Mind: A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy)

Mind: A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy)
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Great, Accessible Book

Basic premises are erroneous.

Searle's Mind, a brief review

Predictably Searle

Provocative but how real?

Mind: A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy)
John R. Searle
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0195157346

Book Description

"The philosophy of mind is unique among contemporary philosophical subjects," writes John Searle, "in that all of the most famous and influential theories are false." One of the world's most eminent thinkers, Searle dismantles these theories as he presents a vividly written, comprehensive introduction to the mind. He begins with a look at the twelve problems of philosophy of mind--which he calls "Descartes and Other Disasters"--problems which he returns to throughout the volume, as he illuminates such topics as materialism, consciousness, the mind-body problem, intentionality, mental causation, free will, and the self. The book offers a refreshingly direct and engaging introduction to one of the most intriguing areas of philosophy.

Customer Reviews:

Great, Accessible Book.......2007-03-20

I'm not going to present Searle's thesis (or criticize it) here. That's what the book is for. I will point out how many comments this book has, which discuss its critical points--good evidence that it is wonderfully accessible! If you majored in philosophy, went on to other things, but still have an interest in the field, this is the best book on the Philosophy of Mind you can buy. The same goes for high school students looking to explore the subject. Searle consciously aims his book at "young John Searle," so he presents philosophy clearly without dumbing it down. In my opinion, we of the educated public are not looking for "philosophy of the Matrix" written by nobodies; we're looking for book like this: great ideas aimed at an intelligent audience (think philosophy major graduating seniors at Princeton), written by the leading experts in their fields. Come on, old philosophers...your name and ideas might be circulating in the wider public (outside the APA) long after you are!

Basic premises are erroneous. .......2006-07-04

Searle does an excellent job of logic on all that he says. However, as his basic premises are erroneous, so is all that follows. Neither Will, Consciousness, Mind, nor Intelligence come from the physical universe. These are properties of LIFE itself, which is anterior to and creator of the physical universe. LIFE first creates Matter (out of Itself) and then intelligently evolves forms within Matter in which to inject Itself for the purpose of experience and play.

Searle's Mind, a brief review.......2006-02-28

I enjoyed this book but one has to be discriminating because Searle does a great job with some topics, e.g., the mind-body problem, an interesting but somewhat flawed job on other topics, e.g., the unconscious, and not such a good job with others, e.g., free will. He tends at time to use too much jargon without really explaining the need for it and when he could take a more common sense approach. For someone seriously interested in what philosophy does, this is a very good starter book. Just don't buy into all the arguments.

Predictably Searle.......2006-02-05

If you haven't read any Searle, this is a great place to start. If you have read Searle's work, you will not be suprised by what you find here. Searle is back to his old tricks in what is probably one of the most muddled yet thought provoking books I have read in the last year. Searle's writing is crystal clear in the sense that he doesn't use a lot of jargon, and while reading him it is easy to become convinced that his thinking is just as clear. For the life of me I can't seem to decide if Searle is deeply confused or profoundly correct, a reaction that is ubiquitous for those who read him. The old cliche "you either love him or hate him" is particularly apt for Searle, for he writes with such bravado and confidence as to woo you into agreement. If you do not appreciate his style and his prior commitments to the so-called "common sense" approach to philosophy you will probably just feel outraged. Indeed, the essence of his entire philosophical project is the legitemization of our common sense notions about the world. He takes this to be THE purpose of philosophy: so don't expect him to try and refute ideas like relativism and extreme skepticism. Rather he takes our common sense notions about the world to be the starting place rather than a hopeful ending point.

As for the arguments themselves my personal feeling is that Searle is trying to get something from nothing. He introduces odd and spurious-seeming distinctions in order to smooth over conceptual difficulties. He rejects four fundamental assumptions which he says are needlessly plaguing the philosophy of mind but then seems to underhandedly invoke them in strange new ways throughout the work. For instance he wants to abolish the assumption that the mental and physical are distinct, but then goes through great pains to show that the mind cannot be ontologically reduced to the brain! In these and other arguments I am perfectly content to accept that I have probably misunderstood him in some fundamental way. In any event, Searle's work is definitely worth taking the time to read if for no other reason than to disagree with his very original approach to the field.

