Professor Gombrich's last book and first narrative work in over 20 years.

Professor Gombrich's last book and first narrative work in over 20 years.

Economists and psychologists have, on the whole, exhibited sharply different perspectives on the elicitation of preferences. Economists, who have made preference the central primitive in their thinking about human behavior, have for the most part rejected elicitation and have instead sought to infer preferences from observations of choice behavior. Psychologists, who have tended to think of preference as a context-determined subjective construct, have embraced elicitation as their dominant approach to measurement. This volume, based on a symposium organized by Daniel McFadden at the University of California at Berkeley, provides a provocative and constructive engagement between economists and psychologists on the elicitation of preferences.

In this acclaimed book, Torgovnick explores the obsessions, fears, and longings that have produced Western views of the primitive. Crossing an extraordinary range of fields (anthropology, psychology, literature, art, and popular culture),Gone Primitivewill engage not just specialists but anyone who has ever worn Native American jewelry, thrilled to Indiana Jones, or considered buying an African mask. "A superb book; and--in a way that goes beyond what being good as a book usually implies--it is a kind of gift to its own culture, a guide to the perplexed. It is lucid, usually fair, laced with a certain feminist mockery and animated by some surprising sympathies."--Arthur C. Danto, New York Times Book Review "An impassioned exploration of the deep waters beneath Western primitivism. . . . Torgovnick's readings are deliberately, rewardingly provocative."--Scott L. Malcomson,Voice Literary Supplement

A collection of short articles, lectures etc.

"This text explores mankind's origins, as considered and examined in light of nature, with particular emphasis on the following parts and assertions: I. That according to the light of nature and natural reason, the visible world was not eternal, but had a beginning; II. That if there could be any imaginable doubt thereof, yet by the necessary evidence of natural light it does appear that mankind had a beginning, and that the successive generations of men were in their original form; III. That this truth is evident by demonstrative reason and arguments; IV. That there are moral evidences of the truth of this assertion, which are herein particularly expanded and examined; V. That those great philosophers that asserted this origination of mankind, both ancient and modern, that rendered it by hypothesis different from that of Moses, were mistaken--here the hypotheses of Aristotle, Plato, and others are examined, and the absurdity and impossibility of their theories are detected; VI. That the current author's theory explaining the creation of man and of the world, in general, abstractly considered without relation to the divine inspiration of the writer, is according to reason, and preferable to the sentiments of other philosophers; and VII. That the author has concluded the whole of this work with certain corollaries and deductions, necessarily flowing from the things thus asserted, as well touching the existence, the wisdom, power, and providence of Almighty God, as touching both the duty and happiness of mankind"--Foreword. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).

The most famous and popular book on art ever published, this quintessential "introduction to art," now in its sixteenth edition, has been a worldwide bestseller for over four decades.

Metaphysical theories are beautiful. At the end of this book, Jiri Benovsky defends the view that metaphysical theories possess aesthetic properties and that these play a crucial role when it comes to theory evaluation and theory choice.Before we get there, the philosophical path the author proposes to follow starts with three discussions of metaphysical equivalence. Benovsky argues that there are cases of metaphysical equivalence, cases of partial metaphysical equivalence, as well as interesting cases of theories that are not equivalent. Thus, claims of metaphysical equivalence can only be raised locally. The slogan is: the best way to do meta-metaphysics is to do first-level metaphysics.To do this work, Benovsky focuses on the nature of primitives and on the role they play in each of the theories involved. He emphasizes the utmost importance of primitives in the construction of metaphysical theories and in the subsequent evaluation of them.He then raises the simple but complicated question: how to make a choice between competing metaphysical theories? If two theories are equivalent, then perhaps we do not need to make a choice. But what about all the other cases of non-equivalent "equally good" theories? Benovsky uses some of the theories discussed in the first part of the book as examples and examines some traditional meta-theoretical criteria for theory choice (various kinds of simplicity, compatibility with physics, compatibility with intuitions, explanatory power, internal consistency,...) only to show that they do not allow us to make a choice.But if the standard meta-theoretical criteria cannot help us in deciding between competing non-equivalent metaphysical theories, how then shall we make that choice? This is where Benovsky argues that metaphysical theories possess aesthetic properties – grounded in non-aesthetic properties – and that these play a crucial role in theory choice and evaluation. This view, as well as all the meta-metaphysical considerations discussed throughout the book, then naturally lead the author to a form of anti-realism, and at the end of the journey he offers reasons to think better of the kind of anti-realist view he proposes to embrace. www.jiribenovsky.org

Beginning with early 20th-century figures--among them Carl Jung, Isak Dinesen, and Georgia O'Keeffe--who found in "the primitive" a medium for soul-searching and personal change, Torgovnivk probes how the return to the primitive has signaled a quest to transcend the limitations of the body in a variety of contemporary practices, from genital piercing to New Age rites to the mythopoetic men's movement. Illustrations. 272 pp. Author tour. 10,000 print.

A new and simple system to understanding and controlling the behavior of others Noted body language, behavior and communication expert Mark Bowden offers a totally practical, easy-to-read guide to understanding the impulsive actions of others, along with the best tools to manage them. A number one anxiety in business is dealing with problem people. In Tame the Primitive Brain, Mark Bowden's fresh approach is the fastest and most effective way to understand why someone acts towards you the way they do; why you react to their behavior in the way you do; and most importantly, what exactly to do about it to achieve the right outcomes. Brings new and fresh perspectives to business readers for dealing with tricky behaviors Explains how to effectively manage those around you at any level in an organization Shares the latest evolutionary behavioral theory, neuroscientific evidence, and the tried and tested tools and tricks based on these premises This simple model of how we humans can and do relate to each other brings increased depth of understanding and expands your toolset to better manage yourself and others to achieve anything.