This chapter highlights the newly significant role of embodiment in the discourses of realist aesthetics and theory of mind across the 1860s. Developing conterminously (though not in lockstep), the discourses of aesthetic realism and psychology at this time endowed material reality – including the mind – with new relevance, insisting on the interdependence of body and mind and on the fundamental sameness of scientific and psychological inquiry, whose shared pursuit was advancing the “science of human nature.” More particularly, this chapter moves beyond a familiar emphasis on the role of visual aesthetics to feature other emergent or developing discourses important to realism, including theories of sound, psychology and perception, and motion, and even ital atomic theory and what E.S. Dallas, in The Gay Science (1866), described as “the science of the laws of pleasure.”

This chapter introduces the human as a question. It revolves around the figure of the Theban Sphinx and her interaction with Oedipus and traces her presence from the ancient world into the works of Sigmund Freud. The chapter invokes the Sphinx as a presence that both prompts and challenges the way we think the human. Oedipus’ troubled humanity stands at the intersection between his success in solving the Sphinx’s riddle and his apparent failure to understand how her words apply to his own existence. As such, the Sphinx’ intervention at Thebes exposes a deep-seated vulnerability at the core of the human condition – a vulnerability springing from the fact that while the riddle can be solved with the powers of reasoning, the human as a riddle remains enigmatic and beyond the application of logos.

This chapter provides an introduction and an overview of computational cognitive sciences. Computational cognitive sciences explore the essence of cognition and various cognitive functionalities through developing mechanistic, process-based understanding by specifying corresponding computational models. These models impute computational processes onto cognitive functions and thereby produce runnable programs. Detailed simulations and other operations can then be conducted. Understanding the human mind strictly from observations of, and experiments with, human behavior is ultimately untenable. Computational modeling is therefore both useful and necessary. Computational cognitive models are theoretically important because they represent detailed cognitive theories in a unique, indispensable way. Computational cognitive modeling has thus far deepened the understanding of the processes and the mechanisms of the mind in a variety of ways.

This chapter discusses cognitive social simulation, which lies at the intersection of cognitive modeling and social simulation – two forms of computational modeling. Cognitive modeling focuses on producing precise computational models of individual mental processes, while social simulation centers on models of social processes (such as interaction of individuals or collective decision making). By combining cognitive and social models, cognitive social simulation is poised to address issues concerning both individuals and society. Detailed simulation enables precise analysis of possible scenarios and outcomes (social or individual). A number of examples of cognitive social simulation are sketched in this chapter. Issues involved are discussed. Some promising directions are outlined.

In his final chapter, Freud tries to show that his dreams theory follows from larger principles about the way our minds work.

Wish-fulfillment, he argues, is a very old function, embodied, even, by the nervous system, which operates to discharge excitation. Dreaming, as psychically primitive, realizes that function, and only that function. It is set in motion by a wish that, if unattended, would wake us. A dream, fulfilling such a wish, allows us to sleep on. It hallucinates the fulfillment, hallucination of the mental equivalent of a reflex, serving the purpose of discharging an irritant.

The breadth of psychology’s history underscores the importance of learning about the present from the past, and psychology’s past is certainly fascinating. Several approaches to the study of intellectual history, particularly for psychology, are presented, as are some of the major recurring themes that are addressed in the book. Finally, the study of the history of psychology as an area of specialization within the discipline focuses on the resources available for serious pursuit.

Traditional Western science has had little interest in the concept of mind, and has only recently begun to recognise the relationship between spirituality and health. A better understanding of mind has allowed us to establish the scientific concepts behind the spiritual dimension of healing, and the close correlation between religious and spiritual practice and positive changes in a number of stress-related physiological systems. Meditation and prayer have both been shown to improve brain function, and together with practices such as forgiveness and positive thinking, and a supportive social structure, have been shown to benefit both mental and physical health. Meditation has particular clinical applications in those conditions where high arousal and anxiety are a part of the pathology. Controlled studies of prayer have produced mixed outcomes, but prayer is a widespread religious practice and may have positive effects on the person praying – for example, in terms of pain relief.

Chapter 4 begins with a discussion of consciousness, then summarizes and critiques the computer metaphor for thinking.It summarizes the role of perceptual and motor simulation in thinking and communication, along with some of the key research on simulation.It shows how simulations, semantic connections, and metaphors may be merged into a unified account of thinking and language use.