While the question of free will does not figure as prominently in Buddhist writings as it does in western theology, philosophy, and psychology, it is a topic that was addressed in the earliest Buddhist writings. According to these accounts, for pragmatic and ethical reasons, the Buddha rejected both determinism and indeterminism as understood at that time. Rather than asking the metaphysical question of whether already humans have free will, Buddhist tradition takes a more pragmatic approach, exploring ways in which we (...) can acquire greater freedom to make wise choices that are truly conducive to our own and others' genuine well-being. One key to achieving such freedom is the cultivation of attentional skills so that one can deliberately focus one's attention with continuity and clarity on one's chosen object. A second theme is the cultivation of insight into the manner in which our own attitudes shape experience, allowing for the possibility of altering not only the way we experience events in the present, but also how we are influenced by our memories of the past. Finally, the Great Perfection school of Tibetan Buddhism emphasizes the realization of the deepest dimension of consciousness -- pristine awareness -- which transcends the nexus of causality. This is regarded as the ultimate source of freedom and the ultimate nature of human identity. (shrink)

Open peer commentary on the article “Luhmann and the Constructivist Heritage: A Critical Reflection” by Eva Buchinger. Upshot: I acknowledge the value of Buchinger’s contribution to my understanding of Luhmann’s theory of social systems and seek some clarification and elaboration concerning specific issues. In particular, I raise some questions about the concepts of meaning processing and of psychic systems and persons, with reference to related ideas developed by Gordon Pask and myself. I also question how Luhmann uses the term “autopoiesis.”.

This is a description and analysis of the intellectual culture of the eighteenth-century Church of England. Challenging conventional perceptions of the Church as an intellectually moribund institution, the study traces the influence of thinkers such as Locke, Newton, Burke, and Gibbon on theological debate in England during this period.

Open peer commentary on the article “A Computational Constructivist Model as an Anticipatory Learning Mechanism for Coupled Agent–Environment Systems” by Filipo Studzinski Perotto. Upshot: In making a contribution to artificial intelligence research, Perotto has taken note of work on human cognition. However, there are certain aspects of human cognition that are not taken into account by the author’s model and that, generally, are overlooked or ignored by the artificial intelligence research community at large.