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2014 On-Line Course: April – August 2014

University of the Third Age (UK & Australia)

Course Title: All in the Mind

(Revised 1^st June 2014)

The mind is an enormous subject to explore, this course attempts to consider the human mind from a holistic viewpoint. That will include some aspects of neuroscience but will also bring into focus the latest thinking in psychology and philosophy. It cannot be comprehensive and the course does not pretend to encompass everything that is in the mind.

The course will be co-tutored by Ian Searle in the UK and Ming Singer in the USA, so contact is by email and Skype. Ming Singer has supplied virtually all the material for this course.

AITM: Unit 1: An overview on the Mind

The audiovisual references for this introductory unit include:

●Baroness Professor Susan Greenfield: on “How does brain generate Consciousness”.

This is her August 2012 speech at the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN5Fs6_O2mY

●Professor John Searle on Consciousness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_OPQgPIdKg&list=TLTXrfScGfLo8

●The 2011 Annual William James Lecture from the Harvard Divinity School, “What makes life significant?”

http://socialscience.fas.harvard.edu/what-makes-life-significant

●“William James: His Life and Philosophy”: a lecture by Dr. Wes Cecil in the Lecture Series of Modern Philosophers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moQdh7KCmuA

●Professor Barry Schwartz speaks on our loss of true wisdom. He explains how “codes of conduct” demoralise today’s workers and professionals, and stresses the fundamental importance of moral character and personal virtue:

http://www.ted.com/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom

●Walter Isaacson (March 2014)’s YouTube talk on his three books on the three “Geniuses in science” (Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs)

The key point is on the importance of balancing Science’s reason and Humanity’s sentience:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WXCXUMUjVQ

●Singer Online lecture #1, “The reason and sentience divide”

http://www.consciousnessminddreams.com

AITM unit 2: The Brain

This unit provides an overview of the human brain. The references cover various areas of recent neuroscience research.

●August 2013 documentary, “Secrets of the Human Brain”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrLRaF6HeMg

●Please watch Professor Bolte-Taylor’s Feb 2013 lecture, “The Neurological Transformations in the Teenage Brain”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzT_SBl31-s

●Neurogenesis refers to the growth of new neurons in the brain.

Please read the following 2014 article on evidence of neurogenesis in mice’s brain. Both infant and adult mice’s new brain neurons in hippocampus can erase the animal’s memory of past learning.

However, this finding in animal research has not been directly generalised to human research

http://www.nature.com/news/new-brain-cells-erase-old-memories-1.15186

●Possible Neurogenesis in the human brain:

Please read this article on possible growth of new neurons in the human brain: Using findings from animal study to make inferences on possible neurogenesis in human brain, researchers suggest that human hippocampus region may have grown new neurons after physical exercises:

http://www.dana.org/Publications/Brainwork/Details.aspx?id=43678

●London cab drivers had enlarged hippocampus (“mental map”: memory for spatial navigation areas)

http://www.nature.com/news/the-knowledge-enlarges-your-brain-1.9602

●Singer Online lecture #2, “Scientific approaches to the mind”

http://www.consciousnessminddreams.com

AITM Unit 3: On “Human Nature”? or “Habitual Tendency”?

This unit covers some ‘Big” theories on basic human tendencies and how our Mind tends to work “habitually”. These include our tendencies to

●Obey authority (“obedience to authority”),

●Compare ourselves to others in measuring our success (“social comparison”),

●Escalate our original commitment even after negative feedback (“escalation of commitment”),

●Give up on trying to control the situation after repeated ineffectual action (“learned helplessness”).

(1) Stanley Milgram’s “Obedience to Authority”

Please watch this 2011 video on the most famous psychological study of “man’s basic tendency to obey authority”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZWsFmjSi78

(2) “Social Comparison”

Please watch this educational video on social comparison theory

http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/self-comparison-theory-upward-vs-downward-social-comparison.html

(3) Barry Staw’s “Escalation of Commitment” (or “Entrapment”, “Concordian Behaviour)

Please read the Wikipedia article for explanation of this frequently observed human phenomenon:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escalation_of_commitment

(4) Martin Seligman’s “Learned Helplessness”; and later, “Positive Psychology”

●Learned Helplessness: “basis for military tortures?”

