Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195172379
- eISBN:
- 9780199849987
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195172379.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Desires lead to actions, influence feelings, and determine what counts as a reward. Recent empirical evidence shows that these three aspects of desire stem from a common biological origin. Informed ...
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Desires lead to actions, influence feelings, and determine what counts as a reward. Recent empirical evidence shows that these three aspects of desire stem from a common biological origin. Informed by contemporary science as much as by the philosophical tradition, this book reveals this common foundation and builds a new philosophical theory of desire that puts desire's neglected face — reward — at its core. This book delves into the way that actions and feelings are produced in the brain, arguing that a distinctive system is responsible for promoting action, on the one hand, and causing feelings of pleasure and displeasure, on the other. This system, the brain's reward system, is the causal origin of both action and feeling, and is the key to understanding the nature of desire.Less
Desires lead to actions, influence feelings, and determine what counts as a reward. Recent empirical evidence shows that these three aspects of desire stem from a common biological origin. Informed by contemporary science as much as by the philosophical tradition, this book reveals this common foundation and builds a new philosophical theory of desire that puts desire's neglected face — reward — at its core. This book delves into the way that actions and feelings are produced in the brain, arguing that a distinctive system is responsible for promoting action, on the one hand, and causing feelings of pleasure and displeasure, on the other. This system, the brain's reward system, is the causal origin of both action and feeling, and is the key to understanding the nature of desire.
Alan Burton-Jones
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198296225
- eISBN:
- 9780191685217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198296225.003.0008
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management, Strategy
In the simultaneous occurrences of the internalization of core functions and the externalization of non-core functions, the firm is being redefined in terms of its size, functions, organization, ...
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In the simultaneous occurrences of the internalization of core functions and the externalization of non-core functions, the firm is being redefined in terms of its size, functions, organization, management, incentives, and reward systems. As a firm begins to concentrate more on knowledge assets, it also improves its ability to innovate, produce, market, and deliver. This chapter presents how the firm shrinks as its intellectual value grows. Also, in line with the changes in the volume of employees and processes, firms have opted to use performance-based incentives and promotion as an incentive. This chapter also introduces the six stages of the Knowledge Growth ModelTM as a tool for the assessment of a firm's progress, strengths, weaknesses, and other attributes that may affect the firm's performance.Less
In the simultaneous occurrences of the internalization of core functions and the externalization of non-core functions, the firm is being redefined in terms of its size, functions, organization, management, incentives, and reward systems. As a firm begins to concentrate more on knowledge assets, it also improves its ability to innovate, produce, market, and deliver. This chapter presents how the firm shrinks as its intellectual value grows. Also, in line with the changes in the volume of employees and processes, firms have opted to use performance-based incentives and promotion as an incentive. This chapter also introduces the six stages of the Knowledge Growth ModelTM as a tool for the assessment of a firm's progress, strengths, weaknesses, and other attributes that may affect the firm's performance.
Nomy Arpaly and Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348169
- eISBN:
- 9780199348183
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348169.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
To intrinsically desire that P is to be in a state that is both a natural kind and that causes the effects (motivational, emotional, and cognitive) associated with intrinsically desiring that P, ...
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To intrinsically desire that P is to be in a state that is both a natural kind and that causes the effects (motivational, emotional, and cognitive) associated with intrinsically desiring that P, assuming that such a natural kind exists. It does: states of the reward system cause just what intrinsic desires are thought to cause, and they are the only states of the brain that cause these effects. Hence to desire that P is to constitute P as a reward (in a technical, learning-theoretic sense of ‘reward’). Since this is what it is to desire that P, it is possible to be highly motivated to bring it about that P without strongly desiring it, possible to feel nothing about P but strongly desire it, and so on. This has the potential to answer many familiar objections to desire-based theories in moral psychology.Less
To intrinsically desire that P is to be in a state that is both a natural kind and that causes the effects (motivational, emotional, and cognitive) associated with intrinsically desiring that P, assuming that such a natural kind exists. It does: states of the reward system cause just what intrinsic desires are thought to cause, and they are the only states of the brain that cause these effects. Hence to desire that P is to constitute P as a reward (in a technical, learning-theoretic sense of ‘reward’). Since this is what it is to desire that P, it is possible to be highly motivated to bring it about that P without strongly desiring it, possible to feel nothing about P but strongly desire it, and so on. This has the potential to answer many familiar objections to desire-based theories in moral psychology.
Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262513111
- eISBN:
- 9780262288248
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262513111.003.0016
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter argues that addicts are “mugged” by their midbrain reward systems, conceived as forces acting outside the scope of their rationality, and combines ideas from neuroscience and the ...
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This chapter argues that addicts are “mugged” by their midbrain reward systems, conceived as forces acting outside the scope of their rationality, and combines ideas from neuroscience and the philosophy of mind. It summarizes the main lines of evidence in the reward system. The long-term effects of the reward system provide a good explanation of abstinent addiction, for they explain both felt cravings and impulses to use. The chapter shows that felt cravings do not realize or produce desires which might make using addictive goods more rational for addicts than for nonaddicts. As addicts are moved by their addictions, they are moved by forces other than desires.Less
This chapter argues that addicts are “mugged” by their midbrain reward systems, conceived as forces acting outside the scope of their rationality, and combines ideas from neuroscience and the philosophy of mind. It summarizes the main lines of evidence in the reward system. The long-term effects of the reward system provide a good explanation of abstinent addiction, for they explain both felt cravings and impulses to use. The chapter shows that felt cravings do not realize or produce desires which might make using addictive goods more rational for addicts than for nonaddicts. As addicts are moved by their addictions, they are moved by forces other than desires.
Heather Ashton
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780192622426
- eISBN:
- 9780191724749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192622426.003.0006
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
Reward and punishment systems clearly serve adaptive functions in promoting behaviours which increase the chances of survival and preventing behaviours that lead in the opposite direction. In certain ...
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Reward and punishment systems clearly serve adaptive functions in promoting behaviours which increase the chances of survival and preventing behaviours that lead in the opposite direction. In certain conditions, however, activity in these systems appears to be maladaptive, and these can be regarded as disorders of reward and punishment systems. Drug dependence and disorders of pain sensation are considered in this chapter in this category. Reward and punishment systems are also involved in eating and psychosexual disorders and in aggressive behaviour which are not considered in this chapter.Less
Reward and punishment systems clearly serve adaptive functions in promoting behaviours which increase the chances of survival and preventing behaviours that lead in the opposite direction. In certain conditions, however, activity in these systems appears to be maladaptive, and these can be regarded as disorders of reward and punishment systems. Drug dependence and disorders of pain sensation are considered in this chapter in this category. Reward and punishment systems are also involved in eating and psychosexual disorders and in aggressive behaviour which are not considered in this chapter.
Heather Ashton
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780192622426
- eISBN:
- 9780191724749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192622426.003.0007
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
This chapter describes drugs that exert major actions on reward and punishment systems and are all drugs of dependence. Some have potent effects on pain systems and are of therapeutic importance ...
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This chapter describes drugs that exert major actions on reward and punishment systems and are all drugs of dependence. Some have potent effects on pain systems and are of therapeutic importance (narcotic analgesics), but all are also used as recreational agents because of their rewarding properties. Antidepressant drugs and drugs which induce depression also affect reward and punishment systems.Less
This chapter describes drugs that exert major actions on reward and punishment systems and are all drugs of dependence. Some have potent effects on pain systems and are of therapeutic importance (narcotic analgesics), but all are also used as recreational agents because of their rewarding properties. Antidepressant drugs and drugs which induce depression also affect reward and punishment systems.
Heather Ashton
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780192622426
- eISBN:
- 9780191724749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192622426.003.0011
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience
It is clear, from the clinical manifestations and observed physiological changes, that brain systems for arousal and sleep, reward and punishment, and learning and memory are involved in depression ...
