Ghost in the machine  

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-'''Gilbert Ryle''' (19 August 1900, [[Brighton]] – 6 October 1976, [[Oxford]]), was a [[United Kingdom|British]] [[philosopher]], a representative of the generation of British [[ordinary language philosophy|ordinary language philosopher]]s that shared [[Ludwig Wittgenstein|Wittgenstein]]'s approach to philosophical problems, and is principally known for his critique of [[Cartesian dualism]], for which he coined the phrase "the [[ghost in the machine]]". Some of his ideas in the philosophy of mind have been referred to as "behaviourist." Ryle's best known book is ''[[The Concept of Mind]]'' (1949), in which he writes that the "general trend of this book will undoubtedly, and harmlessly, be stigmatised as 'behaviourist'." Ryle, having engaged in detailed study of the key works of [[Bernard Bolzano]], [[Franz Brentano]], [[Alexius Meinong]], [[Edmund Husserl|Husserl]], and [[Martin Heidegger|Heidegger]], himself suggested instead that the book "could be described as a sustained essay in [[Phenomenology (philosophy)|phenomenology]], if you are at home with that label."+The "'''ghost in the machine'''" is the [[United Kingdom|British]] philosopher [[Gilbert Ryle]]'s description of [[René Descartes]]' [[Dualism (philosophy of mind)|mind-body dualism]]. The phrase was introduced in Ryle's book ''[[The Concept of Mind]]'' (1949) to highlight the perceived absurdity of dualist systems like Descartes' where mental activity carries on in parallel to physical action, but where their means of interaction are unknown or, at best, speculative.
 +Much of the following material is from [[Arthur Koestler]]'s discussion in his 1967 book ''[[The Ghost in the Machine]]'', which takes Ryle's phrase as its title. The book's main focus is mankind's movement towards self-destruction, particularly in the [[nuclear arms]] arena. It is particularly critical of [[B. F. Skinner]]'s [[behaviorism|behaviourist theory]]. One of the book's central concepts is that as the human brain has grown, it has built upon earlier, more primitive brain structures, and that these are the "ghost in the machine" of the title. Koestler's theory is that at times these structures can overpower higher [[logic]]al functions, and are responsible for [[hate]], [[anger]] and other such destructive impulses.
-==Writings== 
-===Books=== 
-*''[[The Concept of Mind]]'' (1949) 
-*''Dilemmas'' (1954), a collection of shorter pieces 
-*''Plato's Progress'' (1966) 
-*''On Thinking'' (1979) 
 +== See also ==
 +*[[Cognitive revolution]]
 +*[[Dualism (philosophy of mind)]]
 +*[[Ghost in the Shell (philosophy)]]
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The "ghost in the machine" is the British philosopher Gilbert Ryle's description of René Descartes' mind-body dualism. The phrase was introduced in Ryle's book The Concept of Mind (1949) to highlight the perceived absurdity of dualist systems like Descartes' where mental activity carries on in parallel to physical action, but where their means of interaction are unknown or, at best, speculative.

Much of the following material is from Arthur Koestler's discussion in his 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine, which takes Ryle's phrase as its title. The book's main focus is mankind's movement towards self-destruction, particularly in the nuclear arms arena. It is particularly critical of B. F. Skinner's behaviourist theory. One of the book's central concepts is that as the human brain has grown, it has built upon earlier, more primitive brain structures, and that these are the "ghost in the machine" of the title. Koestler's theory is that at times these structures can overpower higher logical functions, and are responsible for hate, anger and other such destructive impulses.


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