The Story Paradox

The Story Paradox PDF Author: Jonathan Gottschall
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541645979
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description
Storytelling, a tradition that built human civilization, may soon destroy it Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it. In The Story Paradox, Gottschall explores how a broad consortium of psychologists, communications specialists, neuroscientists, and literary quants are using the scientific method to study how stories affect our brains. The results challenge the idea that storytelling is an obvious force for good in human life. Yes, storytelling can bind groups together, but it is also the main force dragging people apart. And it’s the best method we’ve ever devised for manipulating each other by circumventing rational thought. Behind all civilization’s greatest ills—environmental destruction, runaway demagogues, warfare—you will always find the same master factor: a mind-disordering story. Gottschall argues that societies succeed or fail depending on how they manage these tensions. And it has only become harder, as new technologies that amplify the effects of disinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and fake news make separating fact from fiction nearly impossible. With clarity and conviction, Gottschall reveals why our biggest asset has become our greatest threat, and what, if anything, can be done. It is a call to stop asking, “How we can change the world through stories?” and start asking, “How can we save the world from stories?”

The Story Paradox

The Story Paradox PDF Author: Jonathan Gottschall
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 1541645979
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book

Book Description
Storytelling, a tradition that built human civilization, may soon destroy it Humans are storytelling animals. Stories are what make our societies possible. Countless books celebrate their virtues. But Jonathan Gottschall, an expert on the science of stories, argues that there is a dark side to storytelling we can no longer ignore. Storytelling, the very tradition that built human civilization, may be the thing that destroys it. In The Story Paradox, Gottschall explores how a broad consortium of psychologists, communications specialists, neuroscientists, and literary quants are using the scientific method to study how stories affect our brains. The results challenge the idea that storytelling is an obvious force for good in human life. Yes, storytelling can bind groups together, but it is also the main force dragging people apart. And it’s the best method we’ve ever devised for manipulating each other by circumventing rational thought. Behind all civilization’s greatest ills—environmental destruction, runaway demagogues, warfare—you will always find the same master factor: a mind-disordering story. Gottschall argues that societies succeed or fail depending on how they manage these tensions. And it has only become harder, as new technologies that amplify the effects of disinformation campaigns, conspiracy theories, and fake news make separating fact from fiction nearly impossible. With clarity and conviction, Gottschall reveals why our biggest asset has become our greatest threat, and what, if anything, can be done. It is a call to stop asking, “How we can change the world through stories?” and start asking, “How can we save the world from stories?”

Paradox Lost

Paradox Lost PDF Author: Richard P. Hansen
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310518393
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Too often the tensions and unanswerable questions of Scripture and the Christian life are seen as barriers to faith. In Paradox Lost, pastor and author Richard Hansen shows that they are exactly the opposite -- indeed, God’s mysteries are one of the places where we may encounter him most closely. In exchange for Enlightenment-based rationalism that can stunt spiritual imagination, Hansen invites readers to: Discern that there is a hiddenness to God that can be inviting rather than threatening Appreciate that God is far greater than we sometimes assume, and to adjust our mental maps to make more space for awe Realize that faith and reason are not enemies but rather dance partners that complement one another Hansen examines three kinds, or “orders” of biblical paradox, each at a deeper level than the last, demonstrating for readers that paradox is both endemic to modern life and also a natural part of the landscape of Christian faith. Paradox Lost doesn’t seek to solve or justify paradox; instead, it looks through paradox toward what it reveals--namely a holy, mysterious, and awesome God.

The Paradox of Sleep

The Paradox of Sleep PDF Author: Michel Jouvet
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 9780262600408
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
Jouvet tells the story of a handful of neurobiologists, including himself, who pioneered sleep and dream research in the 1950s.

The Power of Paradox

The Power of Paradox PDF Author: H. Evan Woodhead
Publisher: powerofparadox.com
ISBN: 0973985836
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description


Infinity, Causation, and Paradox

Infinity, Causation, and Paradox PDF Author: Alexander R. Pruss
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192538284
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Infinity is paradoxical in many ways. Some paradoxes involve deterministic supertasks, such as Thomson's Lamp, where a switch is toggled an infinite number of times over a finite period of time, or the Grim Reaper, where it seems that infinitely many reapers can produce a result without doing anything. Others involve infinite lotteries. If you get two tickets from an infinite fair lottery where tickets are numbered from 1, no matter what number you saw on the first ticket, it is almost certain that the other ticket has a bigger number on it. And others center on paradoxical results in decision theory, such as the surprising observation that if you perform a sequence of fair coin flips that goes infinitely far back into the past but only finitely into the future, you can leverage information about past coin flips to predict future ones with only finitely many mistakes. Alexander R. Pruss examines this seemingly large family of paradoxes in Infinity, Causation and Paradox. He establishes that these paradoxes and numerous others all have a common structure: their most natural embodiment involves an infinite number of items causally impinging on a single output. These paradoxes, he argues, can all be resolved by embracing 'causal finitism', the view that it is impossible for a single output to have an infinite causal history. Throughout the book, Pruss exposits such paradoxes, defends causal finitism at length, and considers connections with the philosophy of physics (where causal finitism favors but does not require discretist theories of space and time) and the philosophy of religion (with a cosmological argument for a first cause).

