Bath Alumnus Publishes Ground-Breaking Book
A radical new book written by Bath alumnus, Dr David Skrbina, which argues for the importance of panpsychism - the theory that mind exists, in some form, in all living and nonliving things, is due to be released in May 2005.
Despite the recent advances in our knowledge of the brain and the increasing intricacy and sophistication of philosophical discussion, the nature of mind remains an enigma. Panpsychism, with its conception of mind as a general phenomenon of nature, uniquely links being and mind.
Skrbina argues that panpsychism is long overdue for detailed treatment. In his book, Panpsychism in the West, he aims to add impetus to the discussion of panpsychism in serious philosophical inquiries. After a brief discussion of general issues surrounding philosophy of mind, he traces the panpsychist views of several major philosophers, from the ancient Greeks - including Plato and Aristotle - and early Renaissance philosophers such as Cardano, Bruno, and Campanella, through the likes of Leibniz, Spinoza, Diderot, Priestley, Schopenhauer, James, Peirce, Whitehead, and Teilhard. Skrbina also explores the panpsychism of some prominent philosopher-scientists, including Eddington, Haldane, Agar, Huxley, Bateson, and Bohm, among others.
By demonstrating that there is panpsychist thinking in many major philosophers, Skrbina offers a radical challenge to the modern worldview, based as it is on a mechanistic cosmos of dead, insensate matter. The panpsychist worldview is thus offered up as a way forward, as a path toward a more benign, compassionate world.
Notes to Editors
David Skrbina is a Lecturer in Philosophy in the Department of Humanities at the University of Michigan at Dearborn. He graduated from the University of Bath School of Management in 2001 with a PhD from the School’s Centre for Action Research in Professional Practice (CARPP).
The University of Bath School of Management’s Postgraduate Programme in Action Research offers a rigorous course which enables professionals to examine issues of effectiveness and good practice through an integration of action and reflection using the methods of action research. The programme offers an opportunity to explore and develop the practices of action research, studying one's own practice while working with groups, organizations and communities. Action research includes a range of inquiry strategies aimed at developing understanding and action in the context of specific social and organizational issues.
Further information about Panpsychism in the West can be found on the MIT website.
23 February 2005
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