Human-Machine Interfaces in Medical Robotics presents essential and advanced information on developing intuitive human-machine interfaces (HMI) for robotic surgery and rehabilitation. This book provides extensive coverage of multidisciplinary information needed to develop efficient HMI, discussing core technologies of the field, including hand-free control strategies, sensory feedback, data-driven approaches, human-robot shared control, autonomous control, human motor adaption, training, a...

Based on the revelation and analysis of the social self-consciousness contained in the individual self-consciousness of the meaning of life, the book discusses the human life-world, spiritual world, cultural world and meaning-world. Then, it states the life-world, modes of thought, values ideas, aesthetic consciousness and ultimate concerns of modern humans. It also systematically expounds on the cultivation, the truth, the nurture, the sublimation, the support, the tension and the source ...

A guide to well-being from the renowned social psychologist and New York Times –bestselling author of The Art of Loving and Escape from Freedom .Though laptops, smartphones, and TVs have in many ways made life more convenient, they have also disconnected us from the real world. Days are spent going from screen to machine, machine to s...

‘Deeply interesting … a superb critique of contemporary self-obsession’ Steven Poole, Guardian'Engrossing … bracing … incendiary and timely’ Stuart Jeffries, Daily TelegraphA philosopher explains why the search for identity is meaningless, and how we should escape the selfModern life encourages us to pursue the perfect identity. Whether we aspire to become the best lawyer or charity worker, life pa...

THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION—The definitive statement of Ayn Rand’s philosophy as interpreted by her best student and chosen heir.This brilliantly conceived and organized book is Dr. Leonard Peikoff’s classic text on the abstract principles and practical applications of Objectivism, based on his lecture series “The Philosophy of Objectivism.” Ayn Rand said of these lectures: “Until or unless I write a comprehensive treatise on my philosophy, Dr. Peikoff’s course is...

A founder of the Deep Ecology Movement, Arne Naess' has produced articles on environmentalism that have provided unmatched inspiration for ecologists, philosophers, and activists worldwide. This collection amasses a definitive group of Naess' most important works in which he calls for nonviolent, cooperative action to protect the Earth. Rich with observations, insights, and anecdotes, Naess' writings draw from Eastern religious practices, Gandhian nonviolent direct action, and Spinozan uni...

What is nature? What is humanity's place in nature? And what is the relationship of society to the natural world? In an era of ecological breakdown, answering these questions has become of momentous importance for our everyday lives and for the future that we and other life-forms face. In the essays of The Philosophy of Social Ecology, Murray Bookchin confronts these questions head on: invoking the ideas of mutualism, self-organization, and unity in diversity, in the service of ev...

Why is it so many of us lack contentment, despite all the wealth and freedoms we enjoy?The past two centuries delivered individual and political freedoms that promised unprecedented opportunities for personal fulfilment. Yet citizens of affluent countries are encouraged to pursue lives of consumerism, endless choice and the pleasures of the body.Clive Hamilton argues that the paradox of modern consumer life is that we are deprived of our inner freedom by our very pursuit of...

Does the science of evolution really prove that life, humanity, and the universe as a whole are meaningless accidents? On the contrary, as science has increasingly shown how everything in the universe is subject to evolution—including matter, life, and human culture—these very facts reveal that the process of evolution is unmistakably progressive. As we come to see how evolution has progressed throughout our cosmology, biology, and human culture, this reveals evolution’s purpose—to grow to...

Big ideas sometimes come from the strangest places.In this wide ranging introduction, James M Russell takes the fear out of philosophy and selects seventy-six works - from Plato, Descartes and Wittgenstein to Philip K Dick and the Moomins as well as contemporary thinkers such as Peter Singer and John Rawls.Dividing into accessible sections - history, contemplation, happiness, and -isms, Russell gives us the lives as well as the lessons of the great thinkers, including a dig...

An overview of the renowned philosopher's thoughts that "spells out his positions on language and art, religion and society. . . . worth reading" ( America ).Published very shortly before his death in February 1976, Meaning is the culmination of Michael Polanyi's philosophic endeavors. With the assistance of Harry Prosch, Polanyi goes beyond his earlier critique of scientific "objectivity" to investigate meaning a...

"Fromm crossed the boundaries of traditional disciplines to expound his view on the alienation of man in an increasingly technological world." — NewsweekErich Fromm's basic idea was to look at the individual as a social being, and to look at society as an ensemble of many individuals who have not only mutual ideas and convictions based on a common practice of life, but also a shared psychic structure. With his concept of "social character," Fromm created a ...