Please read the Wikipedia article detailing this learning theory”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learned_helplessness

●Positive Psychology: the basis for UK PM Cameron’s Measuring Wellbeing/Happiness Project

Please watch this NewsNight video on Seligman interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-Vhjmdp4nI

AITM Unit 4: The Music Mind (used for piloting 30 Sept-19 Oct 2013)

This unit focuses on five topics: (1) How the brain processes music, (2) how singing in groups enhances happiness, (3) the “brain music therapy” (BMT), (4) visual v. auditory cues in music perception/judgement, and (5) famous composer’s creative mind and consciousness.

●Music processing in the brain

“The Music Instinct: Science and Song” (2009): a documentary film featuring Dr. Daniel Levitin’s book, “This is your brain on music: The science of a human obsession” (2006), Dutton Books.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-music-instinct-science-and-song/

OR, watch this April 2012 video: “Unlocking Music with Neuroscience”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cswhOCKQZ7Q

●Singing in groups enhances happiness

Listen to this NPR Podcast—interviewing Stacey Horn, author of “Imperfect harmony: Finding happiness singing with others” (2013)

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/03/188355968/imperfect-harmony-how-chorale-singing-changes-lives

●Brain Music Therapy (BMT): please learn from this video as to what BMT is, do please ignore its “commercial/marketing” aspects

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlHzDjwdOL0&list=PL282CE5F51756F098

●Visual v. auditory cues in music perception/judgement:

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-08-music.html

●Composer John Zorn’s creative mind:

http://www.npr.org/2013/09/03/217195249/at-60-challenges-are-opportunities-for-john-zorn

AITM Unit 5: Brain disorders and damages

This unit focuses on the brain mechanisms underlying neurological disorders and brain damages. It introduces the ideas of “neuroengineering” and “translational medicine” in medical research on finding cures for neurological disorders. The unit also introduces the idea of the brain’s extraordinary self-healing capabilities after brain damage (as in the case of Professor Jill Bolte-Taylor)

●Neuroengineering in medical research

Watch this April 2013 Video, “It’s All In Your Head: Building better brains through neuroengineering”. This is the 2013 Longwood Lecture from the Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UundYpS6Ynk

●In contrast to the neuroengineering interventions in treating pain (in the HMS video above), this recent book from the award-winning medical science reporter, Judy Foreman, focuses on the failings of medical treatments for chronic pain:

Judy Foreman (2013), “A nation in pain: Healing our biggest health problem”

Please listen to this Feb 2014 interview with Judy Foreman,

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014-02-10/judy-foreman-nation-pain-healing-our-biggest-health-problem

●Brain’s plasticity and the brain’s self-healing capacity:

Professor Jill Bolte-Taylor’s 2008 book, “My Stroke of Insight”, the following is her own brief description of recovery from the stroke:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyyjU8fzEYU

Debra Wearing (2005): Forever Today: A Memoir of Love and Amnesia (UK)

Debra Wearing’s husband Clive Wearing has the most severe case of dementia ever recorded in medical history; his story is told in this book including his slow recovery in regaining the ability to play piano and his earlier sense of humour.

This (2013) documentary video, “Secrets of the Human Brain”, has a brief coverage of the case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPIP18U60Aw

The latest book on the history of individual cases relating to the brain’s plasticity and self-healing:

Sam Kean’s “The tale of the duelling neurosurgeons” (May 2014)

Please listen to this audio interview of Sam Kean:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=19304

AITM Unit 6: Belief and Faith

This unit covers (1) William James on “the core of the holistic self: each individual’s “spiritual self”, and individuals’ “Will to believe”, (2) William James’s radical empiricism on a variety of religious experiences, (3) a philosophical perspective on the compatibility between religion and science, (4) the relationships among personal belief, physical and emotional wellbeing, (5) an emerging research topic, Neurotheology, dealing with the relation between science and religious belief from neuroscience’s perspective.