Provocative but how real?.......2005-12-31

When Nietzsche said that every great philosophy is the "personal confession" of its author, he pointed to something which many philosophers would rather forget, and some would vehemently deny-the hidden subjectivity of so called rational arguments. If this is a characteristic of great philosophers, then how much more so of thinkers more modest in stature? I preface my review of Searle's book with this comment to point to a general trap in all philosophizing, with Searle's book another example. What are presented as rational arguments are often exemplars of the bewitching power of language, where words like "really" and "actually" slip unnoticed from one meaning to another, or seem to resolve the problem that is at the very core of the issue.

The central conundrum tackled by Searle is the mind-body problem, one which, despite the juggernaut of thinkers who have made their contribution over the centuries, has continued to leave camps divided. Searle argues against the dualist notions of mind and body, and deterministic notions reducing everything to matter. He proposes what he calls "biological naturalism," in which mental events are a higher level manifestation of systemic neurobiological processes. His thoughts regarding the mind-body problem are, I think, the most well laid out and forceful arguments in his book, but in the context of what I said at the beginning of this review, no amount of arm chair thinking, however "rational," can ever give us final answers, can ever solve the great questions of mind-body, free will, perception and causation. Searle's attempt to refute established notions regarding these problems only reinforces the unending back and forth cycling of arguments that typify philosophy, with the problems in question not subject to rational solution. All philosophy can do is bring to light the complexity of the issues, our false paths of thinking, and the errors in underlying assumptions.

Searle is least convincing in his views of causation and perception. He attempts to depose Hume's analysis of causation, and the absence of any "necessary connection" between cause and effect. Calling Hume's analysis "disastrously mistaken," he attempts to establish the existence of necessary connection by appealing to our first person experience of force, as for example, when someone bumps into us. Many of his arguments in his book are of this kind of appeal to common sense experience. I did not find Searle's argument against Hume persuasive-and I use the word "persuasive" in the same sense as that of being persuaded by a salesperson to purchase a car-there is always in philosophy a degree of manipulation in so called rational arguments. At times, Searle can be quite blatant in this regard. In attempting to show the shortcomings of Hume's conception of causation, he provokes the reader with this emotional outburst: "Is that right? Does that sound plausible to you?"

In his chapter on perception, Searle attempts to set right the mistaken thinking of philosophers like Hume and Locke pertaining to our experience of the world in terms of perceiving only sense data, arguing instead for a type of naïve realism. He calls the sense datum theory "hopelessly misconceived" and its arguments "fallacious." In his rejection of the sense datum theory, held by nearly all famous philosophers for the past 350 years, Searle's attitude is peremptory-an attitude that surfaces periodically throughout the book, as he goes against the grain of more generally accepted philosophical views. He bluntly states, "I do not believe they will bear a moment's scrutiny." Despite his self-assured delivery, I found his refutation of the sense datum theory completely unconvincing. One of his arguments against sense datum theory is that those advocating this theory are guilty of a flaw in reasoning, the "genetic fallacy." Searle is misappropriating the genetic fallacy to make his case, mixing up the science of perception with the genesis of a person's belief about what he or she "sees."

Considering his penchant for making rather peremptory statements, his humility regarding the puzzle of free will is refreshing. He concludes: "We really do not know how free will exists in the brain, if it exists at all."

Although Searle's introduction to mind has weaknesses, I recommend his book as a good introduction to those new to thinking about the great problems of philosophy. In chapters on the mind-body, self identity, causation, and free will Searle nicely lays out arguments and counterarguments. Searle writes in a vernacular that is engaging, though at times vague, or leaving too many gaps for the reader to fill in. For the academic philosopher his attempt to dispose of more widely accepted ideas regarding causation or perception provides plenty of grist for the mill.

