slight marginal staining, several trivial marginal paper faults, contemporary ink reference note to the upper front flyleaf and a few notes to the index. An attractive and clean copy in an unrebacked contemporary binding. The penultimate lifetime edition, the last lifetime edition issued with the frontis portrait, and -- other than the first -- the most important edition, for it is in this edition that Locke added the chapter on the association of ideas (Book II Chapter XXXIII), as well as a chapter on enthusiasm. Locke's chapter title -- though not his actual discussion of the subject -- is the origin of associationism, as elaborated much later by Hartley, Hume, James Mill, and Bain and, mistaken interpretation or not, is consensually regarded as the Ursprung of experimental psychology as opposed to merely speculative philosophical psychology. GM #4967. PMM #164; Wozniak 1992 #27 (all the first edition); Yolton 64; Oxford Companion to Philosophy, p. 62 ("associationism"); Brett History of Psychology, 2: 262-263 and Diamond Roots of Psychology 12.3 (both the 4th edition). 3 pounds 12.0 ounces = 1.7 kg. 13.2 x 8.4 x 1.6 inches = 33 x 21 x 4cm. The foundation text for empirical psychology and the beginning of British empiricism. One of the great books in the history of thought. Of this 4th edition Diamond wrote: "Locke, who was too reasonable a man to be even a thoroughgoing empiricist ..., was not at all an associationist. Association had no part in the original Essay, but in the fourth edition he added a chapter pointing to the chance 'connexion of ideas' (probably his rendering of 'liaison des idees,' which he would have met in Malebranche) as a major source of error in thinking. The more fortunate phrase, association of ideas, occurs only in the chapter title and is perhaps derived from the word consociatione which Molyneux used in the Latin edition which was being prepared simultaneously and for which the chapter was indeed written. In time, however, this phrase became so rivetted to Locke's name that the later associationists came to look upon him as their founder" [Diamond p. 281]. HB

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Cooper, John M.. Reason and Emotion: Essays on Ancient Moral Psychology and Ethical Theory. Ewing, New Jersey, U.S.A.: Princeton Univ Pr, 1999. ; weicher Einband / soft cover
069105875X, FLAWLESS COPY - AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY, WHY WAIT? -- 605 pp. -- REVIEWS: (1) "This is a work of conspicuous erudition. . . . Although the books is very clearly written, reading it requires concentrated effort, for the material Cooper discusses is both subtle and in a different idiom from contemporary moral thinking. He nevertheless illuminates a variety of issues on which contemporary philosophers focus."--Library Journal ; (2) "This splendid book is a collection of twenty-three of John Cooper's papers on Greek ethical philosophy. . . . But more important, bringing these papers together has synergistic effects: we see Cooper returning to related issues in different contexts and elaborating the scope and depth of his analyses. . . . [T]hey are one of the handful of permanent contributions to the study of ancient ethics in the past one hundred years."--Chris Bobonich, The Philosophical Review -- DESCRIPTION: This book brings together twenty-three distinctive and influential essays on ancient moral philosophy--including several published here for the first time--by the distinguished philosopher and classical scholar John Cooper. The volume gives a systematic account of many of the most important issues and texts in ancient moral psychology and ethical theory, providing a unified and illuminating way of reflecting on the fields as they developed from Socrates and Plato through Aristotle to Epicurus and the Stoic philosophers Chrysippus and Posidonius, and beyond. For the ancient philosophers, Cooper shows here, morality was "good character" and what that entailed: good judgment, sensitivity, openness, reflectiveness, and a secure and correct sense of who one was and how one stood in relation to others and the surrounding world. Ethical theory was about the best way to be rather than any principles for what to do in particular circumstances or in relation to recurrent temptations. Moral psychology was the study of the psychological conditions required for good character--the sorts of desires, the attitudes to self and others, the states of mind and feeling, the kinds of knowledge and insight. Together these papers illustrate brilliantly how, by studying the arguments of the Greek philosophers in their diverse theories about the best human life and its psychological underpinnings, we can expand our own moral understanding and imagination and enrich our own moral thought. The collection will be crucial reading for anyone interested in classical philosophy and what it can contribute to reflection on contemporary questions about ethics and human life. -- ENDORSEMENTS: "This collection is the fruit of a lifetime's study of the great tradition of Greek moral philosophy.... [Cooper's] range is deeply impressive. So is the tenacity with which he wrestles a clear meaning from recalcitrant texts. So too is the philosophical rigour with which he sharpens up the issues and makes the reader face questions that modern philosophers have forgotten or neglected. This is philosophical scholarship at its best."