● William James’ notion of “the spiritual self” and James’ philosophical essay, “The Will to Believe”

A summary of William James’ views on the holistic self and its constituents: Please read Chapter 10 of James’ Principles of Psychology (only the first sections on “The Constituents of the Self”, on this website:

http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/James/Principles/prin10.htm

Please listen to this audio recording of William James’s thesis of “The Will to Believe”, which James had originally wanted to give the title, “The Right to Believe”:

http://storm-nemesis.blogspot.com/2013/01/audio-of-will-to-believe-by-william.html

● William James’ “The Varieties of Religious Experiences: A study in Human Nature”. The following is an audio recording of this book:

https://librivox.org/varieties-of-religious-experience-by-william-james/

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/james/varieties/mp3

● A philosophical perspective on the compatibility of religion and science:

Please watch this video of Stanford University Professor Richard Rorty’s 2000 lecture, “Is religion compatible with science?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn2F2BWLZ0Q

● On the links between personal beliefs and physical health:

April 2013 Harvard University Longwood Seminar on “Beyond Belief: the Mind-Body Connection”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaVTxeOltuc

Deepak Chopra on consciousness and the relationship between science/medicine and spiritual healing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gJN7I0a9XU

● Neurotheology: an emerging research topic that deals with the relation between science and religious beliefs.

Dr. Andrew Newberg’s book (2011), “Principles of Neurotheology” deals with the relation between beliefs and the brain’s information processing activities.

Please listen to this audio interview of Dr. Newberg:

http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132078267/neurotheology-where-religion-and-science-collide

AITM Unit 7: Language

This unit focuses on these themes: (1) how language works and its underlying brain mechanisms, (2) second-language learning and advantages associated with cognitive processing in general, (3) polyglots and multilingualism, and (4) one common language in the global society.

●How does language work?

May 2010 lecture on Language by Professor Robert Sapolsky, Stanford University, USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIOQgY1tqrU

●Neuroscience on Second-Language Learning (early or later in life): Effects on the brain:

http://publications.mcgill.ca/reporter/2013/08/learning-a-new-language-alters-brain-development/

●Neuroscience and Multilingualism

Please read this well-written Wikipedia article for a general review:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience_of_multilingualism

●Can neuroimaging (NI) research really help our understanding of the multilingual mind?

Please read this excellent review and analysis by:

Professor Kees de Bot, “The imaging of what in the multilingual mind?” Second Language Research, 2008, 111-133.

http://peer.ccsd.cnrs.fr/docs/00/57/07/40/PDF/PEER_stage2_10.1177%252F0267658307083034.pdf

●The Polyglots: (historical records of multilingualism):

http://www.logoi.com/notes/polyglots.html

●English Language: the one common language for the “global society”:

Think of the far-reaching consequences of BBC’s terminating its World Service broadcasting after 70 years.

(Only the segment from 13:56minute to 23:00minute of this 12/07/2012 podcast)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00v3y0y

AITM Unit 8: “Silent Language” of the Private Self

The previous unit covers the vast topic of language from its common and co-knowable aspects. However, human language also has its vast “unspoken, private, inner or subjective” aspects, which cannot be directly or precisely co-knowable.

This unit focuses on three forms of the private aspects of human language: “Inner thoughts”, “Non-verbal language”, and “Humour or Physical comedy”.

(1)Inner thoughts as Silent Language:

An individual’s silent language in the form of inner thoughts may include intent, action-planning, inner-chatters, or prayers. In general, inner thoughts reflect more faithfully the person’s deeply held belief, emotion, and his/her characteristic disposition.

Neuroscience on inner thoughts and intent:

●This PET scan study shows that different neural circuitry is associated with different intents. While observing others’ actions, subjects with “intent to just recognise the observed action” showed brain activities in the RH’s Occipitoparietal circuits; subjects with “intent to imitate the observed action” exhibit brain activities in the LH’s frontal and temporal neural pathways:

http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/120/10/1763

●This fMRI study shows that decision to act is made at the subconscious level before individual’s conscious awareness:

http://exploringthemind.com/the-mind/brain-scans-can-reveal-your-decisions-7-seconds-before-you-decide

●The role of PPC (posterior Parietal-frontal Circuits) in intention, action-planning and decision-making (2009, Neuron):

http://www.vis.caltech.edu/Papers/PDFs%20of%20journal%20articles/Neuron/Andersen_2009.pdf

●The pattern of our inner thoughts shapes our waking state of consciousness. Forming a habit of positive thinking is the key to psychological equilibrium. Many work motivation and stress management programmes involve techniques of changing negative thought patterns.

