Book picks similar to
Intuition in Medicine: A Philosophical Defense of Clinical Reasoning by Hillel D. Braude
history-of-science
non-fiction
ontology
philosophy
The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea
Arthur O. Lovejoy - 1936
Lovejoy points out the three principles - plenitude, continuity, and graduation - which were combined in this conception; analyzes their origins in the philosophies of Plato, Aristotle, and the Neoplatonists; traces the most important of their diverse ramifications in subsequent religious thought, in metaphysics, in ethics and aesthetics, and in astronomical and biological theories; and copiously illustrates the influence of the conception as a whole, and of the ideas out of which it was compounded, upon the imagination and feelings as expressed in literature.
The Taming Of Chance
Ian Hacking - 1990
Professor Hacking shows how by the late nineteenth century it became possible to think of statistical patterns as explanatory in themselves, and to regard the world as not necessarily deterministic in character. Combining detailed scientific historical research with characteristic philosophic breath and verve, The Taming of Chance brings out the relations among philosophy, the physical sciences, mathematics and the development of social institutions, and provides a unique and authoritative analysis of the probabilization of the Western world.
A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness: A Cosmic Book on the Mechanics of Creation
Itzhak Bentov - 2000
• Explains some of the most difficult concepts of physics and heightened consciousness in ways that are easily understood. • Presents a model for the interaction of the universe and human thought that has profound implications for our future. All aboard for the excursion of a lifetime as Itzhak Bentov, the celebrated engineer, inventor, and mystic, takes you on a tour of the universe, pure consciousness, and all that lies beyond. Using comical sketches, simple metaphors, and his famous wit and humor, Bentov explains the nature of reality, points out the sights in Nirvana and the Void, and eventually takes you to a meeting with your higher self. Along the way, Bentov illuminates the Kabbalistic principles of number and sound, the meaning of cosmic shapes and symbols, the consciousness of devas, and the nature of the absolute. Ultimately, he shows that the universe and thought are inseparable, and that the thoughts of all human beings affect each other and in turn the whole universe--an idea with obvious and far-reaching implications. Anyone interested in the inner reaches of the mind, the greater structure of the cosmos, and the spiritual evolution of humanity will find A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness an informed and delightful traveling companion.
The Monty Hall Problem: The Remarkable Story of Math's Most Contentious Brain Teaser
Jason Rosenhouse - 2009
Imagine that you face three doors, behind one of which is a prize. You choose one but do not open it. The host--call him Monty Hall--opens a different door, alwayschoosing one he knows to be empty. Left with two doors, will you do better by sticking with your first choice, or by switching to the other remaining door? In this light-hearted yet ultimately serious book, Jason Rosenhouse explores the history of this fascinating puzzle. Using a minimum ofmathematics (and none at all for much of the book), he shows how the problem has fascinated philosophers, psychologists, and many others, and examines the many variations that have appeared over the years. As Rosenhouse demonstrates, the Monty Hall Problem illuminates fundamental mathematical issuesand has abiding philosophical implications. Perhaps most important, he writes, the problem opens a window on our cognitive difficulties in reasoning about uncertainty.
The World Before
Ruth Montgomery - 1976
Every one has come true! Now he returns with secret lore of the past and startling glimpses of the future.Here is the extraordinary story of Creation and the fabulous lost worlds of Atlantis and Mu, the past lives of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Jackie Onassis, Richard Nixon, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and other celebrities. The World Before forecasts things to come, among them:- A solution to the world's energy problem- A reduction in crime throughout America- The rise of a new national leader--in GermanyThe World Before is a dramatic and exciting book that will capture the imagination of everyone who seeks a deeper understanding of the mysteries of life.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory
Caitlin Doughty - 2014
Thrown into a profession of gallows humor and vivid characters (both living and very dead), Caitlin learned to navigate the secretive culture of those who care for the deceased.Smoke Gets in Your Eyes tells an unusual coming-of-age story full of bizarre encounters and unforgettable scenes. Caring for dead bodies of every color, shape, and affliction, Caitlin soon becomes an intrepid explorer in the world of the dead. She describes how she swept ashes from the machines (and sometimes onto her clothes) and reveals the strange history of cremation and undertaking, marveling at bizarre and wonderful funeral practices from different cultures.Her eye-opening, candid, and often hilarious story is like going on a journey with your bravest friend to the cemetery at midnight. She demystifies death, leading us behind the black curtain of her unique profession. And she answers questions you didn’t know you had: Can you catch a disease from a corpse? How many dead bodies can you fit in a Dodge van? What exactly does a flaming skull look like?Honest and heartfelt, self-deprecating and ironic, Caitlin's engaging style makes this otherwise taboo topic both approachable and engrossing. Now a licensed mortician with an alternative funeral practice, Caitlin argues that our fear of dying warps our culture and society, and she calls for better ways of dealing with death (and our dead).