--M. F. Burnyeat, All Souls College, University of Oxford -- "This volume brings together essays on Greek ethics and moral psychology by one of the most influential scholars in the field.[I]t will be fascinating and instructive for scholars and students alike to follow John Cooper in his explorations of some of the most important questions of ancient and modern ethics."--Gisela Striker, University of Cambridge -- "John Cooper is one of the most distinguished scholars in the field of ancient moral philosophy and his articles are often considered classics. Cooper writes in a lucid style and has the gift of making problems accessible to nonspecialists. . . ."--Dorothea Frede, Universität Hamburg
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Routledge: Philosophy of Psychology: Contemporary Readings, Routledge 10/24/2006 ISBN: 0415368618

Philosophy of Psychology: Contemporary Readings is a comprehensive anthology that includes classic and contemporary readings from leading philosophers. Addressing in depth most major topics within... Brandneue, Perfekte Bedingungen für Überseesendungen Innerhalb 30 Liefertagen. Brand New, Perfect Condition. May Ship From Overseas, Allow 30 Days Delivery Time. Format: Hardcover Condition: New

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Sullivan, Evelin. The Concise Book of Lying. New York, New York, U.S.A.: Picador USA, 2002. ; weicher Einband / soft cover
0312420471, BRAND NEW, FLAWLESS COPY, NEVER OPENED -- -- TABLE OF CONTENTS: Prologue xi * In the Beginning * The Bible: A Casebook 3 * Deception at First Light 29 * The Anatomy of Lying * Why Liars Lie 55 * How to Weave, and Sell, a Tangled Web 86 * The High Cost of Lying 118 * The Lying Mind * Liars, Liars, Liars! 151 * Deep Down, I Knew ... 162 * Lie Detection Modern and Ancient * The APEX Truth Meter 189 * The Ordeal 211 * Lying to the Enemy * Generals, Greeks, and Other Liars 229 * The Briar Patch Revisited 254 * Even Educated Flies Do It 273 * Epilogue 293 * Notes 295 * Bibliography 313 * Acknowledgments 321 * Index 323 . -- FROM THE PUBLISHER: With Lively Wit and Breezy sophistication, novelist Evelin Sullivan tackles the most pervasive of human sins, using history and mythology, anecdote and analysis to discover the truth about lying. Beginning with the nature and characterization of deception in ancient texts from the Bible to Greek myth, Sullivan asks why people lie; what makes an effective lie; what are its consequences; and how has society tried to counteract human deception. Touching on philosophy, literature, history, and psychology, The Concise Book of Lying is a stylish and erudite tour of the twilight realm of trickery. FROM THE CRITICS -Book Magazine: Note that there are two books being reviewed; The Concise Book of Lying and The Liar's Tale If there were a college for aspiring prevaricators, where budding pupils could be introduced to the kinds of lies that humans tell, The Concise Book of Lying would be their freshman text. The Liar's Tale, on the other hand, would be a graduate-level survey, concentrating on the history of philosophy, on both its assault and perpetration of lies. Because I'm a novelist and, therefore, a professional liar, I found both books often fascinating. Those professionally or personally concerned with the truth have much to learn from and enjoy in each. - The Concise Book of Lying begins with a fine analysis of the different attitudes toward lying found in the Old Testament and in ancient Greek literature. Sullivan says that humans identify with trickster figures, such as the crooked messenger Hermes (one of the sons of Zeus in Greek mythology), because they use underhanded methods-such as blatant lying and deception-to combat authority. The historical information that Sullivan provides is engaging, but when she moves on to a contemporary discussion of the nature, motives, techniques and effects of lies, she introduces material that is often brutally obvious and illustrated with banal examples from television and film. Sullivan regains her rigor in a section called "The Lying Mind," where she describes types of pathological liars and provides psychiatric analyses of each. One of the most picturesque is the "pseudologue," who mixes fact and fantasy to create a dramatic and flamboyant past. Also featured is a handy list of fifteen ways that humans can lie tothemselves according to Freudian psychology, including displacing one's feelings onto less dangerous objects than those that aroused the