(2) Non-verbal and Body Language as Silent Language:

Watch this documentary film on the body language:

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/secrets-of-body-language/

(3)Humour and “Physical Comedy” as Silent Language

Factors and ingredients of “physical comedies”, illustrated in Rowan Atkinson’s “Elementary Courting”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lih75e6Rb8A

●Recent scientific research on humour and laughter: Please read this 2012 article on how social laughter can elevate pain threshold, from Journal of Experimental Biology:

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/215/15/iv.full

This 2013 study suggests possible brain mechanisms underlying humour, from researchers at Stanford University:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24169937

A good overview: “The science of laughter”, from Psychology Today:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200011/the-science-laughter

A practical guide: “The connection between laughter, humour and good health”:

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/hes/fcs/factshts/hsw-caw-807.pdf

Now, have another laugh with Rowan, the Candidate for the US Presidency!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfuN9HRDVZY

AITM Unit 9: The Stereotyping Mind

●Attitude stereotyping refers to our shared bias in our perception of specific group or class of people. This kind of prototypical prejudice is a result of learning and socialisation.

●Once learned, such stereotypic attitudes tend to become part of our subconscious mind.

●Our subconscious mind plays a significant role in directing our information processing (i.e., selective attention, perception, reasoning, etc.). As a result, attitude stereotyping can significantly influence our emotional and behavioural reactions.

Attitude stereotyping in general:

●Please read this excellent article on an overview of the subject:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199805/where-bias-begins-the-truth-about-stereotypes

National and Ethnic (racial) stereotyping on “academic performance”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GvNGzB_x0Y

Gender stereotyping: Fun short clip on “kids learning gender stereotyping”:

http://www.care2.com/causes/kids-learn-lesson-on-gender-stereotypes-video.html

Other kinds of attitude stereotyping as “prototypical prejudices”, which underlie our overt behaviour:

(e.g., body size, sexual orientation, occupational group stereotyping, money-fame-power as “success”, an unlimited array of individual differences as “mental illness”, etc., etc.)

All such learned biases, though deeply rooted in our subconscious mind, can nonetheless be corrected through “persistent and honest self-reflection”.

William James’ essay, “On a Certain Blindness in Human Beings”: Among his voluminous writings, James considered this essay to be his favourite:

http://positivedisintegration.com/William%20James2.pdf

AITM Unit 10: Human Intelligence

The term “intelligence” refers to a composite of cognitive, social-emotive, spiritual as well as practical capabilities. Human intelligence is determined by both nature (inherited/genetic) and nurture (learned/environmental).

Many terms have been introduced to capture distinctive yet closely interrelated aspects of intelligence. These include IQ (intelligence quotient), EQ (emotional intelligence), SQ (spiritual intelligence), SI (social intelligence), and PQ (Practical Intelligence).

When measuring different cognitive abilities, the term “g-factor” (general factor) is used to denote the common core cognitive attributes that are measured by a variety of cognitive ability tests.

● IQ: the general Intelligence Quotient

IQ is the oldest component of intelligence. it is a measure of general mental and cognitive capacity including verbal comprehension, memory span, numerical ability, reasoning ability.

IQ measures predominantly “scholastic achievements of past learning”, rather than “innate potential” as is sometimes wrongly perceived by the general public.

The publication of “The Mismeasure of Man” (by the Darwinist Stephen Jay Gould, 1981, 1996) has been associated with the controversy over IQ and racism.

●Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Watch this video by Daniel Goleman, who coined the term EQ, from his 2000 book, “Working with emotional intelligence” NY: Bantam Books

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeJ3FF1yFyc

EQ consists of five component abilities: managing one’s own emotions, self-awareness, self-motivation, empathy, and social skills.