Prehospital Emergency Care
Joseph J. Mistovich - 1996
This best-selling, student-friendly book contains clear, step-by-step explanations with comprehensive, stimulating, and challenging material that prepares users for real on-the-job situations. Featuring case studies, state-of-the-art scans, algorithms, protocols, and the inclusion of areas above and beyond the DOT protocols, the tenth edition effectively prepares students for success. The assessment and emergency care sections provide the most up-to-date strategies for providing competent care; and the enrichment sections further enhance students ability to assess and manage ill and injured patients in prehospital environments. The text s table of contents is organized to follow the National EMS Educational Standards."
The Scientific Revolution
Steven Shapin - 1996
"Shapin's account is informed, nuanced, and articulated with clarity. . . . This is not to attack or devalue science but to reveal its richness as the human endeavor that it most surely is. . . .Shapin's book is an impressive achievement."—David C. Lindberg, Science"Shapin has used the crucial 17th century as a platform for presenting the power of science-studies approaches. At the same time, he has presented the period in fresh perspective."—Chronicle of Higher Education"Timely and highly readable . . . A book which every scientist curious about our predecessors should read."—Trevor Pinch, New Scientist"It's hard to believe that there could be a more accessible, informed or concise account of how it [the scientific revolution], and we have come to this. The Scientific Revolution should be a set text in all the disciplines. And in all the indisciplines, too."—Adam Phillips, London Review of Books"Shapin's treatise on the currents that engendered modern science is a combination of history and philosophy of science for the interested and educated layperson."—Publishers Weekly"Superlative, accessible, and engaging. . . . Absolute must-reading."—Robert S. Frey, Bridges"This vibrant historical exploration of the origins of modern science argues that in the 1600s science emerged from a variety of beliefs, practices, and influences. . . . This history reminds us that diversity is part of any intellectual endeavor."—Choice"Most readers will conclude that there was indeed something dramatic enough to be called the Scientific Revolution going on, and that this is an excellent book about it."—Anthony Gottlieb, The New York Times Book Review
Evolution's Workshop: God & Science on the Galápagos Islands
Edward J. Larson - 1965
Isolated and desolate, they were largely overlooked by early explorers until Charles Darwin arrived there in the 1830s. It was Darwin who recognized that Galapagos' isolation and desolation were advantages: the paucity of species and lack of outside influences made the workings of natural selection crystal clear. Since then, every important advance and controversy in evolutionary thinking has had its reflection on the Galapagos. In every sense-intellectually, institutionally, and culturally-the history of science on these islands is a history of the way evolutionary science was done for the past 150 years. Evolution's Workshop tells the story of Darwin's explorations there; the fabulous Gilded Age expeditions, run from rich men's gigantic yachts, that featured rough-and-ready science during the day and black-tie dinners every night; the struggle for control of research on the Galapagos; the current efforts by "creation scientists" to use the Galapagos to undercut evolutionary teaching; and many other compelling stories.
