New Books in Psychology

Listen to Episode No.5 of All We Mean, a Special Focus of this podcast. All We Mean is an ongoing discussion and debate about how we mean and why. The guests on today's episode are Bill Cope and Mary Kalantzis, professors at the University of Illinois, and also Gang Wang, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois. In this episode of the Focus, our topic is what decision means.Decision is no simple matter, whether the decider in question is human or machine. In a sense, both are black boxes to us, and yet the urgency today to open the lid on A.I. is heightened because of how human-like the machine seems to be able to do decision. This is why, across disciplines, we need to convene and discuss and decide together on how to understand and use A.I. The alternative is grisly: Everyone using a tool that no one fully understands — no one using the tool in full understanding or for that matter, in any understanding at all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Tara Brach, a meditation teacher, discusses the concept of radical acceptance and its role in addressing feelings of unworthiness and isolation. She explores the connection between unworthiness and people-pleasing, societal pressure to achieve perfection, and the relationship between shame and fear. Brach shares personal experiences with practicing radical acceptance and emphasizes its ability to create the foundation for wise and compassionate action.

Let's Talk: An Essential Guide to Skillful Communication (2022) is a transformative guide to elevate your everyday conversations. Authored by Mudita Nisker and Dan Clurman, this practical handbook equips you with essential skills to navigate challenging topics, boost self-expression confidence, and foster respectful influence. Drawing from psychology, sociology, learning theory, and spiritual traditions, the book offers a comprehensive yet accessible approach to one-on-one communication. It's an invitation to revolutionize your connections—one conversation at a time.Ohad Fedida lives in Miami and is a psychology research and clinical assistant. He is pursuing a graduate degree in psychology, and is involved in a wide array of initiatives and studies from legal philosophy, Jewish programming, and psychology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

How could a good life include one with anger, or jealousy, or spite? In Dancing with the Devil: Why Bad Feelings Make Life Good (Oxford UP, 2023), Krista Thomason flips the script on popular ways of dealing with our emotions, including neo-Stoicism, mindfulness, and even the prosperity gospel. She makes the case that we should get rid of the double standard we have towards "good" and "bad" emotions, and that we should not aim to be emotional saints. Instead, because "bad" emotions are an essential part of our attachments to our selves, they help us discover what we care about. Thomason, who is an associate professor of philosophy at Swarthmore College, guides the reader through philosophical traditions regarding the relation of emotion to reason and the various approaches thinkers have come up with to deal with our "bad" emotions.Carrie Figdor is professor of philosophy at the University of Iowa. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

In this eye-opening and compelling work, psychologist Melanie Joy reveals the common denominator driving all forms of injustice. The mentality that drives us to oppress and abuse humans is the same mentality that drives us to oppress and abuse nonhumans and the environment, as well as those in our own groups working for justice.How to End Injustice Everywhere: Understanding the Common Denominator Driving All Injustices, to Create a Better World for Humans, Animals, and the Planet (Lantern Publishing & Media, 2023) offers a fascinating examination of the psychology and structure of unjust systems and behaviors. It also offers practical tools to help raise awareness of these systems and dynamics, reduce infighting, and build more resilient and impactful justice movements.Melanie Joy, PhD, is a Harvard-educated psychologist, celebrated speaker, and the author of seven books, including the bestselling Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows; and Getting Relationships Right: How to Build Resilience and Thrive in Life, Love, and Work. Melanie’s work has been featured in major media outlets around the world, and she has received a number of awards, including the Ahimsa Award – previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela – for her work on global nonviolence. Melanie has given talks and trainings in over 50 countries, and she is also the founding president of the international NGO Beyond Carnism.Kyle Johannsen is a Sessional Faculty Member in the Department of Philosophy at Trent University. His most recent book is Wild Animal Ethics: The Moral and Political Problem of Wild Animal Suffering (Routledge, 2021). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

What does it mean to perceive and just how capable are we of perceiving reality? This is a core question in the work of Christian Coseru, who is today’s guest. He is the Lightsey Humanities chair and Professor of Philosophy at the College of Charleston. Christian works in the fields of philosophy of mind, phenomenology, and cross-cultural philosophy, especially Indian and Buddhist philosophy in dialogue with Western philosophy and cognitive science.He is the author of Perceiving Reality: Consciousness, Intentionality, and Cognition in Buddhist Philosophy (Oxford UP, 2012, pbk 2015), and editor of Reasons and Empty Persons: Mind, Metaphysics, and Morality. Essays in Honor of Mark Siderits (Springer, 2023).Christian spent four and a half years in India in the mid 1990s pursuing studies in Sanskrit and Indian Philosophy. While in India, he was affiliated with several research institutes, including the Maha Body Society, the Asiatic Society of Calcutta and the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies.We discuss; Perceiving Reality and where current ongoing debates are on this immense topic. How confident we can be that phenomenological experience of reality is real and accurate. Where current theories are on the question of consciousness. The social role of cognition and the topic of mediation. What he makes of panpsychism andits return and relationship with physicalism. How such theories are represented in Buddhism. Working definitions of human flourishing and whether they are at all indebted to Buddhism. The question of Self, no-self without Buddhism. The episode is sponsored by O’Connell Coaching. Music is supplied by Cosmic Link.Matthew O'Connell is a life coach and the host of the The Imperfect Buddha podcast. You can find The Imperfect Buddha on Facebook and Twitter (@imperfectbuddha). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Matthew Gutmann, author of 'Are Men Animals? How Modern Masculinity Sells Men Short', discusses cultural expectations of masculinity and challenges the belief that it is biologically determined. The podcast explores the complex interplay between culture and biology in shaping male behavior, highlighting the flexibility of gender differences and the dangers of extrapolating human behavior from animal behavior. It also delves into the response of women to toxic masculinity and the Me Too movement, questioning the impact on men's identity and societal changes.

Guest Erika Dyck discusses her book on the correspondence of Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond, exploring drugs, addiction, death, and the psychedelic renaissance. This collection of letters raises questions about medicines, the mind, and perceptions of reality.

This podcast explores the pervasiveness of boredom and the need for cultivating meaningful leisure. It discusses the narrowing of education and the distinction between intellectus and reason. The importance of attentiveness and enjoyment in learning is highlighted, along with the connection between love, contemplation, and leisure. The podcast also explores the cultivation of joy and dealing with boredom in different life stages.

Dr. Helena Vissing, an expert in somatic maternal healing and trauma treatment for perinatal mental health, discusses the complex links between trauma, stress, and postpartum depression. She also explores the difference between empowered mothering and feminist mothering, and the challenges faced by new mothers. The podcast delves into the integration of psychodynamic and somatic approaches, the need for specialized care in perinatal mental health treatment, challenges in psychiatrists' treatment of perinatal populations, and the importance of research and data in somatic therapy during pregnancy.