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It is clear, from the clinical manifestations and observed physiological changes, that brain systems for arousal and sleep, reward and punishment, and learning and memory are involved in depression and mania, but the central feature is an alteration of mood. Similar mood changes may occur in organic brain disease, and it is possible that neuropathological changes underlie major affective disorders. However, in many cases these conditions appear to result from a largely reversible, though recurrent, functional disorder of brain systems controlling emotional tone. This chapter discusses the present evidence which points to a dysfunction of the limbic system, particularly in pathways subserving reward and punishment. Depression and mania can thus be viewed as disorders of reward and punishment systems, with features in common with drug dependence and chronic pain syndromes.Less
It is clear, from the clinical manifestations and observed physiological changes, that brain systems for arousal and sleep, reward and punishment, and learning and memory are involved in depression and mania, but the central feature is an alteration of mood. Similar mood changes may occur in organic brain disease, and it is possible that neuropathological changes underlie major affective disorders. However, in many cases these conditions appear to result from a largely reversible, though recurrent, functional disorder of brain systems controlling emotional tone. This chapter discusses the present evidence which points to a dysfunction of the limbic system, particularly in pathways subserving reward and punishment. Depression and mania can thus be viewed as disorders of reward and punishment systems, with features in common with drug dependence and chronic pain syndromes.
Edmund T. Rolls
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198871101
- eISBN:
- 9780191914157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198871101.003.0019
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience, Neuroendocrine and Autonomic
In this Chapter a comparison is made between computations in the brain and computations performed in computers. This is intended to be helpful to those engineers, computer scientists, AI specialists ...
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In this Chapter a comparison is made between computations in the brain and computations performed in computers. This is intended to be helpful to those engineers, computer scientists, AI specialists et al interested in designing new computers that emulate aspects of brain function. In fact, the whole of this book is intended to be useful for this aim, by setting out what is computed by different brain systems, and what we know about how it is computed. It is essential to know this if an emulation of brain function is to be performed, and this is important to enable this group of scientists to bring their expertise to help understand brain function more. The Chapter also considers the levels of investigation, which include the computational, necessary to understand brain function; and some applications of this understanding, to for example how our developing understanding is relevant to understanding disorders, including for example of food intake control leading to obesity. Finally, Section 19.10 makes it clear why the focus of this book is on computations in primate (and that very much includes human) brains, rather than on rodent (rat and mice) brains. It is because the systems-level organization of primate including human brains is quite different from that in rodents, in many fundamental ways that are described.Less
In this Chapter a comparison is made between computations in the brain and computations performed in computers. This is intended to be helpful to those engineers, computer scientists, AI specialists et al interested in designing new computers that emulate aspects of brain function. In fact, the whole of this book is intended to be useful for this aim, by setting out what is computed by different brain systems, and what we know about how it is computed. It is essential to know this if an emulation of brain function is to be performed, and this is important to enable this group of scientists to bring their expertise to help understand brain function more. The Chapter also considers the levels of investigation, which include the computational, necessary to understand brain function; and some applications of this understanding, to for example how our developing understanding is relevant to understanding disorders, including for example of food intake control leading to obesity. Finally, Section 19.10 makes it clear why the focus of this book is on computations in primate (and that very much includes human) brains, rather than on rodent (rat and mice) brains. It is because the systems-level organization of primate including human brains is quite different from that in rodents, in many fundamental ways that are described.
B.J. Casey, Todd A. Hare, and Adriana Galván
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199600434
- eISBN:
- 9780191725623
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199600434.003.0020
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
Adolescence is a developmental period which is often characterized as a time of impulsive and risky choices leading to increased incidence of unintentional injuries and violence, alcohol and drug ...
