Discordian Smartypants Collection

[Cain]

Something was here, now it is gone

[Cain]

Yes, I have noticed James R Lewis appears three times on that list.  But lets face it, writing about wierd shit from a comparative mythology viewpoint = interesting stuff.

[LMNO]

Christmas list = populated.

[Eve]

Christmas list = populated.

And to think I told myself I wasn't going to ask for as many books this year.. haw.

[LMNO]

Cain, could you please give a brief blurb about "Philosophy of Pharmopsychology" by Dan J Stein?  It might be fun to give that to my brother.

[Cain]

Cain, could you please give a brief blurb about "Philosophy of Pharmopsychology" by Dan J Stein?  It might be fun to give that to my brother.

Brain-mind-altering or psychoactive substances, also known as psychotropics, have been used since antiquity for both recreational and therapeutic reasons. Noah celebrated with wine, and Plato philosophized about its appropriate use.  Paracelsus knew the value of laudanum, and Pinel not only unshackled the insane but also prescribed opium. Nevertheless, the modern field of empirical psychopharmacology is only a few decades old. Psychopharmacologists have mostly been interested in basic science investigations of the mechanism of new drugs and in clinical studies of their efficacy in treating psychiatric disorders. They have not paid much attention to the more abstract question of whether their data change our understanding of the nature of cognitive science and of psychiatry. This is an important gap, and this volume hopes to begin to close it.

Working with the new psychiatric drugs raises crucial philosophical questions, and so encourages a rethinking of cognitive science and particularly of psychiatry. The value of the new psychiatric drugs as things-with-which-to-think (Papert, 1980) lies not only in their efficacy for major psychiatric disorders, but also in their potential use in a range of additional contexts. There is, for example, growing interest in smart drugs to improve intellectual, sporting, or military performance, in mood-brightening and personality-enhancing drugs, and
in pep pills to enhance motivation and energy. Scientists and societies are increasingly grappling with questions about using medical treatments, including psychotropics, for purposes that are "Beyond Therapy" (President's Council on Bioethics, 2003), or "Better than Well" (Elliott, 2003).

Such so-called "cosmetic psychopharmacology" (Kramer, 1997) immediately raises a range of conceptual (or metaphysical) questions about the nature of the entities that are used by psychiatrists:How do we best definemedical and psychiatric disorders? Are psychiatric disorders a kind ofmedical disorder, or are they a different kind of category? Can psychotropics change personality, and if so, what are the implications for our concepts of self? How do we distinguish the use of psychotropics for therapy from their use for enhancement, or psychotropic medications from legal substances such as alcohol, illicit substances such as cocaine, and nutrients or nutraceuticals?

Second, psychopharmacological data raise a series of explanatory (or epistemological) questions focused on how to best understand brain-behaviour phenomena. How can we understand the way in which psychotropics work to alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, and should our explanations differ from those we develop for understanding how psychotherapy leads to change?  How can we best conceptualize placebo and nocebo responses to psychotropics, and the relevant unconscious processes involved?  What is the relevance of Darwinian or evolutionary mechanisms when investigating psychopharmacological phenomena?

Third, psychopharmacological data raise a series of moral (or ethical) questions. When is the use of psychotropics for psychiatric disorders
appropriate? Depressive realism refers to the phenomenon that people with depression appear to be more realistic in their appraisals of the
world, the self, and the future than are people without depression – is depressive realism best left untreated? Should cosmetic psychopharmacology – the treatment of undesirable traits (poor memory, shyness, impulsivity) that cannot be characterized as psychiatric disorders – be encouraged or deplored, do we believe in a pill for every psychic ill?


Etc etc.  You get the idea, I'm sure.

[LMNO]

Well, I'm interested, but I'm pretty sure that's a guaranteed argument-starter if I give it to a Scientologist.


Then again, it's Fair Game, right?

[Cain]

Upload done, time to sleep.

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

[Cain]

Bump

[fomenter]

down loading now thanks....
also looking for answer to related question posted here http://www.principiadiscordia.com/forum/index.php?topic=17200.msg617793#msg617793

[LMNO]

Something was here, now it is gone

Kindle has arrived; time for a brief comeback?

[Cain]

On it.  I don't have the precise listings, but since my collection has expanded considerably since then, I'll just draw up new ones.