W.M. Bernstein Books | Author of psychology

W. M. Bernstein

Books

A Basic Theory of Neuropsychoanalysis

This book introduces a theoretical framework for studying the mind. Specifically, an attempt is made to frame ideas from psychoanalysis and cognitive-social psychology so that they can be taken readily into the realm of neurobiology. Psychoanalytic Theory still represents a very comprehensive theory of the human mind. It includes cognitive, emotional, and behavioral variables, plus the idea of unconscious mental operations. The ‘pleasure principle and ‘repetition compulsion’ were Freud’s most general concepts of mental functioning. These concepts are renovated to get them “on the same page” with ideas from social cognition and neurobiology.

Sophistication

This unique book brings together serious neuroscience and seriously deadpan humor, resulting in an opus that can best be described as Sigmund Freud meets Dave Barry meets Malcom Gladwell-esque amateur science—minus the amateur part. Sophistication suggests how readers can become more competent thinkers, able to interpret complex issues and make better decisions in all aspects of life. Four states of mind, which if chronic becomes your personality are described: shmo, schmuck, schadenfreudist, and sophisticate. The goal, for anyone hoping to get ahead in life, is to become a sophisticate—and learn how is a real trip!

The Realisation of Concepts: Infinity, Cognition, and Health

There has recently been a flurry of theoretical activity in affective neuroscience and neuropsychoanalysis. This book argues that the ability to integrate biological and psychological levels of understanding is inhibited by two important issues. First is the assumption made by most theorists that physical and mental phenomena are essentially different (“the Hard Problem”). Second, is the ambiguity of the widely used “Affect Concept”. Ideas about the autonomic nervous system are integrated with those from the author’s previous text A Basic Theory of Neuropsychoanalysis. The Realization of Concepts is based on four key assumptions: (1) There is no “Hard Problem”; (2) Motivational theory and cognitive theory can be integrated to create more valid models of body, brain and mind interactions; (3) “Affect Concepts” are superfluous and work to inhibit theory integration; and, (4) Affect theory developed as a “compromise formation” in response to radical reductionism.

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