Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

A forum for old votes and nomination threads
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Which book do you want to be the October book of the month?

Poll ended at September 11th, 2012, 10:58 am

The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant
28
33%
The Conscious Brain by Jesse J. Prinz
14
16%
Who's in Charge? by Michael S. Gazzaniga
15
18%
The Ravenous Brain by Daniel Bor
4
5%
I plan to read something else. (Please nominate it for November.)
15
18%
I don't read non-fiction books.
9
11%
 
Total votes: 85

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Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
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Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes »

Please use this topic to vote for the October 2012 philosophy book of the month. The poll will be open for 10 days from the time of this post. Whichever book has the most votes by then will be the October book of the month. You can click on the following links to learn more about each book:

The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers by Will Durant

The Conscious Brain by Jesse J. Prinz

Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain by Michael S. Gazzaniga

The Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Our Insatiable Search for Meaning by Daniel Bor
My entire political philosophy summed up in one tweet.

"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."

I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.
Chinny
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Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by Chinny »

Three books on the philosophy of mind? Why not have some variety among branches of philosophy?
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Eckhart Aurelius Hughes
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by Eckhart Aurelius Hughes »

Please post your suggestions in the nominations topic now or at any later time and then they will each be put into the following month's vote for book of the month.
My entire political philosophy summed up in one tweet.

"The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master."

I believe spiritual freedom (a.k.a. self-discipline) manifests as bravery, confidence, grace, honesty, love, and inner peace.
Chinny
Posts: 65
Joined: June 17th, 2012, 3:51 pm
Favorite Philosopher: Emmanuel Levinas
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by Chinny »

I have a pdf version of Durant's book, if anyone is interested.
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DeeElf
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Favorite Philosopher: William James
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by DeeElf »

Chinny wrote:I have a pdf version of Durant's book, if anyone is interested.
I am.
"Arguments seldom make converts in matters philosophical." -W. James, Principles, Vol. 1, p. 468

"Argument is propaganda for one observer, the essence of human discourse for another." -Feyerabend, Against Method, p. 236 (2010)
PeterKinnon
Posts: 39
Joined: November 3rd, 2011, 2:36 pm

Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by PeterKinnon »

Chinny wrote:I have a pdf version of Durant's book, if anyone is interested.
I am, too.

-- Updated September 4th, 2012, 7:22 am to add the following --

I see Durant's book is on the history of philosophy. An topic I explored avidly many years ago but which, for me, has long since lost its appeal.

Mostly because I have come to the realization that the cogitations of early philosophers have little other than basic matrices of reason to offer. Not because of any want of intellect on their part but, rather, because of the gross lack of information about the workings of our world that was then available. The IT acronym GIGO: Garbage in - garbage out expresses this succinctly.
Chinny
Posts: 65
Joined: June 17th, 2012, 3:51 pm
Favorite Philosopher: Emmanuel Levinas
Location: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by Chinny »

PeterKinnon wrote: Mostly because I have come to the realization that the cogitations of early philosophers have little other than basic matrices of reason to offer. Not because of any want of intellect on their part but, rather, because of the gross lack of information about the workings of our world that was then available. The IT acronym GIGO: Garbage in - garbage out expresses this succinctly.
I see the history of philosophy as important since we can learn why we use the conceptual framework we do, how philosophers have dealt with certain issues, and also to learn how not to treat certain philosophical problems. As they say, if you do not know history, you are doomed to repeat it. In a way, reading the history of philosophy is like a form of contraception: it helps prevent giving bith to ideas that have been bastardized by other men. But there might be a 'hole' in my argument here.

It is true that in science it is not always worthwhile to read the history, but philosophy isn't science, nor should it try to be. Philosophy is the analysis of the concepts we take for granted, and the honest analysis of those concepts in order to arrive at the truth of the matter at hand. Science does have a role, sure, but philosophy ought not to be reduced to science. Philosophy is concerned with argumentation, logic, and a faithful description of human experience. If anything, science and philosophy (as a historically-driven discipline) have much to learn from each other.
PeterKinnon
Posts: 39
Joined: November 3rd, 2011, 2:36 pm

Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by PeterKinnon »

I largely agree with this, chinny. For any newcomer to philosophical thought the history of philosophy is important background material. Also useful for becoming aware of pathways that have been previously explored to avoid "re-inventing the wheel". Quite apart from its inherent fascination.

However, in my view, it has little direct relevance to our current quest for better understanding of our world and there is little justification for the quite common habit of extensively quoting earlier philosophers to support conjectures.

But then, I must admit to being fairly committed to the empiricist faith.
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Aries
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Re: Vote for the October 2012 book of the month

Post by Aries »

Chinny wrote:I have a pdf version of Durant's book, if anyone is interested.
I will be very happy with it. please, Chinny ^^
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