Bradford Books

The mind-body problem is of relatively recent vintage in Western philosophy, but it has become of importance of late due to the role it plays in the "strong A.I." problem. Although the field of artificial intelligence is no where near to creating thinking machines, let alone conscious ones, the debate over whether the latter is indeed possible has been raging now for several decades. Sometimes philosophy raises and debates issues that have no immediate practical significance, and the possibility of "strong A.I." is currently one of these. But developments in A.I. may indeed make these discussion not as vacuous as they currently are, and so it may in some sense be helpful to analyze some of these arguments, with also the hope that they can shed light on the nature of intelligence and help those who are interested in the building of an artificial mind.

The author considers his book a blending of three ideas, namely functionalism, intensionality, and mental representation. He introduces these via a consideration of the arguments against Cartesian dualism that were being formulated in the early 1960's. The author labels "logical behaviorism" and "central state identity theory" as being two of the strategies for doing this. In logical behaviorism, mental processes are semantically equivalent to behavioral dispositions, and the definitions of these reduced to that of stimulus and response parameters, these parameters left essentially undefined. The author gives counterexamples to show that logical behaviorism falls short of being a theory of mental causation that allows nontrivial psychological theories to be constructed. Throughout the book, the author makes the requirement that a science of mind must define mental properties in a way that makes them natural from the standpoint of psychological theory construction. He makes the point, interestingly, that information processing systems can provide a natural domain for this kind of theory construction. He thus admits the possibility that these systems can share our psychology but not share our physical make-up. He sums this up by saying that "philosophical theories about the nature of mental properties carry empirical commitments about the appropriate domains for psychological generalizations". Physicalism does not meet these requirements he states.

The author thus asserts the need for a "relational" treatment of mental properties, and so he turns his attention to "functionalism". Along with stimulus/response, this theory also allows reference to other mental states. But functionalism is not a reductionist philosophy like behaviorism, for it admits mentalistic concepts, and these are relationally defined and causal. It thus allows psychological theory construction of the kind that a psychologist requires. However, the author is careful to note that functionalism must deal with two problems, one being the development of a vocabulary which specifies the allowed kinds of descriptions for causes and effects, the other being that one must gaurantee that functional individuation only takes place when there is a mechanism that can carry out the function and only where there is an idea of what such a mechanism is. One wants, in functionalism, to avoid "pseudo-explanations" like those arising in physicalism.

This is where the author brings in the (Turing) machines, via "machine functionalism", which he claims solve the above problems. Functional definitions of psychological kinds are identical to the ones used to specify the program states of the computer. The author then elaborates in detail on just how machine functionalism is able to cope with the problems discussed. The Turing machine can provide a sufficient condition for the mechanical realizability of a functional theory, and thus mental processes correspond to a certain Turing machine process, and for each Turing machine process a mechanical realization.

He is careful though to not let this theory do more than it should (or can), such as circular arguments that involve the postulating of processes for which no mechanical realization can exist. He then addresses the degree to which functionalism could be said to be a successful theory. Could one really accept that it is relational properties that induce pain rather than an itch? His argument involves the difference between "qualia inversion" and "propositional attitude inversion", the former possible, the latter not. He argues that it is not a conceptual possibility of one person's belief being different from another's despite the identity of their inferential roles. He does however give references for possible ways of avoiding this.

The author is firmly committed to having both a philosophical and psychological theory of propositional attitudes. His attitude here is an interesting one, for I think it is a sign of things to come in the intersection between science and philosophy. He states that the goal of cognitive psychology is to systematize and explain how the propositional attitudes of an organism are affected by experience, by genes, and other propositional attitudes that it has. The success of such a psychological theory puts constraints on the construction of the philosophical theory. This, again, is a most interesting move, for it is an example of a new way of doing philosophy, namely that of constructing philosophical theories that must respect scientific results. For the author, the distinction between a philosophical and a psychological theory is heuristic, namely it is a quick way of indicating which kinds of constraints are being used in the motivating of a given strategy in theory construction. This book is an example of this kind of strategy, and as a whole it is a fascinating one, particularly in the context of current research in artificial intelligence. When philosophers see the rise of thinking machines in the near future, their philosophical theories will have to adapt themselves to the abilities of these machines. And the machines themselves will have their own (unique) theories about their abilities.

or those without a background in formal logic. Gupta and Belnap expand their revision theory of truth, available scattered in various papers and referenced by others, in this book.