EQ has a neurological foundation; cognitive and emotional brain circuits work in an intricately entangled way in determining overall pattern of behaviour.

Emotional intelligence affects work and job behaviour. Leadership ability and efficiency is significantly more highly correlated with EQ than with either IQ or Technical abilities.

Emotional intelligence can improve over time with proper social learning.

● Spiritual Intelligence (SQ)?

Spiritual intelligence is a term coined by Danah Zohar in her book, "SQ: Connecting with Our Spiritual Intelligence"

In this video, Zohar explains the relationships among various components of human intelligence: “Material, social, spiritual capital in connection to IQ”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qLmfXJJtZg

● Practical Intelligence (PQ):

Professor Robert Baum defined the term PQ as “an experience-based accumulation of skills and explicit knowledge as well as the ability to apply that knowledge to solve every day problems.”

PQ is the practical skills of “know-how”, and is significantly more relevant than IQ in predicting the success of entrepreneurial behaviour.

● Recent developments:

Daniel Goleman’s (2013) book “Focus: The hidden driver of Excellence”

http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=18383

● Limitations of these measurement tools: problems with psychological testing (scale construction re item selection, reliabilities, validities, norms, score interpretation, test-taking biases, etc)

● Ethical Considerations (e.g., political/policy, educational, occupational, medical applications, etc.).

AITM Unit 11: Memory and Mind

This unit covers (1) the first case of a longitudinal study of a brain damaged patient, and how this individual-based research contributes to our understanding of human memory; (2) how human memory works and develops throughout lifespan in general; and (3) the concept of “Mind Wandering”: Mind wanders into past, future, and other’s mind!

(1) The “H.M.” Case Study on memory & the brain:

●Emeritus Professor Suzanne Corkin worked at the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT. During her time at the MIT, Dr. Corkin was intensely involved in the neuroscientific studies of a brain-lesion patient, known to the world then as HM. This longitudinal study is now considered as the single most important piece of research into “human memory and the brain”.

●The patient, H.M., had a brain surgery at age 27 to cure an epileptic seizure disorder, but the surgery left him in a state of permanent amnesia. During these years, H.M. was the subject of extensive neuroscientific studies at MIT by many brain scientists. According to these scientists, H.M. had hoped that the research on him would eventually help other people, and he had also agreed to donate his brain for future study. H.M. passed away in December 2008, and since then the world has known him as Mr. Henry Molaison.

●Professor Corkin has recorded the history of this remarkable and milestone study in her book entitled, “The Permanent Present Tense: The Unforgettable Life of the Amnesic Patient H.M.” (2013)

Please listen to this audio interview of Professor Susan Corkin on 6 June 2013:

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/06/187328826/the-patient-who-let-us-peek-inside-a-brain-in-present-tense

(2) How Memory works from birth to old age (UK):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLdHlN5lckw

(3) The concept of “Mind Wandering”: Mind wanders into past, future, and other’s mind.

Emeritus Professor Michael Corballis (May 2014), “The Wandering Mind: What the brain does when you are not looking”

Please watch this 2014 Youtube video of Professor Corballis’ talk on the subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I24srQ6XGVE

AITM Unit 12: Making Decisions (I): Social Influences

Our mind constantly engages in decision making, big or small, having little or far-reaching consequences. Research has shown that decisions based on reason and “rational-choice” alone often lead to less optimal or even “bad” decisions.

This unit explores some of the limitations of relying on “reason” alone in making group or individual decisions. Specifically, the unit focuses on the pervasive social influence over decision-making.

(1) Group decision-making: “Groupthink”

●Psychologist Irvin Janis coined the term Groupthink to describe the effect of social group pressure on group decision making. In highly insulated groups, members (having differential position power) strive to reach a consensus; the pressure for consensus often results in poor decisions leading to disastrous consequences. This video explains this commonly observed phenomenon in board room meetings in diverse work organisations.

●Please read the following on “Groupthink:

http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm

●Discuss examples of groupthink in other social situations, when group members (having different “pecking order”) make decisions together.