A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind

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A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind
Jack S. Crumley II
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0742544966

Book Description

Crumley introduces four core areas in contemporary philosophy of the mind: the mind/body problem, mental content (intentionality), mental causation, and the nature of consciousness. The book is distinctive in its further coverage of such fascinating topics as the nature of mental images, theories of concepts, and whether or not computers can think.

An Astro Physical Compendium Or A Brief Introduction To Astrology

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Did astrology improve at the end of the 17th century?

An Astro Physical Compendium Or A Brief Introduction To Astrology
Richard Ball
Manufacturer: Kessinger Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0766192822

Book Description

1697. Wherein any person of an ordinary capacity may (with ease) give a certain, true and rational judgment upon any question demanded, by the motion of the Celestial bodies, being furnished with all necessary rules thereto. To which is added, the Nature of most physical English herbs, and what planet governs each of them; as Also the true time of gathering them astrologically and how to apply them according to the Nature of the Distemper and Part afflicted. Due to the age and scarcity of the original we reproduced, some pages may be spotty, faded or difficult to read.

Customer Reviews:

Did astrology improve at the end of the 17th century?.......2007-05-21

1697, the astrology will enter in a declining phase in a couple of ten years. The content of the booklet doesn't add anything new compared to the works of W. Lilly and N. Culpeper. An interesting document for the astrologer interested in the history of astrology. Desapointing for the professional looking for contents not already published before.

A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: Broadview Guides to Philosophy

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A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: Broadview Guides to Philosophy
Neil Campbell
Manufacturer: Broadview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1551116170

Book Description

A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind Broadview Guides to Philosophy By Neil Campbell

One of the most profound philosophical problems is the nature of mind and its relationship to the body. A Brief Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind provides an introduction, written in clear language, to the various theories of the mind-body relationship, as well as a host of related philosophical discussions about mind and consciousness.

The central theories, such as Cartesian Dualism, parallelism, epiphenomenalism, and supervenience among others, are presented in historical order. Their claims, their strengths and weaknesses, and how they ultimately relate to one another and to other philosophical questions are explored objectively, allowing readers to decide for themselves which theories are best.

New Gateway 960X server maximizes uptime and IT managers' peace of mind.(Brief Article): An article from: EDP Weekly's IT Monitor
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New Gateway 960X server maximizes uptime and IT managers' peace of mind.(Brief Article): An article from: EDP Weekly's IT Monitor

Manufacturer: Millin Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008DYE38
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, published by Millin Publishing, Inc. on August 25, 2003. The length of the article is 1371 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: New Gateway 960X server maximizes uptime and IT managers' peace of mind.(Brief Article)
Publication: EDP Weekly's IT Monitor (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 25, 2003
Publisher: Millin Publishing, Inc.
Volume: 44 Issue: 33 Page: 3

Article Type: Brief Article

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New Gateway 960X server maximizes uptime and IT managers' peace of mind.(Brief Article): An article from: Federal Computer Market Report

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New Gateway 960X server maximizes uptime and IT managers' peace of mind.(Brief Article): An article from: Federal Computer Market Report

Manufacturer: Millin Publishing, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008DYAUK
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Federal Computer Market Report, published by Millin Publishing, Inc. on August 25, 2003. The length of the article is 655 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: New Gateway 960X server maximizes uptime and IT managers' peace of mind.(Brief Article)
Publication: Federal Computer Market Report (Newsletter)
Date: August 25, 2003
Publisher: Millin Publishing, Inc.
Volume: 27 Issue: 16 Page: 8

Article Type: Brief Article

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Over matter?(Book Review) : An article from: Commonweal

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Over matter?(Book Review) : An article from: Commonweal
Bernard G. Prusak
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Commonweal, published by Commonweal Foundation on October 22, 2004. The length of the article is 1564 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Over matter?(Book Review)
Author: Bernard G. Prusak
Publication: Commonweal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 22, 2004
Publisher: Commonweal Foundation
Volume: 131 Issue: 18 Page: 40(3)

Article Type: Book Review

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Mind : A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy Series)

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Mind : A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy Series)
John R. Searle
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OK9ERG

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Mind: A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy)
John R. Searle
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKD9UY

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it is a good book for those interested in urban China.......1999-10-23

CCP emphasizes equlaity between people, however, that is not the case in the pre-reform era. By using simple statistical data, the author explores why institution of work units (danwei) caused inequality.

