eetest01 Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 Having read OPAR and ITOE, I'd like some recommedations (books, web site links, scientific publications, etc.) for further study of epistemology, philosophy of mind and concept formation. I'm looking for philosophical as well as psychological sources. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_speicher Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 Having read OPAR and ITOE, I'd like some recommedations (books, web site links, scientific publications, etc.) for further study of epistemology, philosophy of mind and concept formation. I'm looking for philosophical as well as psychological sources. Those are two acts hard to follow! You might consider many of Harry Binswanger's excellent pamphlets available through the Ayn Rand Bookstore, Brand Blanshard's two-volume set The Nature of Thought, some of John Searles works, as well as the work of James J. Gibson, such as The Ecological Approach To Visual Perception. Binswanger is a first-rate Objectivist philosopher, as is reflected in his writings, but the latter three, Blanshard, Searles, and Gibson are quite mixed in their approaches. Nevertheless, they all have something of value to offer. Thanks. You're welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowzer Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 There are many other Objectivist sources to study other than OPAR and ITOE. I would also emphatically recommend as many of Dr. Binswanger's audio courses as you can get your hands on. You might also want to check out Dr. Gotthelf's book, On Ayn Rand, as it has excellent sections on epistemology. Ayn Rand's Marginalia contains crucial insights into some of Miss Rand's private thoughts on epistemology (so do her Journals and Letters for that matter). To the best of my knowledge--and I have surveyed most of the field of cognitive psychology--the process of concept-formation (properly understood) is, at this point, unknown to psychology. As for philosophy of mind outside of Objectivism I would recommend staying away from it at least until you have fully chewed the Objectivist principles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eetest01 Posted September 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Thanks for the suggestions guys. As for philosophy of mind outside of Objectivism I would recommend staying away from it at least until you have fully chewed the Objectivist principles. Bowzer, what would you then recommend? It sounds as though you think I might be lead astray. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowzer Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 Thanks for the suggestions guys. Bowzer, what would you then recommend? It sounds as though you think I might be lead astray. You're welcome! It's not so much a warning about being led astray (although it could definitely confuse your thinking) as it is an admonition about wasting time. I can't really express in just a few words how bad contemporary philosophy of mind is but it's BAD. You could embark on a study of historical views of consciousness by studying pre-Kantian thinkers. I would recommend the history of optics since it is a topic closely tied to consciousness with a rich and long history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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