New Books in 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.

Jeffrey Whyte, author of The Birth of Psychological War: Propaganda, Espionage, and Military Violence from WWII to the Vietnam War, discusses the evolution of psychological warfare from its origins in WWII to the Vietnam War. He explores the tactics and strategies used, including white and black propaganda, the impact on the average American, and the connection to counterinsurgency in Vietnam.

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.

Can the kindness of strangers help with the loneliness crisis? Whether you are a student, staff, or have gone alt-ac, you’ve likely had to move at least once recently for your education and career goals. It can get lonely when family and friends are far away or they just don’t understand what you are doing with your life, and you are left wondering who you can talk to, who has your back, and who will be your people. In this episode, a podcaster and a psychotherapist sit down to talk about how their respective jobs regularly place them in conversations with strangers, and the unexpectedly good things that have come of that. As Christina Gessler and Charlotte Fox Weber consider reports of a global loneliness crisis, they offer up the idea that perhaps one of the answers to dealing with loneliness is not in cultivating or stressing big relationships, but in recognizing the value of all of the smaller roles played by the people you encounter, and in re-valuing daily interactions.Along with consideration for caring for mental wellbeing, having boundaries, making a safety-plan or setting up guardrails, and having realistic expectations for the roles people can fill in our lives, this episode reflects on how we can value the cumulative effect of all the smaller conversations that make up a life, and on the surprising kindness and wisdom that might be offered by strangers.Our guest is: Charlotte Fox Weber, who is a psychotherapist and writer. She cofounded Examined Life and was the founding head of The School of Life Psychotherapy. She grew up in Connecticut and Paris and now lives in London with her family. She is the author of Tell Me What You Want. Find out more at CharlotteFoxWeber.com.Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is the producer and host of the Academic Life podcast. She holds a PhD in history, which she uses to explore what stories we tell and what happens to those we never tell.Listeners may also be interested in: An Academic Life conversation on the good-enough life An Academic Life conversation on making a meaningful life An Academic Life conversation on community-building An Academic Life conversation about handling difficult conversations An Academic Life conversation about figuring out what you really want Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Join us to learn from experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 175+ Academic Life episodes? You’ll find them all archived here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Body art, especially tattoos and piercings, has enjoyed an explosion of interest in recent years. However, the response of many health professionals and researchers to this phenomenon is often negative, as body art continues to be associated with issues ranging from ill mental health to offending behaviors.Arguing for a reappraisal of the diverse range of practices that fall under this heading, Brian Brown and Virginia (Ginger) Kuulei Berndt reconsider body art as an underappreciated yet accessible source for mental and physical wellbeing. How, they ask, does body art open up new sources of community, sociality, and aesthetics? How is it used for the reclamation of one’s body, as a marker of success or accomplishment, or for building friendships? How does participation in these practices impact the health and wellbeing of body artists themselves?Providing a radical rethink that integrates tattoos and other body modifications within health, wellbeing, and positive psychology, Body Art (Emerald Publishing, 2023) disrupts the narrative of stigmatisation that so often surrounds these practices to welcome a broader discussion of the benefits they can offer.Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is about the construction of identity and place. He is currently conducting research for his next project that looks at nightlife and the emotional labor that is performed by bouncers at bars and nightclubs. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his website, Google Scholar, Twitter @ProfessorJohnst, or by email at johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Whenever a person engages with music--when a piano student practices a scale, a jazz saxophonist riffs on a melody, a teenager sobs to a sad song, or a wedding guest gets down on the dance floor--countless neurons are firing. Playing an instrument requires all of the resources of the nervous system, including cognitive, sensory, and motor functions. Composition and improvisation are remarkable demonstrations of the brain's capacity for creativity. Something as seemingly simple as listening to a tune involves mental faculties most of us don't even realize we have.Larry S. Sherman, a neuroscientist and lifelong musician, and Dennis Plies, a professional musician and teacher, collaborate to show how our brains and music work in harmony. They consider music in all the ways we encounter it--teaching, learning, practicing, listening, composing, improvising, and performing--in terms of neuroscience as well as music pedagogy, showing how the brain functions and even changes in the process. Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music (Columbia UP, 2023) draws on leading behavioral, cellular, and molecular neuroscience research as well as surveys of more than a hundred musical people. It provides new perspectives on learning to play, teaching, how to practice and perform, the ways we react to music, and why the brain benefits from musical experiences.Written for both musical and nonmusical people, including newcomers to brain science, Every Brain Needs Music is a lively and easy-to-read exploration of the neuroscience of music and its significance in our lives.Melek Firat Altay is a neuroscientist, biologist and musician. Her research focuses on deciphering the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/psychology

Meditation teacher Oren Jay Sofer discusses contemplative practices for meeting a world in crisis with courage, integrity, and love. Topics include nonviolent communication as a form of spiritual practice, reclaiming the right to rest and self-care, the significance of patience in social transformation, and the importance of connecting with the planet through guided meditation.