The book begins with a relatively straight-forward explanation of why they feel the theory is needed and they provide some layman's explanations for the theory. Most of the remainder of the book will be incomprehensible to those without a good background in formal logic. Belnap and Gupta delve deeply into the theoretical framework of their theory and some of its implications.

Although this book is good for those interested in the theory a reader more interested in the general concepts of truth being pursued within the philosophical community will be better served by borrowing a copy of Kirkham's excellent "Theories of Truth" from a local library. Also recommended are some of Varzi and Casati's papers, notably "True and False: an Exchange", available on-line from their websites.

Good reference for a graduate studying theories of truth and logic; not much use for anyone else.

William B. Huie covered the appeal of Ruby McCollum's death sentence for the murder of her white, senator-elect physician lover in a torrid love story that involved interracial sex, drugs and money. Zora Neale Hurston covered the trial, and asked Huie to intervene when she felt powerless to continue her coverage for The Pittsburgh Courier when they failed to honor her contract for reporting on the case. While Huie was relentless in investigating Adams' background, his book trails off in a self-serving homage to his being jailed for contempt of court. Still, his is an important contribution to the story, and contains Zora Hurston's contributions, detailing her coverage of the trial.

For those interested in Samuel Taylor Coleridge and his family, this book gives a glimpse into the life of his daughter, Sara Coleridge. It is also a view of life in England in the 19th century and the role of woman in those times. Sara was instumental in preserving her father's work along with her husband, Henry Nelson Coleridge.

This is a great book because of the many different/diverse perspectives it gives due to contributions from many/multiple authors! Most of the authors are known and well established and respected in their field and have created great articles that are very, very helpful to all types of traders. While this won't be the only book you'll need on the subject, this is a great starter and will help you hone in on a particular author or technique you like allowing you to do further research when you're ready! Great read too!

There was the Siege of Troy, the Siege of Leningrad and other notable events where one opposing force laid siege to either a city or, in the case of Gibraltar (which endured 13 sieges throughout her colourful history), a country. The Siege of Malta, however, is not one of those which springs readily to mind and is, therefore, often overlooked.

At the time of World War Two, Malta was in a vitally strategic position. Bearing in mind the limitations of both air and sea power at that time, ships and aircraft operating from Malta were able to assist with the re-supply and support of British troops fighting in North Africa. Her aircraft could also seek and destroy those enemy ships wishing to do the same for opposing German forces.

Had Malta fallen, there is no doubt that the British 8th Army in North Africa would have been defeated and Rommel victorious. In addition, throughout this time of conflict, Axis aircraft commanded the northern shores of almost the entire Mediterranean Sea. In spite of British naval superiority on that sea, those aircraft made re-supplying the beleaguered island of Malta almost impossible. Indeed, there was a time when Malta was within 30 days of surrender.

This book tells the story of the Siege of Malta and tells it very well indeed. In a thoroughly researched work, the author skilfully takes the reader through the events which shaped Malta and the War in the Mediterranean from 1940-1943. The story of Operation Pedestal is recounted in great detail where the tanker "Ohio" finally reached Malta when 9 ships from her original convoy of 14 were lost. So vital was this ship's cargo that the Royal Navy threw everything they had into the defence of that convoy. Consequently, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, cruiser HMS Manchester and light cruiser HMS Cairo were all lost and the cruisers HMS Kenya and HMS Nigeria put out of action.

This account of the Siege of Malta is as good as they get and will do much to give that siege the full recognition it truly deserves. When you read this story you will begin to understand exactly why King George VI bestowed Britain's highest award for gallantry on the people of Malta - for all they had endured and the way in which they had rallied to the cause throughout this most turbulent time in their history.

