Book picks similar to
The Structure of Evil: An Essay on the Unification of the Science of Man by Ernest Becker
philosophy
psychology
non-fiction
sociology
American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon
Stephen R. Prothero - 2003
Even as most Christian believers cleave to a traditional faith, other people give Jesus a leading role as folk hero, pitchman, and countercultural icon. And so it has been since the nation's founding--from Thomas Jefferson, who took scissors to his New Testament to sort out true from false Jesus material; to the Jews, Buddhists and Muslims who fit Jesus into their own traditions; to the people who adapt Jesus for stage and screen and the Holy Land theme park. American Jesus is a lively, illuminating and accessible survey that takes us into unexpected corners of our shared religious heritage (Dan Cryer, Newsday).
No Two Alike: Human Nature and Human Individuality
Judith Rich Harris - 2006
Why do people—even identical twins reared in the same home—differ so much in personality? Armed with an inquiring mind and insights from evolutionary psychology, Judith Rich Harris sets out to solve the mystery of human individuality.
How To Have A Beautiful Mind
Edward de Bono - 2004
Cosmetics, plastic surgery, diets, gym membership - everyone's trying to be more attractive. But there's an easier way to become a beautiful person. It doesn't have to be physical. No matter how you look, if you have a mind that's fascinating, creative, exciting - if you're a good thinker - you can be beautiful.And being attractive doesn't necessarily come from being intelligent or highly-educated. It isn't about having a great personality. It's about using your imagination and expanding your creativity. And it's when talking with people that we make the greatest impact. A person may be physically beautiful, but when speaking to others a dull or ugly or uncreative mind will definitely turn them off.In clear, practical language, de Bono shows how by applying lateral and parallel thinking skills to your conversation you can improve your mind. By learning how to listen, make a point, and manoeuvre a discussion, you can become creative and more appealing - more beautiful.
On Balance
Adam Phillips - 2010
How do we know when enough is enough? Are there times when too much is just right? Why is Cinderella’s biggest problem not the prince but other women? What can Richard III’s furious sense of his own helplessness tell us of our own desires? On Balance shows Phillips’s bravura gift for linking disparate ideas and the dreamers that dreamed them into something beautiful, revelatory, and essential.
Mind Design II: Philosophy, Psychology, and Artificial Intelligence
John Haugeland - 1997
Unlike traditional empirical psychology, it is more oriented toward the how than the what. An experiment in mind design is more likely to be an attempt to build something and make it work--as in artificial intelligence--than to observe or analyze what already exists. Mind design is psychology by reverse engineering.When Mind Design was first published in 1981, it became a classic in the then-nascent fields of cognitive science and AI. This second edition retains four landmark essays from the first, adding to them one earlier milestone (Turing's Computing Machinery and Intelligence) and eleven more recent articles about connectionism, dynamical systems, and symbolic versus nonsymbolic models. The contributors are divided about evenly between philosophers and scientists. Yet all are philosophical in that they address fundamental issues and concepts; and all are scientific in that they are technically sophisticated and concerned with concrete empirical research.ContributorsRodney A. Brooks, Paul M. Churchland, Andy Clark, Daniel C. Dennett, Hubert L. Dreyfus, Jerry A. Fodor, Joseph Garon, John Haugeland, Marvin Minsky, Allen Newell, Zenon W. Pylyshyn, William Ramsey, Jay F. Rosenberg, David E. Rumelhart, John R. Searle, Herbert A. Simon, Paul Smolensky, Stephen Stich, A.M. Turing, Timothy van Gelder
Living with limerence: A guide for the smitten
Dr. L. - 2020
What Really Matters: Searching for Wisdom in America
Tony Schwartz - 1995
At the height of his career as a journalist, Tony Schwartz hit an unexpected wall. Why did success suddenly feel so empty? How could he add richer meaning to his everyday life? What guides could he trust on the road to wisdom?During the next five years his search for answers took him from a meditation retreat in the mountains of Utah to a biofeedback laboratory in Kansas, from a peak-performance workshop at a tennis academy in Florida to a right-brain drawing course in Boston. Blending the hunger of a seeker with a journalist's hard-headed inquiry, he discovered the best teachers and techniques for inner development--and identified the potential pitfalls and false gurus he met along the way. What he found dramatically changed his life. It may change yours as well.
Creation and Anarchy: The Work of Art and the Religion of Capitalism
Giorgio Agamben - 2017
The arche, or origin, is always also a command, and a beginning is always the first principle that governs and decrees. This is as true for theology, where God not only creates the world but governs and continues to govern through continuous creation, as it is for the philosophical and political tradition according to which beginning and creation, command and will, together form a strategic apparatus without which our society would fall apart.The five essays collected here aim to deactivate this apparatus through a patient archaeological inquiry into the concepts of work, creation, and command. Giorgio Agamben explores every nuance of the arche in search of an an-archic exit strategy. By the book's final chapter, anarchy appears as the secret center of power, brought to light so as to make possible a philosophical thought that might overthrow both the principle and its command.