Gender inequality in the labor market of contemporary urban China

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Gender inequality in the labor market of contemporary urban China
Gina Lai
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Hospitality Information Technology: Learning How to Use It
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Hospitality Information Technology: Learning How to Use It
Galen R. Collins , Cihan Cobanoglu , and Tarun Malik
Manufacturer: Kendall Hunt Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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J.S. Bach / Inventionen
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Look carefully at the fingering in the Look Inside pages before buying

J.S. Bach / Inventionen
Johann Sebastian Bach
Manufacturer: Nuova Carisch
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Book Description

A beautiful Urtxet edition from Italy's CARISCH. Fantastic Engraving on high-quality buff paper. Includes a preface, an explanation of embellishments, and fingerings by Marcello Abbado. A gorgeous edition of Bach's famous work.

Customer Reviews:

Look carefully at the fingering in the Look Inside pages before buying.......2007-04-04

This edition has some very ideosyncratic fingerings, such as trills played with fingers 1 and 3, 3 and 5, or 2 and 4. I find this very uncomfortable and unnatural. I wanted to give this fewer stars, but since I am not a serious keyboard student I don't feel I have the authority to say the fingering is wrong--perhaps there is some stylistic justification for these choices. Just look at the excerpts before you buy.

J. S. Bach: Inventionen Sinfonien (Urtext)

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Sinfonien (Dreistimmige Inventionen) (Three-part Inventions) (Urtext)

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Sinfonien (Dreistimmige Inventionen) (Three-part Inventions) (Urtext)
J.S. Bach
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Einfuhrung in die musikalische Formenlehre: Uber Formprinzipien in den Inventionen u. Fugen J. S. Bachs u. ihre Bedeutung f. die Kompositionstechnik Beethovens. [Mit Noten.]

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J. S. Bach
Manufacturer: Edition Peters
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INVENTIONEN SINFORNIEN (Urtext)
J.S. Bach
Manufacturer: G. Henle Verlag
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ASIN: B000ITWH0Y

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The ousting of the communist regimes has not guaranteed the protection of human rights. The historical reality is that discrimination against minority religious and ethnic groups is often part of a broader monolithic nationalism. As official atheism is replaced by varying models of church-state arrangements, how much will the rule of law prevail against resurgent nationalism and intolerance toward minorities? These nineteen essays consider this question. The authors represent eleven countries (four essays discuss Western Europe ) and include theologians, political and social scientists, legal scholars, and human rights professionals. Whether considering Bulgaria's policy toward Muslims or Christian-Jewish dialogue in Poland, these provocative essays shed new light on human rights in a globalizing world.

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The Appeal of Sovereignty

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A Lesson Forgotten: Minority Protection Under the League of Nations: The Case of the German Minority in Poland, 1920-1934
Christian Raitz von Frentz
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Monitoring the Eu Accession Process: Minority Protection (Monitoring the Eu Accession Process)

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Monitoring the Eu Accession Process: Minority Protection (Monitoring the Eu Accession Process)

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Monitoring the Eu Accession Process: Minority Protection : Case Studies in Selected Member States (Monitoring the EU Accession Proccess)

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Monitoring the Eu Accession Process: Minority Protection : Case Studies in Selected Member States (Monitoring the EU Accession Proccess)
Eu Accession
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Protection of Minority Rights Through Bilateral Treaties:The Case of Central and Eastern Europe

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Protection of Minority Rights Through Bilateral Treaties:The Case of Central and Eastern Europe
Arie Bloed
Manufacturer: Springer
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Book Description

