Psychology Commons^™

Levels Of Altruism, Martin Zwick, Jeffrey Alan Fletcher

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The phenomenon of altruism extends from the biological realm to the human sociocultural realm. This paper sketches a coherent outline of multiple types of altruism of progressively increasing scope that span these two realms and are grounded in an ever-expanding sense of “self.” Discussion of this framework notes difficulties associated with altruisms at different levels. It links scientific ideas about the evolution of cooperation and about hierarchical order to perennial philosophical and religious concerns. It offers a conceptual background for inquiry into societal challenges that call for altruistic behavior, especially the challenge of environmental and social sustainability.

This talk was …

Neuroscience Of Personality: Principles Of The Psyche As A Living System, Dario Nardi

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

The brain is a complex living system. Using colorful slides and anecdotes, Dario Nardi, PhD will overview his hands-on research of the past 5 years in his social neuroscience lab using EEG technology to better understand the neocortex. He spends 2 to 3 hours with each subject, offering a variety of tasks from solo activities like meditating, drawing, and recalling to social activities like poker and speed-dating. The results are in. The neocortex relies upon a dynamic of modules, circuits, and holistic modes to continuously coordinate with the environment in both a top-down and a bottom-up manner. Moreover, individual differences …

Building A Decision Aid Right-Side-Out, Barry F. Anderson

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

Tools have long been available for improving decision making, yet people who have knowledge of these tools seem reluctant to use them. I consider multiple reasons why this might be so and consider multiple solutions, then present what I believe to be the world's most user-friendly decision aid, which is now nearly ready for beta testing and available at no cost at http://wisedecider.net.

Wise Decider is believed to be unique in having the following features:

1. A creative thinking guide and a critical thinking guide that provide context-sensitive advice for problem structuring, evaluation, and implementation.
2. A decision table with cells …

What Makes A Meaningful Universe?, Todd Duncan, James Butler

Systems Science Friday Noon Seminar Series

A common line of thinking says that although we feel subjectively that our thoughts and actions matter in some way, this perception is an illusion. According to this view, an honest look around at the universe shatters this myth and reveals that our lives are ultimately meaningless. If we are to be hard-nosed realists, limiting ourselves to scientific, evidence-based reasoning, then we must accept that human existence is an inconsequential accident of no ultimate significance in the grand scheme of things. Is this attitude really justified by the evidence? We'll explore this question by taking a step back and asking …