Steve Baldwin | Oxford Brookes University (original) (raw)

Papers by Steve Baldwin

This is a discussion to any truth seeking person

Analysis, experience, definitions of important issuses is covered amongst other points.

This review comments and offers further analysis on the subject of personhood.

The study of perception has and continues to reveal surprising results, perhaps none more so than... more The study of perception has and continues to reveal surprising results, perhaps none more so than the intricate and complex nature of perceptual awareness. The phenomenon of change blindness is no exception, this error in perceptual processing also known as "looked but failed to see" is estimated to cause around 8% of all road traffic accidents . It is thought that change blindness is due to a low memory capacity in the perceptual system . Galpin, Underwood, Crundall (2009) found semantic relevance of the stimulus and spatial position to be significant factors in change blindness.

In this essay I will begin by broadly outlining the reasons behind Descartes' decision to draw a ... more In this essay I will begin by broadly outlining the reasons behind Descartes' decision to draw a distinction between mental and physical substance. Then I will examine how he proposes to draw such a distinction, and the subsequent problems that result from having done so. Then I will assess the success of a mental and physical distinction and go on to review some of the prominent reasons for objections to Descartes proposals.

This essay will outline and critically evaluate the classical conditioning explanation of how pho... more This essay will outline and critically evaluate the classical conditioning explanation of how phobias are acquired. It will then discuss the influence the theory of classical conditioning has had on the treatments for phobic conditions.

This essay will set out the importance of realism to the scientific endeavour; the anti-realist d... more This essay will set out the importance of realism to the scientific endeavour; the anti-realist doubts, the realist response and the anti-realist response. It will then look at the common anti-realist positions of instrumentalism and constructive empiricism and discuss a possible third way presented by Fine (1984) the natural ontological attitude (NOA). Finally I will sum up the arguments and proposals as to the future of science with the conclusion that in the light of all the evidence against realism, it is becoming decreasingly tenable. Nevertheless the anti-realist solutions whilst avoiding the main problems of realism may take us too far away from the noble endeavour of science, which is the search for truth of reality.

Investigation into trust of on-line sources of information.

The philosophy of language like its empirical cousin the psychology of language is a somewhat ove... more The philosophy of language like its empirical cousin the psychology of language is a somewhat overlooked field, but I doubt for very much longer due to its massive potential to revel critically important insights into, human evolution, and the mind's structural and functional aspects. In this essay I will first briefly discuss Grice's account of speaking meaning, what he hoped to achieve by it and its success at describing meaning. Then I shall look at counterexamples to Grice's theory and Grice's reply to those examples and attempt to fix problems raised by them. Finally I shall look at the success of his ultimate goal of reducing sentence meaning to speaker meaning.

This is an investigation into the phenomenon of "flow," discovered and named by Csikszentmiha (19... more This is an investigation into the phenomenon of "flow," discovered and named by Csikszentmiha (1975), in the activity of watching and playing football. What is the personal perspective of "flow" in football? How does the individual's thoughts and feelings "flow" relate to playing, viewing and development of their experience in football? Participants' with an interest and amateur career in football were interviewed. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was performed on the collected data to discover the key themes that related to all participants and what was personal significant to individuals'. It was discovered that a sense of connection to the team is a vital component for "flow" and progression.

To examine the possibility that thoughts are not in the head, this essay will set out the alterna... more To examine the possibility that thoughts are not in the head, this essay will set out the alternative philosophical positions to internalism. First describing the argument for content externalism, and discussing some critical responses to the proposition that meaning is not in the head. It then moves to a description of a second form of externalism, active externalism, which will be followed by criticisms and some defending responses.

The traditional view of mate preference in males is that they desire females to be younger and at... more The traditional view of mate preference in males is that they desire females to be younger and attractive, and that females desire partners to provide resources. The evolutionary social psychology model has been used to explain such findings in empirical studies of mate preference. This research aims to reproduce these findings using analysis of personal advertisements and self-report questionnaire. A significant difference was found in men's preference for younger partners and number seeking attractiveness compared to women. Women did show a significant difference to men in number seeking financial resources, in the personal advertisements data. The questionnaire data revealed a significant difference in men's preference for a younger female. Gender was non-significant in seeking attractiveness, but females rating of importance of financial resources were significant. These findings generally offer support for the evolutionary social psychology model, where they data is inconsistent it is likely that socio-economic factors are what are influencing the data.

Idealism as stated by Berkeley holds that, "the whole existence of an external world is in the mi... more Idealism as stated by Berkeley holds that, "the whole existence of an external world is in the mind." This essay will examine the arguments that he makes to hold this view and will attempt to show by critical analysis how and where mistakes have been made. It will focus on assessing the arguments that lead up to and will refute the proposition that reality consists only of mental ideas.