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Adolescence is a developmental period which is often characterized as a time of impulsive and risky choices leading to increased incidence of unintentional injuries and violence, alcohol and drug abuse, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations for such suboptimal decisions have failed to account for nonlinear changes in behaviour observed during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. This chapter provides a biologically plausible conceptualization of the neural mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes in behaviour, of a heightened sensitivity to incentives while impulse control is still relatively immature during this period. Recent human imaging and animal studies provide a biological basis for this view, suggesting differential development of limbic reward systems relative to top-down control systems during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. Finally, a mathematical model is provided to further distinguish these constructs of impulsivity and risky choices to further characterize developmental and individual differences in suboptimal decisions during this period.Less
Adolescence is a developmental period which is often characterized as a time of impulsive and risky choices leading to increased incidence of unintentional injuries and violence, alcohol and drug abuse, unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases. Traditional neurobiological and cognitive explanations for such suboptimal decisions have failed to account for nonlinear changes in behaviour observed during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. This chapter provides a biologically plausible conceptualization of the neural mechanisms underlying these nonlinear changes in behaviour, of a heightened sensitivity to incentives while impulse control is still relatively immature during this period. Recent human imaging and animal studies provide a biological basis for this view, suggesting differential development of limbic reward systems relative to top-down control systems during adolescence, relative to childhood and adulthood. Finally, a mathematical model is provided to further distinguish these constructs of impulsivity and risky choices to further characterize developmental and individual differences in suboptimal decisions during this period.
Maureen Duffy and Len Sperry
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195380019
- eISBN:
- 9780199932764
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195380019.003.0014
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter addresses concrete and effective measures that organizations can take to prevent mobbing from happening in the first place. These measures generally involve policy development, ...
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This chapter addresses concrete and effective measures that organizations can take to prevent mobbing from happening in the first place. These measures generally involve policy development, stakeholder training and education, and other activities designed to foster a healthier and more respectful climate and culture within organizations. Mobbing prevention strategies described in the chapter include raising awareness about mobbing and fostering a culture of tolerance and respect; assessing the presence of mobbing; development of anti-mobbing policies; training; selection, performance management, and reward systems; consultations with human resources personnel; and school-based mobbing prevention strategies with ongoing assessment of outcome effectiveness. It is argued that attention and effort paid to mobbing preventions strategies by organizations will result in the prevention and/or reduction of mobbing and its associated morbidity for both individuals and organizations.Less
This chapter addresses concrete and effective measures that organizations can take to prevent mobbing from happening in the first place. These measures generally involve policy development, stakeholder training and education, and other activities designed to foster a healthier and more respectful climate and culture within organizations. Mobbing prevention strategies described in the chapter include raising awareness about mobbing and fostering a culture of tolerance and respect; assessing the presence of mobbing; development of anti-mobbing policies; training; selection, performance management, and reward systems; consultations with human resources personnel; and school-based mobbing prevention strategies with ongoing assessment of outcome effectiveness. It is argued that attention and effort paid to mobbing preventions strategies by organizations will result in the prevention and/or reduction of mobbing and its associated morbidity for both individuals and organizations.
Timothy Schroeder and Nomy Arpaly
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199862580
- eISBN:
- 9780199369638
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199862580.003.0011
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science, Moral Philosophy
In a series of publications, we have advanced the idea that people are blameworthy for acting badly in either of two ways: acting on a desire for the wrong or bad, or acting in a way that expresses a ...
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In a series of publications, we have advanced the idea that people are blameworthy for acting badly in either of two ways: acting on a desire for the wrong or bad, or acting in a way that expresses a dearth of desire for the right or good. The application of this theory to the case of addicts who act badly because of their addictions appears to lead to an unwelcome result: that there is no morally important difference between the addict and the person who acts badly because he very much wants to. We show that a better understanding of addiction explains why our preferred theory of blameworthiness in fact reaches the more plausible result – that there is something partially exculpating about actions performed because of addiction – without giving up on the idea that blameworthiness is a matter of what desires are expressed in action.Less
In a series of publications, we have advanced the idea that people are blameworthy for acting badly in either of two ways: acting on a desire for the wrong or bad, or acting in a way that expresses a dearth of desire for the right or good. The application of this theory to the case of addicts who act badly because of their addictions appears to lead to an unwelcome result: that there is no morally important difference between the addict and the person who acts badly because he very much wants to. We show that a better understanding of addiction explains why our preferred theory of blameworthiness in fact reaches the more plausible result – that there is something partially exculpating about actions performed because of addiction – without giving up on the idea that blameworthiness is a matter of what desires are expressed in action.
Markus Heilig
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231172363
- eISBN:
- 9780231539029
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231172363.003.0007
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health
This chapter discusses brain reward systems and their role in addiction. Research has shown that brains have reward systems that use dopamine to drive approach behavior needed to obtain natural ...
