A Review of “Adaptive Thinking”, Part I

[“Adaptive Thinking: Rationality in the Real World”, Gerd Gigerenzer, Oxford University Press, 2000] Professor Gigerenzer states in the introduction of Part I of his book (“Where Do New Ideas Come From?”): Computers and statistics have both been used to fulfill the timeless longing to replace judgment by the application of content-blind, mechanical rules.” [page 1] … [Read more…]

What is Mind?: Part 4b. What Does God Know? — a Supplement

I seem to have spoken of Creation is two ways. There’s no real inconsistency but I was confused myself for a while a few days ago. In my most recent posting, What is Mind?: Part 4. What Does God Know?, I spoke as if the Primordial Universe, the stuff underlying all of Creation, is analogous … [Read more…]

What is Mind?: Part 4. What Does God Know?

Obviously God knows all. Perhaps the real question is: “What is there to be known?” But the questions are the same at a very fundamental level. What God knows is what there is to know and what there is to know is known by God. First, if things are true, that is — if Creation … [Read more…]

What is Mind?: Part 3. A Proper Sort of Reductionism

Reductionism is often seen as explaining something away and, unfortunately, that’s often the goal of those doing the reducing. This isn’t a new development in modern thought. When St. Augustine explained the mind in terms of three components — intellect, memory, and will — he was reducing a complex entity to three components he felt … [Read more…]