(2) Group decisions based on “the aggregation of individual opinions” (traditionally referred to as “wisdom of crowd”);

●First, read this article for a general introduction to this old decision-making method of opinion aggregation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wisdom_of_Crowds

●Monetary influences or manipulations over “wisdom of crowd” in a democracy:

Here is but one such example from Daniel Schulman’s May-2014 Book, “Sons of Wichita: How the Koch Brothers Became America’s most powerful and private dynasty”:

http://www.npr.org/2014/05/21/314574217/how-the-koch-brothers-remade-americas-political-landscape

(3) Individual decision making:

●Psychological research has shown that an individual’s decision-making process is not devoid of “self-interest” concerns.

This Feb 2014 study gives one such example:

Effects of subjective personal concerns in court judges’ voting decisions: male judges with daughters vote more in favour of “feminist” legislations (e.g., rights for abortion etc):

http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/msen/files/daughters.pdf

●Consider other social influences over decision-making (e.g., Nepotism, issue-framing, modes of persuasion/justification, etc.)

●Consider the pivotal role of each individual mind in the shaping of the “collective consciousness” at various levels of “a collective” (e.g., group, community, society, nation-state, or humanity)

AITM Unit 13: Making Decisions (II) : Machine Influences

Human beings make decisions with their mind. The ever-emerging electronic and information technologies significantly influence our thinking and decision making. This “Age of the Machine” has created many ethical dilemmas, some of which are explored in this unit.

(1) Garry Kasparov v. “Big Blue”: Unfinished story of decision-making and action-planning by human v. computer: mind v. machine.

●Watch these 2 videos on the 1997 historical Chess game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmZlq_Z4Mlw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-my1ZvHfA74

Key points for informed discussion:

●Human thought is not bounded by time or space. William James uses the term “stream of consciousness” to denote this notion. Although the metaphor of “stream” still carries the connotation of having boundaries, James’ idea of “consciousness” can best be described in terms of an open dynamic system, as defined in chaos-complexity or dynamic-system theories.

●“Emergence of new thought, insight, intuition” characterises the human mind, does this also characterise computer/supercomputer processing? If so, to what extent?

(2) An emerging social-ethical issue: “the Big Data”:

Smolan, Rick & Erwitt, Jennifer’s (2013) new book, “The Human Face of Big Data” is part of their internet-wide Project on “the Big Data Initiative”. Please evaluate this for yourself (vast info/video readily available on internet, this is a two-part video explaining what “Big Data” is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B27SpLOOhWw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2Vnke8ryco

●The ongoing story about “Big Data” is unfolding in parallel with the accelerating developments in electronic and information technologies.

●A moral dilemma: Private sectors (e.g., business marketing, etc) have long been collecting details of personal data from cell phones and internet (Face book, etc.), but when government agencies use such data for surveillances in protecting citizens, the public is outraged.

●This issue contains many paradoxes concerning decision-making, including the following:

Civil liberty (individual right to privacy) v. government duty (citizen safety and security)

Individual “agency” (own decision to go public on Face book, YouTube etc) v. government “control”

●Cyber Security and Internet Hacking: The NSA cases (re. Chelsea (Bradley) Manning, Julian Assange & Edward Snowden, etc)

(3) “The Flash Boys”: How “High Frequency Trading” is making global financial trading extremely unstable---effects of higher speed computer networkers on the rigging of Wall-Street stock trading.

Please listen to this interview with Michael Lewis about his new (2014) book, “A Wall Street Revolt: Flash Boys”.

http://www.npr.org/2014/04/01/297686724/on-a-rigged-wall-street-milliseconds-make-all-the-difference

(4) “Robots replacing human work”

●Watch this “Robots folding towels” video from University of California, Berkeley, USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy5g33S0Gzo

●Watch this video on the top 3 Humanoid Robots: ASIMO, NAO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJdiNBRwDW0

●Present-day “robot revolution” vs. the historical “industrial revolution”

●Ethical Issues surrounding this topic

ATM Unit 14: Mind at “Journey’s End”

●Medical doctors’ own decisions regarding medical interventions at the stage of their own “journey’s end”: different from “typical medical practices”?