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This chapter discusses brain reward systems and their role in addiction. Research has shown that brains have reward systems that use dopamine to drive approach behavior needed to obtain natural rewards. Addictive drugs were able to hijack people's lives because they hijack these endogenous reward systems and activate dopamine transmission directly. Because the activation they produce is so much higher than that triggered by natural rewards, and because they offer an opportunity to short-circuit the activation of reward systems without requiring the hard work needed for the normal rewards of life, drugs tend to win over natural rewards. For example, mating only doubles dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens while amphetamine increases them tenfold. The chapter also considers whether alcohol activates the classical brain reward circuitry in humans, similar to what had been shown for stimulants, and discusses how mu-opioid receptors in the nervous system produce the known effects of opioids.Less
This chapter discusses brain reward systems and their role in addiction. Research has shown that brains have reward systems that use dopamine to drive approach behavior needed to obtain natural rewards. Addictive drugs were able to hijack people's lives because they hijack these endogenous reward systems and activate dopamine transmission directly. Because the activation they produce is so much higher than that triggered by natural rewards, and because they offer an opportunity to short-circuit the activation of reward systems without requiring the hard work needed for the normal rewards of life, drugs tend to win over natural rewards. For example, mating only doubles dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens while amphetamine increases them tenfold. The chapter also considers whether alcohol activates the classical brain reward circuitry in humans, similar to what had been shown for stimulants, and discusses how mu-opioid receptors in the nervous system produce the known effects of opioids.
Isabelle Dussauge
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780199689583
- eISBN:
- 9780191808807
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199689583.003.0013
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Organization Studies
This chapter explores the neurocultures of the desiring brain. It enquires into the neural metaphors and grammars of reward which are deployed in late capitalism to describe brain desires and ...
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This chapter explores the neurocultures of the desiring brain. It enquires into the neural metaphors and grammars of reward which are deployed in late capitalism to describe brain desires and pleasure, making the desiring brain a valuation machine—a machine which attributes value to different scenarios or possibilities of action, and which processes these values towards expected outcomes or behaviour. This chapter further analyses how the neuroscientific accounts relate economic and non-economic rewards and values to one another in their description of human life. It contributes to situating those in relation to a contemporary sociology of value. Thus it highlights a powerful scientific account of the set of values in which life consists, and furthermore, of what makes a good life: the contemporary dynamics of desire, pleasure, and happiness made neural.Less
This chapter explores the neurocultures of the desiring brain. It enquires into the neural metaphors and grammars of reward which are deployed in late capitalism to describe brain desires and pleasure, making the desiring brain a valuation machine—a machine which attributes value to different scenarios or possibilities of action, and which processes these values towards expected outcomes or behaviour. This chapter further analyses how the neuroscientific accounts relate economic and non-economic rewards and values to one another in their description of human life. It contributes to situating those in relation to a contemporary sociology of value. Thus it highlights a powerful scientific account of the set of values in which life consists, and furthermore, of what makes a good life: the contemporary dynamics of desire, pleasure, and happiness made neural.
Nomy Arpaly and Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199348169
- eISBN:
- 9780199348183
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199348169.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Addicts appear to have very strong desires for their addictive goods, and so to display a worrying degree of indifference to morally important ends when they choose their addictive goods over such ...
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Addicts appear to have very strong desires for their addictive goods, and so to display a worrying degree of indifference to morally important ends when they choose their addictive goods over such ends. However, an investigation of the neuroscience of addiction suggests that addicts’ motivations, feelings, and thoughts are strongly influenced by their histories of addiction in ways that are out of proportion to how much they intrinsically desire the goods to which they are addicted. As a result, a desire-based theory of rational action and blameworthiness can hold that addicts act less than fully rationally in pursuing their addictive goods, and can be much less than fully blameworthy for bad acts performed because of addiction. This result might be generalizable to a range of other putative problem cases for desire-centered moral psychology.Less
Addicts appear to have very strong desires for their addictive goods, and so to display a worrying degree of indifference to morally important ends when they choose their addictive goods over such ends. However, an investigation of the neuroscience of addiction suggests that addicts’ motivations, feelings, and thoughts are strongly influenced by their histories of addiction in ways that are out of proportion to how much they intrinsically desire the goods to which they are addicted. As a result, a desire-based theory of rational action and blameworthiness can hold that addicts act less than fully rationally in pursuing their addictive goods, and can be much less than fully blameworthy for bad acts performed because of addiction. This result might be generalizable to a range of other putative problem cases for desire-centered moral psychology.