NM
Retired British Army major.

There was the Siege of Troy, the Siege of Leningrad and other notable events where one opposing force laid siege to either a city or, in the case of Gibraltar (which endured 13 sieges throughout her colourful history), a country. The Siege of Malta, however, is not one of those which springs readily to mind and is, therefore, often overlooked.

At the time of World War Two, Malta was in a vitally strategic position. Bearing in mind the limitations of both air and sea power at that time, ships and aircraft operating from Malta were able to assist with the re-supply and support of British troops fighting in North Africa. Her aircraft could also seek and destroy those enemy ships wishing to do the same for opposing German forces.

Had Malta fallen, there is no doubt that the British 8th Army in North Africa would have been defeated and Rommel victorious. In addition, throughout this time of conflict, Axis aircraft commanded the northern shores of almost the entire Mediterranean Sea. In spite of British naval superiority on that sea, those aircraft made re-supplying the beleaguered island of Malta almost impossible. Indeed, there was a time when Malta was within 30 days of surrender.

This book tells the story of the Siege of Malta and tells it very well indeed. In a thoroughly researched work, the author skilfully takes the reader through the events which shaped Malta and the War in the Mediterranean from 1940-1943. The story of Operation Pedestal is recounted in great detail where the tanker "Ohio" finally reached Malta when 9 ships from her original convoy of 14 were lost. So vital was this ship's cargo that the Royal Navy threw everything they had into the defence of that convoy. Consequently, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, cruiser HMS Manchester and light cruiser HMS Cairo were all lost and the cruisers HMS Kenya and HMS Nigeria put out of action.

This account of the Siege of Malta is as good as they get and will do much to give that siege the full recognition it truly deserves. When you read this story you will begin to understand exactly why King George VI bestowed Britain's highest award for gallantry on the people of Malta - for all they had endured and the way in which they had rallied to the cause throughout this most turbulent time in their history.

NM
Retired British Army major.

So what is social work? The book seeks to explain and inspire. It targets the university student majoring, or choosing to major, in this subject. It explains that a social worker can make a positive difference in a person's life. In many people's lives.

Often, the people who need aid are underprivileged in one form or another. One chapter delineates the typical groups. The elderly. Those suffering from alcohol and substance abuse. The disabled; blind, deaf, or otherwise physically handicapped. The mentally handicapped. Those in jail or those recently released, seeking support. Low income persons. Etc. A lengthy list that can certainly discourage some, but hopefully if the chapter inspires you, then it may be telling you that you are suited for the profession.

The book also takes a global view of the profession. Some other American texts focus just on the American scene. The global perspective can be instructive. It shows varying needs. It might also make you appreciate that many societies, especially in developing countries, simply have far fewer social workers. And that the US, for all its defects, is fortunate to have the wealth to support this profession.

This book brings some interesting distinctions to the utilitarian side of debates on religion, that is, to the evaluation of religions by their effects.

It is quite common to attribute macho attitudes to religious men, specially fundamentalist ones. Here the author makes a distinction, in the Evangelical field, between born-again Christians and those who are merely conservative and attend church because they expect themselves to do so.

An easily read summary of the author's experience in Vietnam. (I found it of interest as a veteran of the 25th Div. at the same time-several friends who arrived in country with me were assigned to the Wolfhounds). Mr. Bradford shows us the Vietnam War from the perspective of a young Civic Action Officer trained to "win the hearts and minds" of the civilian population. Through narratives of his own experience and those of others the reader is presented a view of the futility and mismanagement of that war while also describing the lives and experiences of the individual combat soldier and the Wolfhounds. Sometimes the dialoque was difficult to follow; ie., it wasn't always clear when the author was speaking in the first person and when another individual was speaking. However, once the reader picked up on the author's writing style the narrative made for fast reading. In the book's last section "What was it all about" the author brings the lessons of the Vietnam War clearly into perspective. I heartily agree with his statement that we should "not... confuse America with the politicians elected to administer America..." I would recommend this book to my children who have asked, "what was the Vietnam war like?"