Since the end of the Cold War, mounting tensions related to national minorities have increased international efforts to contain and to solve these inter-ethnic disputes. While much has been written about the efforts of international organizations, such as the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the OSCE, in this respect, much less attention has been paid to the advances in minority issues made on a bilateral level. Many former socialist states have concluded bilateral treaties to improve their relations, and these treaties often include clauses relating to mutual national minorities. Against this background, and at the request of the High Commissioner on National Minorities, the Foundation on Interethnic Relations in The Hague convened two meetings of legal experts to discuss the relevance of bilateral treaties for the settlement of inter-ethnic disputes. These meetings form the basis of the current publication, which includes an analysis and a collection of case studies. The case studies center around Poland, Hungary and Russia and offer a comprehensive survey of the network of bilateral treaties and the role of minority rights within these instruments. The book also contains the English translation of the main parts of the relevant bilateral agreements that are ordinarily difficult to access for scientific research. This book will therefore serve as an important instrument for anyone involved in the study of inter-ethnic conflict and minority rights.

Safe Third Countries: Extending the Eu Asylum and Immigration Policies to Central and Eastern Europe

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Safe Third Countries: Extending the Eu Asylum and Immigration Policies to Central and Eastern Europe
Sandra Lavenex
Manufacturer: Central European University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 9639116440

Book Description

The refugee issue has always been controversial and Lavenex's analysis adds fuel to an already heated debate. She analyses the various bi - and multilateral processes by which the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs) are being gradually incorporated into a restrictive refugee regime established among the EU member states, in which the CEECs serve as 'gate-keepers' for refugees and immigrants heading towards Western Europe.

At a time when many transition countries are attempting to enter the EU, Lavenex highlights the CEECs willingness to adopt Western European policies aimed at fighting illegal immigration and reducing the numbers of asylum seekers as a political bargaining tool in exchange for future membership in the EU. She also argues that the regime undermines the values of international refugee protection and diffuses states' responsibilities by establishing a system of negative redistribution for the handling of asylum claims.

Book Description

What happens when kids are held captive to an endless stream of MTV-like television commercials? Armed with a tape recorder, Roy F. Fox, a language and literacy researcher, spent two years interviewing over 200 students in rural Missouri schools. Why? Because more than eight million students in 40% of America's schools, every day, watch TV commercials as part of Channel One's news broadcast. Students read commercials far more often than they read Romeo and Juliet. These ads now constitute America's only national curriculum. In this ground-breaking study, Fox explores how these commercials affect kids' thinking, language, and behavior. He found that such ads do indeed help shape children into more active consumers. For example, months after a pizza commercial had stopped airing, students reported that one brief scene showed a couple on an airplane. The plane's seats, students noted, were "red with little blue squares that have arrows sticking out of them." Also, kids "blurred" one type of TV text with another, often mistaking Pepsi ads for public service announcements. Kids "replayed" commercials by repeating or reconstructing an ad in some way--by singing songs, jingles, and catch-phrases; by cheering at sports events (one crowd at a school football game erupted into the Domino's Pizza cheer); by creating art projects that mirrored specific commercials, and even by dreaming about commercials (the product, not the dreamer, is the star).

Customer Reviews:

Channel One (and its ads in the classroom) analyzed well........1999-09-06

Fox's book is a field researcher's report about the effects of Channel One on kids. Using a tape recorder to document the words, the author collects convincing anecdotal evidence, then offers a good analysis of it. Kids today may well know the glittering surfaces and superficialities of ads -- the slogans and the celebrities -- but this book reminds us that kids are still kids: very naive, uncritical, and innocent about the ways of the world of persuasion. Fox elicits and records the comments of children as they talk about the ads they've seen on Channel One as part of this nationwide captive audience of over 8 million kids in classrooms, in a valuable locale and "day-part." Of special interest is the author's analysis of the kids' deep involvement in these ads, and of the many ways they incorporate and "replay" these ad messages. This book should be required reading -- and reflection --for every teacher, administrator, and school board member who is responsible for allowing Channel One into their classrooms.

Harvesting Minds: How TV Commercials Control Kids

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Harvesting Minds: How TV Commercials Control Kids
Roy F. Fox
Manufacturer: Praeger Paperback
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR750C

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Harvesting Minds: How TV Commercials Control Kids
Roy F. Fox
Manufacturer: Praeger Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000ORMOZS

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