NEW PERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHOLOGY

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INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS (#Q424) MIND AS SOCIETY Marvin Minsky Conscious intelligence may be viewed as a computer system composed of many smaller parallel processing programs. Marvin Minsky, Ph.D., is one of the acknowledged founders of the mathematical theory of computation, artificial intelligence, and robotics. He argues that understanding the individual as a very sophisticated machine actually affirms human dignity. EXPERT SYSTEMS Edward Feigenbaum and H. Penny Nii Edward A. Feigenbaum, Ph.D., recognized as the "father of expert systems." He is co-editor of The Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and co-author, with H. Penny Nii, of The Rise of the Expert Company. Here they describe the use of "knowledge engineering" to create expert computer systems which function at levels of high competency in medicine, engineering, financial forecasting, manufacturing, quality control. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE John McCarthy The science of artificial intelligence is a program to accomplish the Socratic injunction, "Know Thyself." John McCarthy, Ph.D., invented LISP, the major language today used for artificial intelligence. Here he discusses the history of artificial intelligence and the future role which non-monotonic reasoning will play in enabling computers to simulate the human mind. INFINITY AND THE MIND Rudy Rucker The mind itself partakes of infinity, as does every object in the physical world. Rudy Rucker, Ph.D., is author of many books including Mind Tools, The Fourth Dimension and Infinity and the Mind. Rucker hypothesizes that conscioussness need not be limited to human beings or even to living organisms.

APPROACHES TO CONSCOUSNESS (#Q434) THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS Robert Ornstein Consciousness is the ability of the mind to reflect upon its own experience. Robert Ornstein, Ph.D., is author of nineteen books, including The Psychology of Consciousness and The Evolution of Consciousness. He suggests that the mind is composed of many subroutines that he refers to as a "squadron of simpletons." Self-awareness requires orcherstrating these "simpletons" to work as a team. THE NERVOUS SYSTEM AND THE SOUL Oliver Sacks Dramatic, musical and mathematical qualities of the soul are available even to the mentally retarded and those with other neurological deficits. Oliver Sacks, M.D., is author of Awakenings, A Leg to Stand On and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. He maintains that our our conventional awareness is limited compared to the talents of those with Tourette's syndrome and other disorders. WORKING WITH COMAS Arnold Mindell Arnold Mindell, Ph.D., an innovative psychological theorist and therapist, is author of Coma: Key to Awakening. He discusses the unique methods he has developed for working with individuals in comatose states. Using the techniques of "process psychology" he is able to find channels into the minds of comatose individuals that allow him to establish communication. WHEN NIETZSCHE WEPT Irvin D. Yalom Irvin D. Yalom, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, is author of Love's Executioner as well as a novel, When Nietzsche Wept. Yalom describes his novel as highlighting the existential issues of human consciousness which are the basis of his own therapeutic approach. The soul-searching, self-examination of the philosopher is contrasted with the methodical approach of a reknowned physician and pioneer psychotherapist.

Bernard J. Baars
HOW CONSCIOUSNESS FUNCTIONS (#W009)

Consciousness was dismissed as a topic for scientific discussion in psychology for over fifty years. Now things have changed. Bernard J. Baars presents a model of consciousness as a global workspace and suggests that the contours of consciousness can be understood by contrasting conscious and unconscious events. Generally, the unconscious processes work far more efficiently that those that are conscious.
Baars points out that we are conscious only of the goals of our actions and not of the thousands of miniscule steps that are necessary for even the simplest of muscular movements. He describes the "self" as a concept that represents the continuity of all the conscious and unconscious processes of the mind.
Bernard J. Baars, Ph.D., is author of The Cognitive Revolution in Psychology and A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness. He is also editor of Consciousness and Cognition, an academic journal, and a professor of psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. (Length: 90 minutes)

Theodore Roszak
TOWARDS AN ECO-PSYCHOLOGY (#W245)

