Search Results for: how the mind works

Stories, Archetypes, Morality

Posted on Monday 30 June 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Does anyone take Jung or Freud seriously any more? OnlySky’s Bruce Ledewitz on the contemporary idea of “evil”; Robert Reich on “the worst bill in history” and fact-checking claims about tax cuts; How local communities fight back against ICE; Republicans … Continue reading →

Posted in Music, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology | Comments Off on Stories, Archetypes, Morality

Nicholas Humphrey, LEAPS OF FAITH

Posted on Saturday 24 May 2025 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitle: “Science, Miracles, and the Search for Supernatural Consolation” (Basic Books, Jan. 1996, 244pp, including 20pp notes and index) (Chatto & Windus, 1995, as Soul Searching: Human Nature and Supernatural Belief) Here’s a book I read when it came out, … Continue reading →

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End of Year 2024

Posted on Tuesday 31 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

I don’t do this every year, but today I’m inclined to write about what’s gone on this past year, what if anything I’ve “accomplished,” and what if any “progress” I’ve made toward long-term goals. About books read, settling Larry’s estate, … Continue reading →

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Best Books

Posted on Sunday 15 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Carroll, Sean. 2016. The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself. Dutton. ***** CalTech physicist Carroll describes the perspective we gain from cosmology and science in how we view our world and our place in … Continue reading →

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Recently Read

Posted on Sunday 15 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Sloman, Steven, & Fernbach, Philip. 2017. The Knowledge Illusion: Why We Never Think Alone. Riverhead. *** 1/2 We live in a complex world, no one can know everything, and we depend on the knowledge of others. (I recall that Heinlein … Continue reading →

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Morality and Meaning

Posted on Saturday 14 December 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Feynman, Richard P.. 1998. The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a citizen-scientist. Addison Wesley. *** Three essays delivered as lectures in 1963, concerning science, religion, and public credulousness. Science has three aspects: method, results, technology. Some uncertainty always remains. … Continue reading →

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Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 9

Posted on Thursday 1 August 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

This time: Children. The old nature vs. nurture debate is too simplistic and binary. Given implications of our innate human nature, the (by now unsurprising) takeaway here is that parents have far less influence on their children than people have … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, Children, Culture, Human Nature, Psychology, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 9

Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 5

Posted on Wednesday 24 July 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

After being distracted by Texas affairs, politics, Riven, and reading Brian Greene and others, let’s get back to this book and try to finish summarizing it and capturing key points. This and one more post. Earlier posts about this book: … Continue reading →

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Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 1

Posted on Tuesday 4 June 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Subtitled: “The Modern Denial of Human Nature” (Viking, Oct. 2002, 509pp, including 75pp appendix, notes, references, and index) This is an enormous, thorough book on a topic already covered to some extent by several of the other major books I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Notes, MInd, Psychology, science fiction, Steven Pinker | Comments Off on Steven Pinker: THE BLANK SLATE, post 1

Looking Up Instead of Down

Posted on Monday 19 February 2024 by Mark R. Kelly

Two pieces today about how humanity is progressing, in its understanding of the world and in its social progress, rather than regressing, as conservative movements around the world are striving to do. Richard Dawkins on science as a jewel in … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Philosophy, Psychology, Science | Comments Off on Looking Up Instead of Down