Armin Schnider
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- November 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198789680
- eISBN:
- 9780191839016
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198789680.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Social Psychology
Behaviourally spontaneous confabulation denotes a particular form of confabulation characterized by confusion of reality. The patients are disoriented and act according to their confabulations. This ...
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Behaviourally spontaneous confabulation denotes a particular form of confabulation characterized by confusion of reality. The patients are disoriented and act according to their confabulations. This chapter describes the clinical course of the disorder and shows how the experimental exploration of patients opened ways to study the underlying mechanism in healthy subjects using brain imaging, electrophysiology, and other methods. These studies revealed a distinct mechanism, now called orbitofrontal reality filtering, which depends on the orbitofrontal cortex and parts of the brain’s reward system. It automatically verifies the relation of upcoming thoughts and memories with ongoing reality. Its relevance for children’s sense of reality is discussed. Comparison with single-cell recordings in animals and investigations in patients suggest that the mechanism depends on a phylogenetically old faculty: an orbitofrontal signal akin to the one necessary for behavioural extinction.Less
Behaviourally spontaneous confabulation denotes a particular form of confabulation characterized by confusion of reality. The patients are disoriented and act according to their confabulations. This chapter describes the clinical course of the disorder and shows how the experimental exploration of patients opened ways to study the underlying mechanism in healthy subjects using brain imaging, electrophysiology, and other methods. These studies revealed a distinct mechanism, now called orbitofrontal reality filtering, which depends on the orbitofrontal cortex and parts of the brain’s reward system. It automatically verifies the relation of upcoming thoughts and memories with ongoing reality. Its relevance for children’s sense of reality is discussed. Comparison with single-cell recordings in animals and investigations in patients suggest that the mechanism depends on a phylogenetically old faculty: an orbitofrontal signal akin to the one necessary for behavioural extinction.
Timothy Schroeder
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- June 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780199370962
- eISBN:
- 9780199370986
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199370962.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, General
This chapter considers T. M. Scanlon’s (1998) theory of action as a specific instance of cognitivist theories of action. It raises an unusual sort of objection to Scanlon’s cognitivism and its ...
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This chapter considers T. M. Scanlon’s (1998) theory of action as a specific instance of cognitivist theories of action. It raises an unusual sort of objection to Scanlon’s cognitivism and its nearest philosophical neighbors: given what is known about the low-level neuroscience of action, there is no reasonable way to interpret the brain’s action-producing neural pathways consistent with this sort of theory. Interpreting the action-producing neural pathways as requiring a cognitive representation of reasons to be involved in action production meets a variety of objections, depending on just which parts of the action-producing neural pathways one interprets as these cognitions about reasons. The chapter proposes that a desire-based interpretation of the neural pathways addresses the obstacles raised to Scanlonian and related cognitivisms and suggests that a desire-based theory of action is thus preferable.Less
This chapter considers T. M. Scanlon’s (1998) theory of action as a specific instance of cognitivist theories of action. It raises an unusual sort of objection to Scanlon’s cognitivism and its nearest philosophical neighbors: given what is known about the low-level neuroscience of action, there is no reasonable way to interpret the brain’s action-producing neural pathways consistent with this sort of theory. Interpreting the action-producing neural pathways as requiring a cognitive representation of reasons to be involved in action production meets a variety of objections, depending on just which parts of the action-producing neural pathways one interprets as these cognitions about reasons. The chapter proposes that a desire-based interpretation of the neural pathways addresses the obstacles raised to Scanlonian and related cognitivisms and suggests that a desire-based theory of action is thus preferable.
