The Complementary Nature

Kelso, J. A. Scott, Engstrom, David A.

ISBN 10: 0262112914 / ISBN 13: 9780262112918

Published by MIT Press, 2006

About this Item

Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.

Seller Inventory # 10339574-75

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Complementary Nature
• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication Date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262112914
• ISBN 13: 9780262112918
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 1.574 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

Why do we divide our world into contraries? Why do we perceive and interpret so many of life's contraries as mutually exclusive, either/or dichotomies such as individual~collective, self~other, body~mind, nature~nurture, cooperation~competition? Throughout history, many have recognized that truth may well lie in between such polar opposites. In The Complementary Nature, Scott Kelso and David Engstrøm contend that ubiquitous contraries are complementary and propose a comprehensive, empirically based scientific theory of how the polarized world and the world in between can be reconciled. They nominate the tilde, or squiggle (~), as the symbolic punctuation for reconciled complementary pairs.

Experiments show that the human brain is capable of displaying two apparently contradictory, mutually exclusive behaviors at the same time. Coordination dynamics -- a mathematically expressed theory that reconciles the scientific language of "states" with the novel dynamical language of "tendencies" -- attests to the complementary nature inherent in human brains and behavior. It may explain, Kelso and Engstrøm argue, why we (and nature) appear to partition things, events, and ideas into pairs. Kelso and Engstrøm's account is not just metaphorical; the reconciliations they describe are grounded in the principles and mathematical language of the theory of coordination dynamics. The Complementary Nature provides a clear-cut methodology for this evolving theory of brain and behavior that can also be applied to areas and developments outside the neurosciences, hence aiding reconciliations within and between disparate fields.

About the Author

David A. Engstrøm holds a Ph.D. in Neuropharmacology from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Since 1991, he has worked with Scott Kelso to develop a conceptual link between coordination dynamics and complementary pairs.