This chapter contrasts the growing acceptance of anger and grief in political theory with the persistent, one-sided pathologization of fear. While anger and grief are now frequently defended as politically valuable, fear is still dismissed as a primitive, irrational force threatening public life. Rather than defend fear, however, I criticise a pervasive argument against it, which relies on two dubious claims: (1) neuroscientific findings supposedly prove fear is inherently destructive in politics and (2) entire groups are driven by fear. I dispute the first claim by drawing on the work of LeDoux to show that ‘fear’ in neuroscientific research often differs fundamentally from the subjective experience of fear that critics often target. I dispute the second by arguing that attributions of fear to social groups and populations frequently hinge on weak evidence, such as conflating perceived threat with the emotional state of fear. Finally, I argue that the fear of fear in political theory is harmful. It fuels unwarranted attributions of fear that oversimplify the complexities of political behaviour and risk compounding the marginalisation of socio-economically disadvantaged people.

Beyond Words has been an introduction to psycholinguistics, the study of language and the mind. This field merges linguistics and psychology, as its name suggests, but it’s much more complicated than that. Psycholinguistics is a multidisciplinary science that also combines insights from philosophy, cognitive science, and neuroscience, among other areas. To get more granular, there are the branches of study that fall under the umbrella of this field, including first language acquisition, second language acquisition, language comprehension and production, and what happens when this all goes wrong. At first, it is baffling to fathom how so many different branches could possibly belong to a single field. However, as the story unfolded it revealed how these pieces all fit together to help us understand the ways that we learn, use, and lose language.

Chapter 7 begins with Kornblith’s attempt to resurrect a teleology of the mind or intellect. I countenance his semantic, desire and pragmatic arguments, maintaining that none of them shows truth or true belief to be an objective good. By contrast, Aristotle’s idea that the intellect is constitutively directed at truth does show this (in virtue of the Aristotelian functionalist schema: i.e. all functions are correlated with perfections or goods). And Aristotle’s idea is corroborated not only by ‘folk’ and theoretical psychology, but also by cognitive science. For the latter is wedded to the notion that the brain is a cognitive system, functionally directed at cognition (viz. true belief). I go on to address three critiques of this intellectual teleology – those put forward by William James, evolutionary biology and global scepticism respectively – and argue that none of them is cogent. Next, I unpack two alternative accounts of the relation between truth and goodness – those of Ayer and Davidson – and maintain that they, too, fall short. Last, I tackle intellectual goods beyond true belief – such as knowledge and understanding – asking whether they or their objects form discernible hierarchies.

This article, titled “A Unified Understanding of the Human Mind - A Neuroethical Perspective,”examines the evolution of the concept of the human mind in Western thought and its integration with neuroscience, psychology, psychiatry, and relational dimensions. The author explores how the understanding of the mind has changed over time, influenced by shifts in philosophical paradigms, scientific advancements, and societal perspectives. The article traces the historical development of the mind’s concept, starting from ancient Greece, through influential thinkers like Plato and René Descartes, and progressing to contemporary perspectives. It highlights various philosophical and scientific approaches, including structuralism, functionalism, empiricism, and associationism, which have shaped our understanding of the mind. The article also delves into contemporary integration, where advancements in neuroimaging and the rise of holistic approaches offer a more nuanced understanding of the human mind. The author emphasizes the importance of the relational dimension and the interconnectedness of mental processes, the brain, and the external environment. This integrated perspective can benefit psychiatric treatment and psychological assessments by fostering a holistic approach to mental health. In conclusion, the article advocates for a multidimensional perspective that bridges subjective and objective aspects of human experience, offering promise for theoretical knowledge and practical applications in psychology, psychiatry, and neuroscience.

This chapter provides multiple-choice questions designed to reinforce and expand your knowledge of basic neuroscience, including synaptic neurotransmission, chemical neurotransmission, receptors, ion channels, enzymes, and the relationship between genes, environment, and behavior.

Takes up another aspect of free will, the challenge of scientific determinism. I argue that Jewish tradition contains surprisingly many thinkers who either deny free will or (more commonly) greatly limit its scope, question its value, or embrace compatibilism (the thesis that free will and determinism are compatible). Some of what these thinkers say can be transferred to the challenge of determinism as it exists today.

As we think and act, the brain is constantly producing Big Data in the firing of its neurons and in the connections that are strengthened and weakened. This chapter discusses how we can study the brain and the Big Data that it creates. First, we discuss how clever behavioral tasks, looking at development and other species, and natural variation across people are our first tools for understanding the brain. Next, we delve into describing several popular brain imaging methods – direct recording, electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, magnetic resonance imaging, and a few others. We discuss how to interpret the Big Data shown by brain maps, and some Big Data methods like multiple comparisons correction to consider when viewing this data. Finally, we end the chapter discussing the ethical question of whether such neuroimaging allows mindreading.

Music & spoken language share many features by combining smaller units (e.g., words, notes) into larger structures (e.g., sentences, musical phrases). This hierarchical organization of sound is culturally contingent & communicates meaning to listeners. Comparisons of music & language from a cognitive neuroscience perspective provide several insights into commonalities & differences between these systems, how they are represented in the brain. The cognitive neuroscience research of music & language, emphasizes the pitfalls & promises identified, including (1) the apparent acoustic & structural similarities between these systems, (2) how both systems convey meaning to listeners, (3) how these systems are learned over the course of development, & (4) the ways in which experience in one domain influences processing in the other domain. We conclude that searching for similarities in how these complex systems are structured (e.g., comparing musical syntax to linguistic syntax) represents a pitfall that researchers should approach with caution. A promising approach in this area of research is to examine how general cognitive mechanisms underlie the learning & maintenance of both systems

Inspired by interesting research in the field of neuroscience, Dorothea Haspelmath-Finatti argues that singing in a liturgical context is not only an essential part of the act of praising and praying, but it is also healthy.