S. K. Das
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195653823
- eISBN:
- 9780199081561
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195653823.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Indian Politics
This chapter evaluates the reward system of the civil service in India. The reward system is an important source of motivation for civil servants to avoid corruption and it can take the form of ...
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This chapter evaluates the reward system of the civil service in India. The reward system is an important source of motivation for civil servants to avoid corruption and it can take the form of compensation, promotions, and placements in civil service assignments. The analysis reveals that in spite of the periodic restrictions exercised by the Indian Government on the maximum compensation of managerial personnel, the compensation in the private sector has always been higher than the maximum salary payable to the civil servants. Assurance of reasonable promotional opportunities ranging from two to four promotions can take more than thirty years and the promotions are often based on seniority rather than merit. The result also suggests that ruling politicians in India have made liberal use of the instrument of transfer of civil servants to make money for themselves.Less
This chapter evaluates the reward system of the civil service in India. The reward system is an important source of motivation for civil servants to avoid corruption and it can take the form of compensation, promotions, and placements in civil service assignments. The analysis reveals that in spite of the periodic restrictions exercised by the Indian Government on the maximum compensation of managerial personnel, the compensation in the private sector has always been higher than the maximum salary payable to the civil servants. Assurance of reasonable promotional opportunities ranging from two to four promotions can take more than thirty years and the promotions are often based on seniority rather than merit. The result also suggests that ruling politicians in India have made liberal use of the instrument of transfer of civil servants to make money for themselves.
Ofra Mayseless
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780199913619
- eISBN:
- 9780190299002
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199913619.003.0013
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Evolutionary Psychology
This chapter discusses caring for strangers and presents several noteworthy examples of caring and nurturance. These include volunteering, money donations, and mentoring of youth at risk and ...
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This chapter discusses caring for strangers and presents several noteworthy examples of caring and nurturance. These include volunteering, money donations, and mentoring of youth at risk and colleagues at work. These appear to be quite widespread and, cultural diversity notwithstanding, expose a high prevalence of intrinsic other-oriented giving and helping. Caregivers—volunteers, donors, and mentors—accrue a variety of perhaps unintended positive consequences from their caring—tangible outcomes as well as psychological ones (“warm glow,” meaning) and physical well-being (i.e., longevity). Studies revealed similarity in the underlying biological, neurological, and psychological processes between caring enacted with strangers and caring for close others. These included a personality disposition toward helping (i.e., a prosocial or altruistic personality), circumstantial empathy, processes related to values and moral identity, and several distinct reward systems in the brain, all reflecting routes that support such care.Less
This chapter discusses caring for strangers and presents several noteworthy examples of caring and nurturance. These include volunteering, money donations, and mentoring of youth at risk and colleagues at work. These appear to be quite widespread and, cultural diversity notwithstanding, expose a high prevalence of intrinsic other-oriented giving and helping. Caregivers—volunteers, donors, and mentors—accrue a variety of perhaps unintended positive consequences from their caring—tangible outcomes as well as psychological ones (“warm glow,” meaning) and physical well-being (i.e., longevity). Studies revealed similarity in the underlying biological, neurological, and psychological processes between caring enacted with strangers and caring for close others. These included a personality disposition toward helping (i.e., a prosocial or altruistic personality), circumstantial empathy, processes related to values and moral identity, and several distinct reward systems in the brain, all reflecting routes that support such care.
Alva Noë
- Published in print:
- 2022
- Published Online:
- January 2022
- ISBN:
- 9780190928216
- eISBN:
- 9780197601136
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190928216.003.0037
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Aesthetics
This chapter addresses the idea that music has a history, looking at David Bowie's 2013 song “Where Are We Now?” Gary Marcus says that music is a kind of cognitive cheesecake: it is a refined craft ...
