Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Thinking has, for many of us, become as passive as breathing. While it's essential to our very existence, we devote little energy or time to cultivating it. Thought Work: Thinking, Action, and the Fate of the World challenges us to reinstate the restless, complicated activity of thinking as the heart of all education and professional work. Distinguished philosopher Elizabeth Minnich and evaluation studies pioneer Michael Patton gather a diverse cast of thought leaders to respond to the dilemma presented by Minnich's book The Evil of Banality: On the Life and Death Importance of Thinking. Our underappreciation of careful thought has crippled our ability to sustain a moral, conscience-driven society. It now falls to each of us to examine the underlying thought processes that guide our every action. From systems and strategic thinking, entrepreneurial thinking, and critical and evaluative thinking, to ethical and philosophical thinking and thinking grounded in and informed by the humanities and community organizing, this volume unpacks vital creative processes and develops schema to support increased thought-training in and across individual professions. Together, the contributed thought works of this volume will empower students, scholars, and professionals in any field to reignite their dedicated, thoughtful progress towards long-term conscience-driven goals. This book is a call to practice the arts of thinking in daily, professional, imaginative, logical, and above all reflective ways so we are able to evaluate, to judge, and to make choices responsively and responsibly. Such thinking is not only life enhancing--it is life preserving.
Synopsis
Minnich and Patton gather an eclectic cohort of thought-leaders to reflect on the importance and intricacies of thinking in their respective fields. Philosophically framed and interdisciplinary in approach, this illuminating book is designed to be supremely useful to readers from all backgrounds.