Please read this article by Dr Ken Murray: “Good death” with dignity:

http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2011/11/30/how-doctors-die/ideas/nexus/

●Current issues relevant to old-age and medical care: decisions regarding “just-in-case” surgeries for the elderly; ethical issues surrounding the drug & insurance industries, medical practitioners, manufacturers of medical equipment, etc.

Interview with the award-winning science reporter Kate Butler: on her latest 2013 book, “Knocking on Heaven’s Door: The Path to a Better Way of Death”

http://thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player?nid=18673

●Cardiologist Dr. Sandeep Jauhar’s August 2014 book “Doctored: The Disillusionment of an American Physician”:

Please listen to this August 2014 audio interview of Dr. Jauhar:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/08/19/341632184/cardiologist-speaks-from-the-heart-about-americas-medical-system?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=freshair

●Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross on “unfinished Business”

One of the greatest humanitarian and medical professionals, whose milestone work on “death and dying” revolutionised the care for the terminally ill as well as the elderly in general. Her pioneer work is the foundation for today’s Hospice cares; her work also helps our understanding of the psychology of facing “journey’s end”.

The term “unfinished business” is coined by Dr. Kubler-Ross to mean the deeply held and unresolved hurts and negative emotions that people “hold on to” throughout lifetime. She taught the necessity of clearing such business before one can find peace in facing the unknown future.

Please read this short article: Dr. Kubler-Ross on the role of “unconditional love” in dealing with “unfinished business’

http://articles.philly.com/1988-01-10/news/26284639_1_kubler-ross-kubler-ross-hospice-for-aids-babies

Please watch these very short videos on Kubler-Ross’s work and her ideas:

http://www.ekrfoundation.org/videos/

●Beyond death anxiety:

Dr. Robert W. Firestone’ 2009 book, “Beyond Death Anxiety: Achieving Life-Affirming Death Awareness”

Please watch this video from a “Consciousness & Mind” perspective:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=8j91hyQECJE

●Can brain damaged Patient 23 (Coma brain state) respond to questions?

Read article and watch the video on “the neuroscience of communicating with people in Coma”: the work of neuroscientist Dr. Adrian Owen:

http://www.nature.com/news/neuroscience-the-mind-reader-1.10816

http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/index-2012-06-14.html

AITM Unit 15: The 21^st Century Information Technology and Human Mind

The ever-evolving and fast-expanding electronic and information technologies have brought a new world order to human societies. It is indisputable that such advancement has many positive impacts on our lives; yet equally undeniable is its many negative consequences. This unit focuses on the effects of new technologies on the mind and the brain, individual self identity, human development and family relationships, and the Ethics of new Infosphere.

(1)Dr Glenn McLaren (Swinburne University, Australia) comments on the impact of new information technology on our perception of “reality”, and on the unfortunate consequences of the “disappearance of philosophy”.

Please listen to his talk (Australian Broadcasting Corp., 21 Feb 2010):

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/ockhamsrazor/internet-addiction/3121322

(2) Professor Baroness Susan Greenfield on Internet Addiction and Mind Change (19 March, 2013)

Watch this video on the topic, see also list of her books on this topic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=iEc2p8UcFeU

Greenfield, S. (2002), The private life of the brain. New York: Wiley.

Greenfield, S. (2008), ID: The Quest for Identity in the 21st Century. London: Sceptre.

Greenfield, S. (2011), You and Me: The Neuroscience of Identity.

Greenfield, S. (2013), 2121: A tale from the next century (her 1^st Science fiction!)

(3) Effects of IT on Child Development and Family Relations:

●The latest book on the subject:

Steiner-Adair, C., & Barker, T.H. (2013), “The big disconnect: Protecting childhood and family relationships in the digital age”.

Please listen to this 14 August 2013 interview with the author Catherine Steiner-Adair, a Harvard clinical psychologist:

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-08-14/catherine-steiner-adair-big-disconnect

(4) Ethics in the new information era:

●Professor Luciano Floridi’s new book (June 2014), “The fourth revolution: How the Infosphere is reshaping human reality” (Oxford University Press).

