Synopses & Reviews
Jerome Bruner argues that the cognitive revolution, with its current fixation on mind as "information processor;" has led psychology away from the deeper objective of understanding mind as a creator of meanings. Only by breaking out of the limitations imposed by a computational model of mind can we grasp the special interaction through which mind both constitutes and is constituted by culture.
Review
Acts of Meaning, written by one of the most distinguished thinkers in human development, is an insightful summary of the past trends in the field, and is, perhaps, a prophetic glimpse into the future. Bruner's breadth of knowledge makes for thought-provoking and enjoyable reading for anyone interested in human culture. Paul Buttenwieser - Washington Times
Review
Bruner again demonstrates his impressive range of interest as he proposes nothing less than to set the essential agenda for psychology today...Bruner aims his manifesto not at the behaviorists--he considers that struggle long since won--but at those members of his own cognitive party who have sold their souls to the computer...[He] describes how psychology can rededicate itself to the study of meaning and its formation. Having spent an illustrious career ascending the mountain, he now takes an elder statesman's panoramic view...Those interested in the current debates in psychology will find [this] book provocative and stimulating. Dava Sobel - New York Times Book Review
Review
[An] extended, contemplative essay on the role played by narrative in the construal of meaning. In [this] work, Bruner elaborates on the failure of cognitive science in abandoning 'meaning-making' for 'information processing,' and its attendant concentration on computational logic...Bruner, as one of the most influential psychologists of this century, makes an important statement well worth reading. Harvard Educational Review
Review
An engaging, provocative, and knowing book. Choice
Review
[Bruner] argues that psychology should return to human concerns, especially the role of culture in shaping our thoughts and the language we use to express them... [He] seems to have read and assimilated everyone else's ideas on the topics he discusses. He can-and does-allude to them in context, so that we are constantly rubbing elbows with the giants on whose shoulders he stands. Erudite and recondite, the text glistens with Bruner's bold style. New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
Jerome Bruner argues that the cognitive revolution, with its current fixation on mind as "information processor;" has led psychology away from the deeper objective of understanding mind as a creator of meanings.Only by breaking out of the limitations imposed by a computational model of mind can we grasp the special interaction through which mind both constitutes and is constituted by culture.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-170) and index.
About the Author
Jerome Bruner is University Professor at New York University and the author of many books, including Acts of Meaning; On Knowing; The Process of Education; and Toward a Theory of Instruction (all published by Harvard).
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
One
The Proper Study of Man
Two
Folk Psychology as an Instrument of Culture
Three
Entry into Meaning
Four
Autobiography and Self
Notes
Subject Index
Name Index