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This chapter addresses the idea that music has a history, looking at David Bowie's 2013 song “Where Are We Now?” Gary Marcus says that music is a kind of cognitive cheesecake: it is a refined craft for tickling the brain by acting on reward systems sensitive to repetition and novelty. The cheesecake theory of music treats music as like a species of masturbation. And masturbation has no history. The good that it delivers is unchanging; it is perfect as it is, and for the simple reason that the mechanics of orgasm are fixed by our basic body plan. To this, it will be objected that the pleasures induced by fat, sugar, and orgasm may be stable, but the means available to us for achieving these ends—the techniques, practices, technologies, and perversions—are indeed always evolving, and with the same rapidity, and so history, as in any other area of technology. Music, from this standpoint, is an evolving technology for auto-titillation and reward. Change in music is technological change—not change in what we like but change in how we get it.Less
This chapter addresses the idea that music has a history, looking at David Bowie's 2013 song “Where Are We Now?” Gary Marcus says that music is a kind of cognitive cheesecake: it is a refined craft for tickling the brain by acting on reward systems sensitive to repetition and novelty. The cheesecake theory of music treats music as like a species of masturbation. And masturbation has no history. The good that it delivers is unchanging; it is perfect as it is, and for the simple reason that the mechanics of orgasm are fixed by our basic body plan. To this, it will be objected that the pleasures induced by fat, sugar, and orgasm may be stable, but the means available to us for achieving these ends—the techniques, practices, technologies, and perversions—are indeed always evolving, and with the same rapidity, and so history, as in any other area of technology. Music, from this standpoint, is an evolving technology for auto-titillation and reward. Change in music is technological change—not change in what we like but change in how we get it.
Louise Morganstein and Jonathan Hill
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780199665662
- eISBN:
- 9780191918322
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199665662.003.0018
- Subject:
- Clinical Medicine and Allied Health, Psychiatry
Child and adolescent psychiatry is the medical specialty that works with children, young people, and families with emotional and behavioural problems. As children and young people are still ...
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Child and adolescent psychiatry is the medical specialty that works with children, young people, and families with emotional and behavioural problems. As children and young people are still developing and grow–ing, their emotional wellbeing and functioning needs to be thought about in this context, making it different from adult psychiatry. Communication with people of all ages is vital within the specialty and information from a wide variety of sources, including parents or carers, school, and peers, is used to inform the clinical picture, in addition to history-taking and direct observations of the child’s behaviour. Play is often used to understand younger children’s thoughts and feelings. In theory, the specialty covers children and young people from birth up to the teenage years, although different services cover slightly different age ranges. The spectrum of difficulties covered within the specialty include psy–chiatric disorders also seen in adults (such as psychosis); problems spe–cific to the age group (such as separation anxiety); lifelong conditions which start in childhood (such as ADHD); and conditions that may pre–sent in different ways in childhood or adolescence (such as phobias). Approaches to treatment include psychopharmacological interven–tions, and numerous therapeutic modalities including family therapy and CBT, which can be modified for different age groups. Most work is community based, although there are specialist inpatient units which offer on-going educational opportunities to young people who need the intensive support and risk reduction of a hospital admission. Work tends to be done within MDTs using a range of knowledge and expertise to offer the most appropriate care.
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Child and adolescent psychiatry is the medical specialty that works with children, young people, and families with emotional and behavioural problems. As children and young people are still developing and grow–ing, their emotional wellbeing and functioning needs to be thought about in this context, making it different from adult psychiatry. Communication with people of all ages is vital within the specialty and information from a wide variety of sources, including parents or carers, school, and peers, is used to inform the clinical picture, in addition to history-taking and direct observations of the child’s behaviour. Play is often used to understand younger children’s thoughts and feelings. In theory, the specialty covers children and young people from birth up to the teenage years, although different services cover slightly different age ranges. The spectrum of difficulties covered within the specialty include psy–chiatric disorders also seen in adults (such as psychosis); problems spe–cific to the age group (such as separation anxiety); lifelong conditions which start in childhood (such as ADHD); and conditions that may pre–sent in different ways in childhood or adolescence (such as phobias). Approaches to treatment include psychopharmacological interven–tions, and numerous therapeutic modalities including family therapy and CBT, which can be modified for different age groups. Most work is community based, although there are specialist inpatient units which offer on-going educational opportunities to young people who need the intensive support and risk reduction of a hospital admission. Work tends to be done within MDTs using a range of knowledge and expertise to offer the most appropriate care.