emotions, and sublimating one's sexual desires "by substituting for them nonsexual activities socially accepted by one's culture." Probably the most purely informative section of this book deals with lie detection. Sullivan tells the history of the polygraph, its critics and those who foil it. Even more interesting is her research into earlier days of lie-detecting or truth-demonstrating. In medieval times, for example, those accused of lying could choose to deliver grandiose oaths to prove their sincerity or undergo a battery of tests, such as grasping a burning iron. Sullivan closes by illustrating the important role deceit plays in the world of plants and animals, and some of her examples shame the inventions of most novelists. A variety of organisms can employ "aggressive disguise" and "tactical deception." The digger wasp, for instance, builds two or three false burrows after the real burrow is completed, while the Thecla togarna butterfly fakes out predators by positioning itself upside down, with its rear resembling its head. Although Sullivan attempts to unify her scattered materials with a consistently moral tone, the liars she gathers seem to have the best lines, as they so often do in literature. There are very interesting pages, for example, on the Jesuits' invention of equivocation (or wordplay), a perceptive point about a defendant's "right" to lie under oath, a wonderful story about the spread of disinformation during World War II and remarkable data on fireflies (incidentally, much of the blinking that humans find charming is actually done to deceive potential predators). Jeremy Campbell is a science journalist whose two other books, Grammatical Man and The Improbable Machine, provide excellent introductions to information theory and cognitive science. In The Liar's Tale, Darwin's evolutionary theories are the bases from which Campbell analyzes philosophers from the pre-Christian Greek Parmenides to the contemporary Frenchman Michel Foucault, continually searching those thinkers whose ideas correspond with Darwin's notions of mental development and mimicry in nature. Within the grand abstract sweep of his book, Campbell inserts biographical facts that show truth-seeking philosophers were often all-too-human subjects, whether they liked it or not: While laying bare the history of sexuality, for example, Foucault kept his own sexual secrets. After Campbell cites some of Sullivan's million-year-old biological evidence on lying, he launches into discussions of pre-Socratic philosophers and of the Sophists, early Greek thinkers and rhetoric teachers. Some prior knowledge of these figures, as well as others, would be helpful in Campbell's works but is not necessary. This dense list probably makes The Liar's Tale sound daunting, but Campbell provides many ample, well-paced explanations to support his findings. Although Jacques Derrida, the contemporary French philosopher who deconstructs every assumption about certainty, comes to be the villain of The Liar's Tale, Campbell, like Derrida, looks for the philosophical loopholes where language seems to necessitate lies. Campbell thus points to a number of skeptics in the history of Western thought, including the medieval nominalists who argued that philosophy was just another set of random words. About half of The Liar's Tale is devoted to the twentieth century, which Campbell calls the century of suspicion. He discusses giant and familiar figures-Nietzsche, Freud and Wittgenstein, all doubtful about humans' ability to desire, know or express truth-and influential thinkers not so well known. The French sociologist Georges Sorel proposed that we must live by "social myths," while the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure argued the arbitrariness of all language systems. The Liar's Tale possesses a unity, as well as a profundity, that Sullivan's book lacks. And while Campbell often works from secondary sources, his original accounts of modern philosophers are interesting and admirably free of jargon, particularly considering the specialized language of much recent philosophical discourse. If there is a weakness to The Liar's Tale, it's Campbell's desire to connect his high-powered historical commentary to the contemporary environment of Sullivan's book-as if Derrida's deconstructive impulse theory directly influenced Bill Clinton's personal and political lies. Numerous curiosities abound in both books. Campbell recalls a theologian's theory that God was the master deceiver preoccupied with testing humans (Sullivan's book also suggests that God told the first lie), and he offers vivid examples (even more than Sullivan) of nature's ingenuity. Beware the male ten-spined stickleback fish, by the way, which pretends to be female while fertilizing a female's eggs. About a third of Sullivan's book is unnecessary for anyone who knows what a white lie is, and perhaps a third o...

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