Science, philosophy and man's mind

Journal/Book: J Behav Ther Exp Psychiat. 1996; 27: The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford, England OX5 1GB. Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd. 363-368.

Abstract: This paper argues, in disagreement with most of the writers in the special issue [see Reyna (1995) Cognition, behavior and causality: A broad exchange of views stemming from the debate on the causal efficacy of human thought, Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 20(3)], that: (1) science cannot be separated from philosophy even for the purpose of trying to see which set of assumptions is more ''pragmatically useful;'' (2) a true understanding of causality eliminates skepticism and reveals why private, conscious events are causes of action; (3) consciousness is directly observable; and (4) the belief in cognition, far from divorcing man from the real world of action, points to the actual cause of action and of political change.

Note: Article Locke EA, Univ Maryland, Coll Business & Management, College Pk,MD 20742 USA

Keyword(s): COGNITION; BEHAVIOR; CAUSALITY; EFFICACY; DEBATE

Zurück | Weiter