Towards a Theory of Thinking: Building Blocks for a Conceptual Framework

Description

Thinking is one of the most fascinating and characteristic abilities of human beings. To advance our understanding of this distinctive feature that makes us human is not only an exciting scientific challenge but also of great relevance in terms of coping with more and more complex challenges of the world we live in and in terms of becoming the core value creation process in an increasingly knowledge-based economy. The present book is the second volume of the Parmenides book series "On Thinking" dedicated to explore current approaches and contributions towards a fuller understanding of human thought processes. It focuses on assembling building blocks for a conceptual framework that might - after several iterations – contribute to a future theory of thinking. It brings together an international group of leading scientists coming from the different fields upon which a theory of thinking must build: brain and cognitive sciences, experimental and developmental psychology, evolutionary anthropology and biology, linguistics, transcultural neuroimaging, modeling and philosophy. Front Matter....Pages i-xxix Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Problem Solving....Pages 3-21 Heuristic Bias, Conflict, and Rationality in Decision-Making....Pages 23-33 Analogical Processes in Human Thinking and Learning....Pages 35-48 A Gestalt Perspective on the Psychology of Thinking....Pages 49-58 Thought and Reality....Pages 59-70 Front Matter....Pages 72-72 Categorization and Object Shape....Pages 73-101 Comparison....Pages 103-121 Causal Thinking....Pages 123-134 Conditionals: Their Meaning and Their use in Reasoning....Pages 135-146 Thinking and Memory....Pages 147-160 Perception and the Brain....Pages 161-175 Front Matter....Pages 178-178 A Developmental Perspective on Modularity....Pages 179-187 Theory of Mind....Pages 189-201 The Development of Metacognitive Competences....Pages 203-214 Understanding Apes to Understand Humans: The Case of Object-Object Relations....Pages 215-230 Front Matter....Pages 233-233 Socializing Cognition....Pages 233-250 Thinking and Language....Pages 251-259 Thinking and Emotion: Affective Modulation of Cognitive Processing Modes....Pages 261-277 Cultural Differences in Thinking Styles....Pages 279-288 Front Matter....Pages 290-290 Natural Selection in the Brain....Pages 291-322 Front Matter....Pages 290-290 Value and Self-Referential Control: Necessary Ingredients for the Autonomous Development of Flexible Intelligence....Pages 323-335 Cortical Connectivity: The Infrastructure of Thoughts....Pages 337-346 Models as Tools to Aid Thinking....Pages 347-374 Back Matter....Pages 375-395