The Aconceptual Mind: Heideggerian Themes in Holistic Naturalism (Advances in Consciousness Research) [Paperback]

Pauli Pylkko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1998 | ISBN-10: 155619191X | ISBN-13: 978-1556191916

A collection of eight essays that examine Heidegger's critique of naturalistic thinking habits. The author develops a holistic and antirealistic version of naturalism, which approaches nature as human experience which originally lacks conceptual structure and so cannot be rationally controlled.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: John Benjamins Pub Co (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 155619191X
• ISBN-13: 978-1556191916
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,193,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very controversial book!, July 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Aconceptual Mind: Heideggerian Themes in Holistic Naturalism (Advances in Consciousness Research) (Paperback)

This is a very controversial book, one which is not frightened to deal with some of the mind blowing consequences of holistic naturalism and quantum theory. The most controversial chapter deals with Fascism. Pylkko blows open wide the present debate on whether or not Martin Heidegger was a Fascist - a point that Pylkko says is obvious - by asking us not to simply re-review Heidegger's writings but asking us moreover to ask what Fascism REALLY is. For Pylkko, Fascism isn't merely about anti-semiticism and war-mongering - although they were 2 of its later consequences - but about a radical conceptual relativism! In a word, cultures can't ultimately understand one another; and this is more complex than Wittgenstein's notion of "forms of life", according to which one needs to understand the lifeworld of people not just their language. But the driving force behind Pylkko's argument isn't mere opinion, or yet more phenomenology, but a scientific view, a sort of meta! physics, or ultimately anti-metaphysics, based upon notions within the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory.

New Age bookstores are full of shelves devoted to developing social models derived from quantum physics, but Pylkko's book is the only book on this issue which is based upon a highly sophisticated philosophical argument. I highly recommend this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A radical and highly important book, August 12, 2003

By 

Louis Berger ([e-mail] Forsyth, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Aconceptual Mind: Heideggerian Themes in Holistic Naturalism (Advances in Consciousness Research) (Paperback)

The earlier reviews fail to do justice to the depth and importance of this work. Pylkko's notion of aconceptuality, of nondogmatic, anomalous, or a-onto-theo-logical naturalism is highly complex, poetic, brilliant, relevant. It goes entirely against the standard ("dogmatic") scientific positions, although he does see quantum theory as harboring the possibility of moving beyond such dogmatic naturalism.
Just what all this means simply cannot be summarized. One needs not to read, but slowly and carefully study, this rich work itself.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written combo of abstract Martin & grounded cogsci., February 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Aconceptual Mind: Heideggerian Themes in Holistic Naturalism (Advances in Consciousness Research) (Paperback)

Pauli engaging, converstional writing style makes the application of Heidegger's toughest themes to current cognitive science research clear and exciting.