This is a discussion to any truth seeking person

Analysis, experience, definitions of important issuses is covered amongst other points.

This review comments and offers further analysis on the subject of personhood.

The study of perception has and continues to reveal surprising results, perhaps none more so than... more The study of perception has and continues to reveal surprising results, perhaps none more so than the intricate and complex nature of perceptual awareness. The phenomenon of change blindness is no exception, this error in perceptual processing also known as "looked but failed to see" is estimated to cause around 8% of all road traffic accidents . It is thought that change blindness is due to a low memory capacity in the perceptual system . Galpin, Underwood, Crundall (2009) found semantic relevance of the stimulus and spatial position to be significant factors in change blindness.

In this essay I will begin by broadly outlining the reasons behind Descartes' decision to draw a ... more In this essay I will begin by broadly outlining the reasons behind Descartes' decision to draw a distinction between mental and physical substance. Then I will examine how he proposes to draw such a distinction, and the subsequent problems that result from having done so. Then I will assess the success of a mental and physical distinction and go on to review some of the prominent reasons for objections to Descartes proposals.

This essay will outline and critically evaluate the classical conditioning explanation of how pho... more This essay will outline and critically evaluate the classical conditioning explanation of how phobias are acquired. It will then discuss the influence the theory of classical conditioning has had on the treatments for phobic conditions.

This essay will set out the importance of realism to the scientific endeavour; the anti-realist d... more This essay will set out the importance of realism to the scientific endeavour; the anti-realist doubts, the realist response and the anti-realist response. It will then look at the common anti-realist positions of instrumentalism and constructive empiricism and discuss a possible third way presented by Fine (1984) the natural ontological attitude (NOA). Finally I will sum up the arguments and proposals as to the future of science with the conclusion that in the light of all the evidence against realism, it is becoming decreasingly tenable. Nevertheless the anti-realist solutions whilst avoiding the main problems of realism may take us too far away from the noble endeavour of science, which is the search for truth of reality.

Investigation into trust of on-line sources of information.

The philosophy of language like its empirical cousin the psychology of language is a somewhat ove... more The philosophy of language like its empirical cousin the psychology of language is a somewhat overlooked field, but I doubt for very much longer due to its massive potential to revel critically important insights into, human evolution, and the mind's structural and functional aspects. In this essay I will first briefly discuss Grice's account of speaking meaning, what he hoped to achieve by it and its success at describing meaning. Then I shall look at counterexamples to Grice's theory and Grice's reply to those examples and attempt to fix problems raised by them. Finally I shall look at the success of his ultimate goal of reducing sentence meaning to speaker meaning.

This is an investigation into the phenomenon of "flow," discovered and named by Csikszentmiha (19... more This is an investigation into the phenomenon of "flow," discovered and named by Csikszentmiha (1975), in the activity of watching and playing football. What is the personal perspective of "flow" in football? How does the individual's thoughts and feelings "flow" relate to playing, viewing and development of their experience in football? Participants' with an interest and amateur career in football were interviewed. An interpretative phenomenological analysis was performed on the collected data to discover the key themes that related to all participants and what was personal significant to individuals'. It was discovered that a sense of connection to the team is a vital component for "flow" and progression.

To examine the possibility that thoughts are not in the head, this essay will set out the alterna... more To examine the possibility that thoughts are not in the head, this essay will set out the alternative philosophical positions to internalism. First describing the argument for content externalism, and discussing some critical responses to the proposition that meaning is not in the head. It then moves to a description of a second form of externalism, active externalism, which will be followed by criticisms and some defending responses.

The traditional view of mate preference in males is that they desire females to be younger and at... more The traditional view of mate preference in males is that they desire females to be younger and attractive, and that females desire partners to provide resources. The evolutionary social psychology model has been used to explain such findings in empirical studies of mate preference. This research aims to reproduce these findings using analysis of personal advertisements and self-report questionnaire. A significant difference was found in men's preference for younger partners and number seeking attractiveness compared to women. Women did show a significant difference to men in number seeking financial resources, in the personal advertisements data. The questionnaire data revealed a significant difference in men's preference for a younger female. Gender was non-significant in seeking attractiveness, but females rating of importance of financial resources were significant. These findings generally offer support for the evolutionary social psychology model, where they data is inconsistent it is likely that socio-economic factors are what are influencing the data.

Idealism as stated by Berkeley holds that, "the whole existence of an external world is in the mi... more Idealism as stated by Berkeley holds that, "the whole existence of an external world is in the mind." This essay will examine the arguments that he makes to hold this view and will attempt to show by critical analysis how and where mistakes have been made. It will focus on assessing the arguments that lead up to and will refute the proposition that reality consists only of mental ideas.