The Story of Us
Tim Urban - 2019
I’m Tim. I’m a single cell in society’s body. U.S. society, to be specific.So let me explain why we’re here.As a writer and a generally thinky person, I’ve spent a lot of my life thinking about the society I live in, and societies in general. I’ve always imagined society as a kind of giant human—a living organism like each of us, only much bigger.When you’re a single cell in the body of a giant, it’s hard to understand what the giant’s doing, or why it is the way it is, because you can’t really zoom out and look at the whole thing all at once. But we do our best.The thing is, when I’ve recently tried to imagine what society might look like, I haven’t really been picturing this:Giant stick figure: "I am grown up."Based on what I see around me, in person and online, it seems like my society is actually more like this:Giant stick figure throwing a giant tantrum because their chocolate ice cream fell on the ground.Individual humans grow older as they age—but it kind of seems like the giant human I live in has been getting more childish each year that goes by.So I decided to write a blog post about this. But then something else happened.When I told people I was planning to write a post about society, and the way people are acting, and the way the media is acting, and the way the government is acting, and the way everyone else is acting, people kept saying the same thing to me.Don’t do it. Don’t touch it. Write about something else. Anything else. It’s just not worth it.They were right. With so many non-controversial topics to write about, why take on something so loaded and risk alienating a ton of readers? I listened to people’s warnings, and I thought about moving on to something else, but then I was like, “Wait what? I live inside a giant and the giant is having a six-year-old meltdown in the grocery store candy section and that’s a not-okay thing for me to talk about?”It hit me that what I really needed to write about was that—about why it’s perilous to write about society."
Are You Living In a Computer Simulation?
Nick Bostrom - 2003
It follows that the belief that there is a significant chance that we will one day become posthumans who run ancestor-simulations is false, unless we are currently living in a simulation. A number of other consequences of this result are also discussed.
The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science
Douglas Starr - 2010
At the end of the nineteenth century, serial murderer Joseph Vacher, known and feared as "The Killer of Little Shepherds," terrorized the French countryside. He eluded authorities for years--until he ran up against prosecutor Emile Fourquet and Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne, the era's most renowned criminologist. The two men--intelligent and bold--typified the Belle Epoque, a period of immense scientific achievement and fascination with science's promise to reveal the secrets of the human condition. With high drama and stunning detail, Douglas Starr revisits Vacher's infamous crime wave, interweaving the story of how Lacassagne and his colleagues were developing forensic science as we know it. We see one of the earliest uses of criminal profiling, as Fourquet painstakingly collects eyewitness accounts and constructs a map of Vacher's crimes. We follow the tense and exciting events leading to the murderer's arrest. And we witness the twists and turns of the trial, celebrated in its day. In an attempt to disprove Vacher's defense by reason of insanity, Fourquet recruits Lacassagne, who in the previous decades had revolutionized criminal science by refining the use of blood-spatter evidence, systematizing the autopsy, and doing groundbreaking research in psychology. Lacassagne's efforts lead to a gripping courtroom denouement. "The Killer of Little Shepherds" is an important contribution to the history of criminal justice, impressively researched and thrillingly told.
Adventures of a Surgical Resident
Philip B. Dobrin - 2010
This is the story of a surgeon in training and his adventures during the years of his residency.
The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western Europe, 1250-1600
Alfred W. Crosby - 1988
More people in Western Europe thought quantitatively in the sixteenth century than in any other part of the world, enabling them to become the world's leaders. With amusing detail and historical anecdote, Alfred Crosby discusses the shift from qualitative to quantitative perception that occurred during the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Alfred W. Crosby is the author of five books, including the award-winning Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Cambridge, 1986)
The Physics of Miracles: Tapping in to the Field of Consciousness Potential
Richard Bartlett - 2009
Bartlett builds upon his popular seminars to teach us how to access the discovery he has made -- a process that merges the science of subtle energy with our innate imaginations to produce measurable results. By applying forces known to modern physics, you will learn to tap into states of healthy awarenes from different moments -- in essence, travel in time -- and bring them into the present for immediate, profound results. As Dr. Bartlett shows, this practice requires no special training and produces transformation in the blink of an eye, giving you the key to a whole new level of power, awareness, and potential in your life. Filled with stories of success and discussing seemingly implausible topics such as alternate universes, invisibility, and levitation, The Physics of Miracles is not only fascinating but also instantly applicable. For millions of people looking for empowerment in an increasingly disconnected, impersonal world, Dr. Bartlett shares his experience with these phenomena that will reshape the way people think about their own place in the universe.