Paradox

Paradox PDF Author: Doris Olin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317489225
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
Paradoxes are more than just intellectual puzzles - they raise substantive philosophical issues and offer the promise of increased philosophical knowledge. In this introduction to paradox and paradoxes, Doris Olin shows how seductive paradoxes can be, why they confuse and confound, and why they continue to fascinate. Olin examines the nature of paradox, outlining a rigorous definition and providing a clear and incisive statement of what does and does not count as a resolution of a paradox. The view that a statement can be both true and false, that contradictions can be true, is seen to provide a challenge to the account of paradox resolution, and is explored. With this framework in place, the book then turns to an in-depth treatment of the Prediction Paradox, versions of the Preface/Fallibility Paradox, the Lottery Paradox, Newcomb's Problem, the Prisoner's Dilemma and the Sorites Paradox. Each of these paradoxes is shown to have considerable philosophical punch. Olin unpacks the central arguments in a clear and systematic fashion, offers original analyses and solutions, and exposes further unsettling implications for some of our most deep-seated principles and convictions.

The Wintertime Paradox

The Wintertime Paradox PDF Author: Dave Rudden
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 1405946113
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
Twelve incredible Doctor Who stories for the long winter nights featuring an exclusive extra story in the Time Lord Victorious arc! Christmas can mean anything . . . For Missy, it's solving murders in 1909. For a little girl in Dublin, it's Plasmavores knocking at the door. For Davros, it's a summons from the Doctor, who needs the mad inventor's help. The perfect collection for the bleakest - and sometimes brightest - time of the year, these are the tales for when you're halfway out of the dark . . . The perfect collection for the bleakest - and sometimes brightest - time of the year, these are the tales for when you're halfway out of the dark . . . Written by popular children's author, and lifelong Doctor Who fan, Dave Rudden, author of Twelve Angels Weeping. 'The perfect balance between tenderness and humour and terror and imagination - like the show at its very, very best' - Guardian 'The comforting yet thrilling vibe of a Doctor Who Christmas special TIMES TWELVE' - Deirdre Sullivan 'A fascinating tale' - Screenrant

The Paradox of Control in Organizations

The Paradox of Control in Organizations PDF Author: Philip Streatfield
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134577044
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 174

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Book Description
Business leaders are expected to be 'in control' of the situation in which their businesses find themselves. But how can organizational leaders and managers control matters entirely out of their hands; such as the next action a competitor takes, or the next law a government may pass? In this book, Philip Streatfield reflects on his own experience as a manager to explore the question: who, or what is 'in control' in an organization? Adopting the perspective of complex responsive processes developed in the first two volumes of this series, the author takes self-organization and emergence as central themes in thinking about life in organizations. He focuses on the tension between spontaneously forming patterns of conversation and intentional actions arguing that the order of organizations emerges through a combination of collective interaction and individual intentions. The argument is developed by considering the day-to-day experiences of life in a large pharmaceutical organization, SmithKline Beecham. In today's organization, managers find that they have to live with the paradox of being 'in control' and 'not in control' simultaneously. It is this capacity to live with paradox, and to continue to participate creatively in spite of 'not being in control', that constitutes effective management.

The Bolsonaro Paradox

The Bolsonaro Paradox PDF Author: Camila Rocha
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030796531
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
This book presents the first in-depth academic investigation published in English about one of the most radical incarnations of the current global wave of new right-wing movements and governments: the movement that brought to power the current Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro. The rise of this new right-wing movement in Brazil came as a surprise to many analysts who used to see the country as a successful example of the implementation of progressive social policies in the first decade of the 21st century, and posed many questions to those seeking to understand the role Brazil now plays in the development of this international far-right wave. The authors of this volume try to answer some of these questions by presenting the results of an extensive field research conducted over the years with Bolsonaro supporters and members of the new Brazilian right-wing movements. They have analyzed quantitative and especially qualitative data to accompany the accelerated transformations of the Brazilian public sphere, starting from small liberal and conservative groups on social media towards larger audiences via book publishing, the education system, the mainstream media, and the political-party system. By framing the Brazilian case in the wider international political scenario, The Bolsonaro Paradox: The Public Sphere and Right-Wing Counterpublicity in Contemporary Brazil will be an invaluable resource for sociologists, political scientists, international relations scholars and other social scientists – as well as to journalists and political analysts – interested in better understanding the role Brazil plays in the global rise of new far-right movements and governments.

Paradox and Contradiction in Theology

Paradox and Contradiction in Theology PDF Author: Jonathan C. Rutledge
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100096325X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 245

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Book Description
This book explores and expounds upon questions of paradox and contradiction in theology with an emphasis on recent contributions from analytic philosophical theology. It addresses questions such as: What is the place of paradox in theology? Where might different systems of logic (e.g. paraconsistent ones) find a place in theological discourse (e.g. Christology)? What are proper responses to the presence of contradiction(s) in one’s theological theories? Are appeals to analogical language enough to make sense of paradox? Bringing together an impressive line-up of theologians and philosophers, the volume offers a range of fresh perspectives on a central topic. It is valuable reading for scholars of theology and philosophy of religion.