Modern psychoanalysis and existential therapy view human beings as essentially creatures of alienation in a hostile universe. Roszak suggests that a psychology that fails to examine ecological relationships is incomplete. He points to the anthropic principle in cosmology as providing a central place for human beings in the universe. The Gaia hypothesis in systems theory evokes lyrical poetry in suggesting that the planet itself may be viewed as a conscious, self-regulating being.
Roszak proposes that in our psychological depths we are deeply connected with nature. He suggests that a greater balance in our relationship with nature will naturally accompany healthier relationships between the genders and greater individual psychological health.
Theodore Roszak, Ph.D., is professor of history at California State University, Hayward. He is author of numerous books including Where The Wasteland Ends, The Making of A Counterculture, Person Planet, The Cult of Information and The Voice of The Earth. (Length: 90 minutes

Jean Shinoda Bolen
ARCHETYPAL PSYCHOLOGY (#W204)

Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity, an acausal principle, connects the ego to the larger archetypal self. This connection is like the ancient Chinese concept of the Tao in that it cannot be rationally understood. Jean Shinoda Bolen suggests that the images of the ancient dieties represent powerful projections of the psyche.
From a psychological perspective, all of the gods can be viewed as suffering from dysfunctional relationships and character disorders. By studying the myths of the gods, we can learn much about ourselves. It is by facing the truth of our lives that we can die to our past ways and enter into a new order of being.
Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., a Jungian analyst, is author of The Tao of Psychology, Goddesses in Every Woman, Gods in Every Man and The Ring of Power. She is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. (Length: 90 minutes)

Jeanne Achterberg
IMAGERY IN HEALING (#W003)

Imagery has been used in healing continuously since the times of ancient shamans. In the first part of this two-part program, Jeanne Achterberg discusses the holographic model of the brain and suggests that mental images mediate between our conscious intentions and our physiology. She cites a body of research indicating that the use of mental imagery can effect special body functioning -- including that of the immune system.
In part two, Dr. Achterberg expands her theoretical model of imagery in healing, by emphasizing the role of rituals and social reinforcement. She suggests that very precise forms of imagery can be developed to augment the body's natural healing abilities. She discusses the procedure for working with imagery and presents a healing exercise using imagery.
Jeanne Achterberg, Ph.D., is President of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology. Author of Imagery in Healing and Woman As Healer, she is on the faculty of the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology in Menlo Park, California, and the Saybrook Institute in San Francisco. (Length: 90 minutes)

Price M. Cobbs
UNDERSTANDING PREJUDICE (#W102)

The demographics of society are forcing us to come to terms with cultural diversity. To overcome lazy mental habits, we must consciously work to treat human beings of different races, genders, religious and ethnic groups and handicaps as unique individuals. In part one of this two-part program psychiatrist Price M. Cobbs points out that prejudice and stereotyping are natural functions of the brain in coping with a threatening environment. However, the society we live no longer operates on the tribal principles that were part of our evolution.
In part two, Dr. Cobbs describes the principles of ethnotherapy that he developed with George Leonard at the Esalen Institute in the late 1960s. This work is designed to facilitate a deep examination of the ways we think about other groups. He describes his own experience as a black growing up in America and points out the need for oppressed groups to move from blame to mastery of their situation.
Price M. Cobbs, M.D., psychiatrist and management consultant, is president of Pacific Management Systems in San Francisco. He is co-author of The Jesus Bag and the classic text, Black Rage. Dr. Cobbs currently applies the principles of ethnotherapy in his work with government and business groups. (Length: 90 minutes)

Arnold Mindell
PROCESS PSYCHOLOGY AND YOUR DREAMBODY (#W202)

In the first half-hour of this two-part program, Dr. Mindell provides an overview of process psychology and its relationship to the ancient Chinese concept of the Tao. He describes his approach as a "meta-psychology" which incorporates dreamwork, bodywork, relationship work, movement, family systems, spirituality, and global work.
In part two, Dr. Mindell discusses the concept of the "dreambody." He discusses process oriented psychology as a form of meditation, providing examples of its application in areas as diverse as conflict resolution and medicine. He emphasizes the importance of not relying on therapist interpretations in the practice of process psychology.
Dr. Arnold Mindell is an innovative psychological theorist and therapist. Founder of the Center for Process Oriented Psychology in Zurich, Switzerland, and Portland, Oregon, he is author of Dreambody, Working With the Dreaming Body, City Shadow, The River's Way, The Year One, Working on Yourself Alone and Coma: Key to Awakening. (Length: 90 minutes.)