Sweet Heaven When I Die: Faith, Faithlessness, and the Country In Between
Jeff Sharlet - 2011
He is ingenious, farsighted, and able to excavate the worlds of others, even the flakiest and most fanatical, with uncanny sympathy. Here, he reports back from the far reaches of belief, whether in the clear mountain air of "Sweet Fuck All, Colorado" or in a midnight congregation of urban anarchists celebrating a victory over police.From Dr. Cornel West to legendary banjo player Dock Boggs, from the youth evangelist Ron Luce to America's largest "Mind, Body, Spirit Expo," Sharlet profiles religious radicals, realists, and escapists. Including extended journeys published here for the first time, Sweet Heaven When I Die offers a portrait of our spiritual landscape that calls to mind Joan Didion's classic Slouching Towards Bethlehem.
Spiritual Passages: The Psychology of Spiritual Development
Benedict J. Groeschel - 1982
Of special note is the way Groeschel identifies four distinct approaches to God (as Beauty, Truth, the Good, and the One) and shows how each leads to a different kind of spiritual path or pilgrimage.
Take Charge of Your Life: How to Get What You Need with Choice-Theory Psychology
William Glasser - 2011
William Glasser details the choice theory-a science of human behaviors and principles for regaining and maintaining internal control-and the role it can play in helping you regain your personal freedom and choice. "Take Charge of Your Life, " a revision of his 1984 book, "Control Theory, " includes choice-theory applications. He explains choice theory using personal examples and illustrative stories that allow you to learn how to improve your relationships and take charge of your actions. Topics include marital and relationship problems, parenthood, alcoholism, diseases, and psychosomatic disorders. For each situation discussed, Glasser ties behavior to the pictures of what people want in their heads. He explains how the pictures got there and how people can choose new behaviors to get what they really want. In "Take Charge of Your Life, " Glasser offers a real model of empowerment. He shows how you can become a part of the equation that adds happiness and connection to the world in which you live now and to the world of future generations.
The Gnostics
Tobias Churton - 1987
story of the predecessors of Christians
Social Skills - Social Fluency: Genuine Social Habits to Work a Room, Own a Conversation, and be Instantly Likeable...Even Introverts! (Communication Skills, Small Talk, People Skills Mastery)
Patrick King - 2014
These situations can be terrible if you don’t have the genuine social habits to deal with them optimally time after time… What are genuine social habits? How about: the power to turn on your best moods on in a snap, overcome your social excuses, condition people to be attracted to you, and master the best mindsets to connect with people? In this book you’ll find the secrets to be ready for any social situations… and expertly navigating social situations is the key to unlocking everything that you want in life – friends, love, and career. When you cultivate genuine social habits, you won't have to say a word for people to be drawn to you! Learn the genuine social habits that will let you be socially fluent on command, while taking your social and interpersonal skills to the next level. Social Fluency draws upon my years of date and social skill coaching, as well as study of human nature and psychology, to teach you exactly the ways you can develop your social self… to the point that working a room, owning a conversation, being instantly likeable – just inevitable side effects that you’ll embody! These are highly nuanced and insightful techniques into what makes people tick and act the way they do. What’s inside? How about the following ways to change your life: • How an accountability buddy for social skills can push you to the next level. • Breaking down the components of your best and most social moods so you can call them up – anytime. • The two best approaches to talking with big groups. • The surprising way your barista or cashier can help you build your social habits. What, theres more? • The best mindset about conversations and how it will result in you never being boring again. • Exactly how social skills and social fluency are learned by modeling and observation. • Why being completely yourself allows you to find your tribe instantly. • BONUS - the ONE exercise you can do today to increase your social confidence. Learn to master genuine social habits and you will simply be the person in the room that everyone is drawn to – without having to say a word! You’ll never depend on the right witty phrase at just the right time if your social habits are on point. You will appear exactly how you envision you appear, and projecting the best version of yourself will pay dividends in all aspects of life. You’ll break out of your introverted shell. You will be able to approach any social situation with excitement instead of anxiety, boredom and dread. Don’t hesitate to pick up your copy today by clicking the BUY NOW button at the top of this page! P.S. GREAT mindsets for introverts and shy people within!
The Tao Of Poker: 285 Rules to Transform Your Game and Your Life
Larry W. Phillips - 2003
In The Tao of Poker, prize-winning poker player Larry Phillips offers more than 280 rules to bring you to new levels of personal achievement, just when and where you need them most.Here are some of The Tao of Poker’s rules for success:Take the long viewOnce you commit to a hand, play it strongDon’t throw in good money after badIf you think you’re beat, get outTry out these rules and watch your game, and your life, improve. Now you can be a winner at home, at work, and at the casino - wherever the stakes for success are high!
Mastering Your Hidden Self: A Guide to the Huna Way
Serge Kahili King - 1985
Hawaiian shaman King uses Kahuna healing methods to help us access the hidden energy of life, develop powers of concentration, and make friends with the deepest aspect of our being. Learn how your Higher Self, or aumakua, is contacted in the dream dimension. Get in touch with the Mana, the hidden energy of life. Develop higher powers of concentration by utilizing the tikis, created images of sight, sound, and feeling in meditation. Become aware of your subconscious, an integral part of your being, which impatiently awaits communion with the ego.