1st Edition
by Brendan Markey-Towler (Author)
An Architecture of the Mind
proposes a mathematically logical and rigorous theory of lived
experience, and a comprehensive and coherent theory of psychology. It is
also remarkably simple. Building on the core proposition that the mind
is a network structure, it proposes a theory of the psychological
process as operating within and upon that structure, and a theory of
behaviour as determined by that process.
The theory presents a
view of the mind which reveals a new perspective on the process of
reasoning in thinking and how it may coexist with processes more akin to
simple rule-following and computation. It allows us to understand the
role and influence of social influences in the psychological process by
revealing their role in and influence on mental networks. It reveals the
place of motivations in the psyche as complexes in mental networks from
whence aesthetics, preference and value judgements arise and
demonstrates their necessity for behaviour. This book is especially
useful for the perspective it offers on behavioural change. It reveals
the conditions under which traditional economic theories of incentives
will be appropriate, and the conditions under which they will not be.
This
book draws on psychology, social science, cultural science,
neuroscience and economics to offer an interdisciplinary contribution
which resists the tendency for disciplines to become over-specialised
and fragmented. It will be of interest to any interested in the
functioning of the human mind and the government of human behaviour.