Please watch this video: Professor Floridi’s talk on “The Ethics of Cyber-conflicts in Hyperhistorical Societies” at the Workshop on Ethics of Cyber Conflict (Nov. 2013, Rome, Italy):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9417JcQeF4

AITM Unit 16: Future Brain, Neurosurgery, and Epigenetics

(1)Future Brain:

Baroness Professor Susan Greenfield on “The Future of the brain”, this is her wonderful 2012 lecture at the University of Western Australia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aa7qhUth7QY

(2) Neurosurgery:

Please listen to this August 2013 interview of Professor Andres Lozano on how Neurosurgery (or “Deep Brain Stimulation”) can change the functioning of the human Brain.

Professor Andres Lozano (University of Toronto, Neurosurgery Department) explains how Electrode Implanting in the brain can not only correct neurological disorders but also help improving brain’s cognitive, memory, or emotional functioning:

http://www.npr.org/2013/08/09/209618161/can-hacking-the-brain-make-you-healthier

●Ethical Issues related to such induced change in brain’s cognitive/emotional functioning and in human potentials

(3) Implications of the 21^st century research on Epigenetics for our understanding of the holistic mind

●Please read the following for a general introduction to epigenetics and the history of Nobel Prize for Epigenetics

http://epigenome.eu/en/1,38,0

●The following is but one example of how subjective emotional reactions can affect genetic coding: “Childhood abuse leaving genetic marks”:

http://epigenome.eu/en/1,65,0

●Think about the implications of such findings for the Reason and Sentience Divide (albeit from a single evolutionary perspective).

(4) “The Gene Factory”: The BGI and related works on Genomics

●Please read the following about one aspect of the “Genomics Revolution”:

http://www.geneticliteracyproject.org/2014/01/07/is-chinas-bgi-the-epicenter-of-the-world-genomics-revolution/

AITM Unit 17: Emotions: Guilt, Fear and Love

(1) Emotions of guilt and shame:

●Human study (2014): Frontal, temporal and Limbic system areas play major role in Moral feelings of shame or guilt.

Note Gender differences; but Ethnic similarities (Japanese and Germans)

http://scan.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2012/10/29/scan.nss114.full

●Individual differences in “sensitivity of feeling guilty” towards their “victims”

This 2011 fMRI study shows that, in “trustees’ decisions of whether to honour promise of monetary reward to investors, such decisions are related to differential activation of neuralnets involved in “guilt-avoidance” and “decisions of cooperation”.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2011/06/13/the-neuroscience-of-guilt-uncovers-the-origin-of-cooperation/

●Children’s (39-40 months!) “toy-mishap guilt” expressed in physiological signs of “nasal vasoconstriction leading to sharp temperature drop”

Read this Nov. 2013 study: “The autonomic signature of guilt in children: A thermal infrared imaging study”.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0079440

(2) Emotions of fear:

●This 2014 animal research shows the existence of a direct neural pathway linking intense fear emotion (in the central amygdale region) to the brain stem area responsible for the “fight-or-flight” reflex response:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140212132803.htm

●War and Aggression: William James: “The Moral Equivalent of War”

Perhaps by finding positive alternative behaviours that can allow the expression of positive human virtues associated with war (e.g., valour, strength, altruism), humans can avoid the negative consequences of war and aggression (e.g., traumatic emotions of fear, guilt, or conflict, etc.)

This is the Audio recording of Professor William James’ most insightful analysis of the moral alternatives to war:

http://ia600309.us.archive.org/17/items/moral_equivalent_dew_librivox/moralequivalentofwar_01_james_64kb.mp3

(3) Love as Human Emotion

●Please watch this video on “Why we love, why we cheat” by Professor Helen Fisher, Biological Anthropology, Rutgers University, USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ewvCNguug

●Professor Fisher on “The brain in love”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kDRfPenubM

●Professor Fisher on “What is love?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfOd_1apOfU

●Please watch this 2010 video on “The psychology of love” by Professor Frank Connor, Grand Rapids University, USA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOHdZKDldIg

●Professor William James on Love:

Please watch Professor Jeremy Carrette delivering the 2013 Annual William James Lecture from the Harvard Divinity School (25 April 2013), the topic is:

“William James on Love: The Varieties, Intimacy, and the Divine”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBgLUZGzgyo