Freedom and neurobiology :
Searle, John R.
Freedom and neurobiology : reflections on free will, language, and political power / by John R. Searle. - New York : Columbia University Press, c2007. - 113 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. - Columbia themes in philosophy .
Lectures presented in French in 2001 at the Sorbonne.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction : philosophy and the basic facts -- Free will as a problem in neurobiology -- Social ontology and political power. 1. 2.
"In Freedom and Neurobiology, the philosopher John Searle discusses the possibility of free will within the context of contemporary neurobiology. He begins by explaining the relationship between human reality and the more fundamental reality as described by physics and chemistry. Then he proposes a neurobiological resolution to the problem by demonstrating how various conceptions of free will have different consequences for the neurobiology of consciousness." "In the second half of the book, Searle applies his theory of social reality to the problem of political power, explaining the role of language in the formation of our political reality. The institutional structures that organize, empower, and regulate our lives - money, property, marriage, government - consist in the assignment and collective acceptance of certain statuses to objects and people. Whether it is the president of the United States, a twenty-dollar bill, or private property, these entities perform functions as determined by their status in our institutional reality. Searle focuses on the political powers that exist within these systems of status functions and the way in which language constitutes them."--BOOK JACKET.
0231137524 (cloth : alk. paper) 0231510551 (ebook)
2006015274
Free will and determinism.
Neuropsychology.
Power (Social sciences)
Sociolinguistics.
123 / SEA-F 2007 7057
Freedom and neurobiology : reflections on free will, language, and political power / by John R. Searle. - New York : Columbia University Press, c2007. - 113 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. - Columbia themes in philosophy .
Lectures presented in French in 2001 at the Sorbonne.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Introduction : philosophy and the basic facts -- Free will as a problem in neurobiology -- Social ontology and political power. 1. 2.
"In Freedom and Neurobiology, the philosopher John Searle discusses the possibility of free will within the context of contemporary neurobiology. He begins by explaining the relationship between human reality and the more fundamental reality as described by physics and chemistry. Then he proposes a neurobiological resolution to the problem by demonstrating how various conceptions of free will have different consequences for the neurobiology of consciousness." "In the second half of the book, Searle applies his theory of social reality to the problem of political power, explaining the role of language in the formation of our political reality. The institutional structures that organize, empower, and regulate our lives - money, property, marriage, government - consist in the assignment and collective acceptance of certain statuses to objects and people. Whether it is the president of the United States, a twenty-dollar bill, or private property, these entities perform functions as determined by their status in our institutional reality. Searle focuses on the political powers that exist within these systems of status functions and the way in which language constitutes them."--BOOK JACKET.
0231137524 (cloth : alk. paper) 0231510551 (ebook)
2006015274
Free will and determinism.
Neuropsychology.
Power (Social sciences)
Sociolinguistics.
123 / SEA-F 2007 7057