Experience and Possibility concerns the modal ontology of experience. It investigates the detailed metaphysics of the colors, shapes, and other concrete properties present in our experience of ordinary concrete objects, and also of their spatial and temporal relations. It examines their experienced particularity, and the nature of their locations and material bits. This detailed concern with specific cases reveals many inadequacies of traditional ontology. But the central novelty of the book is an intense focus on the modal aspects of such experienced entities, and what it reveals about modality in general. The reality of such things would involve in surprising ways not merely what would hence be actual but also what would be merely possible. This supports a general conception of modality, of the possible and the necessary, according to which the actual and the possible are locally entwined and involve different types of being. The particulars, properties, and relations we experience involve distinctive forms of modal structure, characteristic of specific sorts of universals and irreducible particularities. When this experience is not veridical, when for instance the color we experience is somewhat misleading about reality, it is a puzzle how we have such experience nonetheless. Exploration of these forms of modal structure is groundwork for a new account of how our neurophysiology explains such misleading experience, how our physical structure delivers such qualia. This is sketched for the case of experienced color. Its core idea is that the apparent modal structure of things we experience is sometimes due to the actual modal structure of the neurophysiology that constitutes that experience.

Marking the tercentenary of Berkeley's birth, this collection of previously unpublished essays covers such Berkeleian topics as: imagination, experience, and possibility; the argument against material substance; the physical world; idealism; science; the self; action and inaction; beauty; and the general good. Among the contributors are: Christopher Peacocke, Ernest Sosa, Margaret Wilson, C.C.W. Taylor, and J.O. Urmson

In their playing you hear not only precision, color and balance, but thunder, lightning and the language of the heart. This is what the Boston Globe said about a performance by conductor Benjamin Zander with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, but it could apply equally to the Zanders' inspirational book, the product of a synthesis of the diverse worlds of the symphony orchestra and cutting-edge psychology. The Art of Possibility offers a set of breakthrough practices for creativity in all human enterprises. Infused with the energy of their dynamic partnership, the book joins together Ben's extraordinary talent as a mover and shaker, teacher, and communicator, with Rosamund Stone Zander's genius for creating innovative paradigms for personal and professional fulfillment. In lively counterpoint, the authors provide us with a deep sense of the powerful role that the notion of possibility can play in every aspect of our lives. The Zanders' deceptively simple practices are based on two premises: that life is composed as a story ("it's all invented") and that, with new definitions, much more is possible than people ordinarily think. The book shifts our perspective with uplifting stories, parables, and anecdotes from the authors' personal experiences as well as from famous and everyday heroes. From "Giving an A," to the mysterious "Rule Number 6," to "Leading from Any Chair"-the account of Ben's stunning realization that the conductor/leader's power is directly linked to how much greatness he is willing to grant to others-each practice offers an opportunity for personal and organizational transformation. The Art of Possibility provides a life-altering approach to fulfilling dreams large and small. The Zanders invite us all to become passionate communicators, leaders, and performers whose lives radiate possibility into the world. Rosamund Stone Zander is a family therapist and a landscape painter. Benjamin Zander is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a professor at the New England Conservatory of Music. Based on the principles developed through the authors' unique partnership, Mr. Zander gives presentations to managers and executives around the world and Ms. Zander conducts workshops for organizations on practicing the art of possibility.

Physicalism is the idea that if everything that goes on is physical, our consciousness and feelings must also be physical. This book defends a view called antecedent physicalism.

From medieval contemplation to the early modern cosmopoetic imagination, to the invention of aesthetic experience, to 19th century decadent literature, and to early 20th century essayistic forms of writing and film, Niklaus Largier shows that mystical practices have been reinvented across the centuries, generating a notion of possibility with unexpected critical potential. Arguing for a new understanding of mystical experience, Niklaus Largier foregrounds the ways in which devotion builds on experimental practices of figuration in order to shape perception, emotions, and thoughts anew. Largier illuminates how devotional practices are invested in the creation of possibilities, and this investment has been a key element in a wide range of experimental engagements in literature and art from the 17th to the 20th century, and most recently in forms of 'new materialism.' Read as a history of the senses and emotions, the book argues that mystical and devotional practices have long been invested in the modulating and reconfiguring of sensation, affects, and thoughts. Read as a book about practices of figuration, it questions ordinary protocols of interpretation in the humanities, and the priority given to a hermeneutic understanding of texts and cultural artefacts.

The Possibility of Love is an exploration of a concept close to the human heart. Grounded in the ordinary, everyday experiences of human living, the book provides an exploration of the diverse obstacles to the experience of love, the consequences of loveâ (TM)s absence, and the unquenchable desire for love which propels, influences and ultimately motivates much of human behaviour. The Possibility of Love poses the question: is love actually possible between human beings, or is it an ideal, a fantasy, an illusion, or a comforting aspiration which enables a palliative denial and distortion of the reality of human being? This expansive question is approached through an interdisciplinary analysis. The author addresses the question of loveâ (TM)s possibility as it is explored in a selection of literature from the disciplines of philosophy, psychoanalysis and poetry. The interdisciplinary nature of the study is based on the assertion of an interconnection between the three disciplines, and that this interconnection enables a unique and insightful exploration of the question of loveâ (TM)s possibility. Thus, the question is explored from diverse view-points, and also from different time-frames; convergences and divergences are noted and discussed, and conclusions are drawn from the ensuing findings. The book is essentially a philosophical analysis of an emotion that significantly impacts on human experience. It attests to the gradually increasing acknowledgement of the power of emotional experience in the search for knowledge, wisdom and truth. Thus, it is a uniquely honest exploration of human nature in contemporary times.

Improving education outcomes for Black students begins with resisting racist characterizations of blackness. Chezare A. Warren, a nationally recognized scholar of race and education equity, emphasizes the imperative that possibility drive efforts aimed at transforming education for Black learners. Inspired by the “freedom dreaming” of activists in the Black radical tradition, the book is comprised of nine principles that clarify how centering possibility actively refuses limitations for what Black people can create, accomplish, and achieve. This interdisciplinary volume also features over 30 original images, poems, and lyrics by Black artists from around the United States, each helping to breathe new life into the concept of possibility and its relevance to remaking Black children’s experience of school. Warren draws on research in history, cultural studies, and sociology to cast a vision of Black education futures unencumbered by antiblackness and white supremacy. This justice-oriented text will inspire innovative solutions to eliminating harm and generating education alternatives Black students desire and deserve. Book Features: Describes practical, antideficit approaches to educating Black children, youth, and young adults.Focuses on productively reorienting visions, philosophies, and rationales guiding contemporary Black education transformation work.Includes relatable stories and anecdotes written in a conversational style.Filled with provocative pieces of original art by Black artists, such as paintings, drawings, photographs, mixed media, spoken word, poems, and song lyrics.