Book of the Mind Key Writings on the Mind from Plato and the Buddha through Shakespeare, Descartes, and Freud to the Latest Discoveries of Neuroscience

by Wilson, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781582342580
• ISBN10: 158234258X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-10
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA

Summary

Fascinating, essential texts on human psychology makeThe Book of the Mindan ideal resource for anyone who thinks about the way we think. This imaginative collection of key writings on the human mind - which includes case notes, journals, poetry, fiction, and letters, as well as more formal writings - comprises humanity's most significant attempts to understand our own minds. Psychiatrist Stephen Wilson provides introductions to each of six sections - on perception, memory, emotion, thought, consciousness, and the self - and a linking commentary that sets each excerpt in the context. From Buddha and Aristotle to Descartes and Wittgenstein, from Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Proust, and Beckett to Freud, Jung, Klein, and Sacks, this is a superb overview of great thinkers on human thought. Stephen Wilsonis a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and was honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Oxford. He is a practicing psychotherapist. His books includeThe Cradle of Violence,Sigmund Freud, andIntroducing the Freud Wars. He has contributed reviews and articles to many publications includingThe Times Literary Supplement,The Independent, andThe New York Times, among others.. The Book of the Mindis an imaginative collection that comprises nothing less than humanity's most significant attempts to understand ourselves. Psychotherapist Stephen Wilson provdes introductions to each of six sectionson perception, memory, emotion, thought, consciousness, and the selfand a linking commentary that sets each excerpt in context. From the Buddha and Aristotle to Descartes and Wittgenstein, from Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Proust, and Beckett to Freud, Jung, and Sacks, this is an ideal resource for anyone who thinks about the way we think.

Author Biography

Stephen Wilson's books include The Cradle of Violence: Essays on Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and Literature and Introducing the Freud Wars. A Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, he is a practicing therapist in Oxford, England.

Table of Contents

Editor's Preface
Introduction
Diagrams of the Brain

1. PERCEPTION
Introduction
Sensations and Ideas
The Birth of the Imagination
The Work of the Imagination
The Sense of Continuity
The Role of Stored Images
Phantoms, Tricks, Visions and Hallucinations
The Apprehension of Beauty

2. MEMORY
Introduction
The Value of Memory
The Trustworthiness of Memory
State-dependent Memory
The Location of Memory
Brain Damage and Memory
Memory and Madness
Learning

3. EMOTION
Introduction
The Nature of Emotion
Love
Melancholy and Depression
Anger
Fear
Phobia
Hate
Disgust
Grief and Sorrow
The Emotions of Children
Brain Damage and Emotion
Rising above Emotion

4. THOUGHT
Introduction
Conceptual Thought
Origins of Thought
The Physical Effects of Thought
Obsession
Good and Bad Thoughts
Schizophrenia
Déjà Vu
Behaviourism
The Experience of Thinking

5. CONSCIOUSNESS
Introduction
The Mind-Body Problem
The Soul
The Effect of the Body on the Mind
The Effect of the Mind on the Body
The Validity of Experience
The Identity Theory of Mind
Neural Darwinism
Consciousness Is a Dubious Gift
Materialism
The Mystery of Consciousness

6. THE SELF
Introduction
The Ancients
Common Sense
The Galtonian Unconscious
The Freudian Unconscious
Influence
The Kleinian Unconscious
The Jungian Unconscious
The Adlerian Unconscious
The Physiological Unconscious
The Self

Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index