This book presents a study of the various feelings of awe and wonder experienced by astronauts during space flight. It summarizes the results of two experimental, interdisciplinary studies that employ methods from neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology and simulation technology, and it argues for a non-reductionist approach to cognitive science.

This book presents a study of the various feelings of awe and wonder experienced by astronauts during space flight. It summarizes the results of two experimental, interdisciplinary studies that employ methods from neuroscience, psychology, phenomenology and simulation technology, and it argues for a non-reductionist approach to cognitive science.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a rapidly maturing technology that offers new and unique solutions to otherwise intractable problems in the study of cognition, behavior and neuroscience. VR removes many of the constraints imposed by laboratory paradigms, allowing us to track cognitive, behavioral and brain responses to naturalistic (or even impossible) situations without sacrificing experimental control. But VR is not a tool that can be swiftly and effortlessly integrated into existing research pipelines; currently, the benefits of VR are accompanied by a host of methodological challenges and important practical considerations. To help navigate this new methodology, this volume provides a balanced review of both the exciting new findings emerging from VR labs and the challenges and limitations that are part and parcel of VR research. This volume is an important first step toward establishing a standardised methodology for conducting research in VR. To this end, the volume provides a wealth of practical advice for researchers who are new to the technology. This volume is authored by an interdisciplinary team of VR researchers including computer scientists, engineers, psychologists and neuroscientists. It highlights current research in the field to demonstrate how VR advances our understanding of the mind, while also providing groundbreaking solutions in applied domains.

Consciousness is central to the quest for being human and for what the world is made of. While there is widespread agreement on the significance of consciousness for clarifying the human condition, there is no agreement on the phenomenon in search of theorising. Although there is no shortage of theories and concepts of consciousness in current consciousness research, the dominant critical analysis of consciousness research in this study, although based on existing analyses, is (as far as I can see) new and unique in arguing for a crisis in consciousness research. This book touches on most aspects of consciousness research (the hard problem of conscious-ness, neural correlates of consciousness, brain models and consciousness, consciousness and dualistic thinking, etc.) but is a critical analysis of consciousness research. It is not an insider but a third-person perspective on current consciousness research. In this regard, it differs from most introductions and overviews where these topics are presented from a first-person perspective (the insiders' claim about their research). Representing the broad spectrum of consciousness research in terms of the theoretical framework of a neuro-ecological perspective is a new and innovative move.

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible represents a comprehensive resource for researchers and practitioners interested in an emerging multidisciplinary area within psychology and the social sciences: the study of how we engage with and cultivate the possible within self, society and culture. Far from being opposed either to the actual or the real, the possible engages with concrete facts and experiences, with the result of transforming them. This encyclopedia examines the notion of the possible and the concepts associated with it from standpoints within psychology, philosophy, sociology, neuroscience and logic, as well as multidisciplinary fields of research including anticipation studies, future studies, complexity theory and creativity research. Presenting multiple perspectives on the possible, the authors consider the distinct social, cultural and psychological processes - e.g., imagination, counterfactual thinking, wonder, play, inspiration, and many others - that define our engagement with new possibilities in domains as diverse as the arts, design and business.