An Analysis of Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom Friedrich Hayek’s 1944 Road to Serfdom is a classic of conservative economic argument. While undeniably a product of a specific time in global politics – which saw the threat of fascism from Nazi Germany and its allies beguilingly answered by the promises of socialism – Hayek’s carefully constructed argument is a fine example of the importance of good reasoning in critical thinking. Reasoning is the art of constructing good persuasive arguments by organizing one’s thoughts supporting one’s conclusions and considering counter-arguments along the way. The Road to Serfdom illustrates all these skills in action; Hayek’s argument was that while many assumed socialism to be the answer to totalitarian fascist regimes the opposite was true. Socialist government’s reliance on a large state centralised control and bureaucratic planning – he insisted – actually amounts to a different kind of totalitarianism. Freedom of choice Hayek continued is a central requirement of individual freedom and hence a centrally planned economy inevitably constrains freedom. Though many commentators have sought to counter Hayek’s arguments his reasoning skills won over many of the politicians who have shaped the present day most notably Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. | An Analysis of Friedrich Hayek's The Road to Serfdom GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority An Experimental View Stanley Milgram is one of the most influential and widely-cited social psychologists of the twentieth century. Recognized as perhaps the most creative figure in his field he is famous for crafting social-psychological experiments with an almost artistic sense of creative imagination – casting new light on social phenomena in the process. His 1974 study Obedience to Authority exemplifies creative thinking at its most potent and controversial. Interested in the degree to which an “authority figure” could encourage people to commit acts against their sense of right and wrong Milgram tricked volunteers for a “learning experiment” into believing that they were inflicting painful electric shocks on a person in another room. Able to hear convincing sounds of pain and pleas to stop the volunteers were told by an authority figure – the “scientist” – that they should continue regardless. Contrary to his own predictions Milgram discovered that depending on the exact set up as many as 65% of people would continue right up to the point of “killing” the victim. The experiment showed he believed that ordinary people can and will do terrible things under the right circumstances simply through obedience. As infamous and controversial as it was creatively inspired the “Milgram experiment” shows just how radically creative thinking can shake our most fundamental assumptions. | An Analysis of Stanley Milgram's Obedience to Authority An Experimental View GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning From More to Shakespeare What is a self? Greenblatt argues that the 16th century saw the awakening of modern self-consciousness the ability to fashion an identity out of the culture and politics of one’s society. In a series of brilliant readings Greenblatt shows how identity is constructed in the work of Shakespeare Marlowe Spenser and other Renaissance writers. A classic piece of literary criticism and the origins of the New Historicist school of thought Renaissance Self-Fashioning remains a critical and challenging text for readers of Renaissance literature. | An Analysis of Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning From More to Shakespeare GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy How to Create Uncontested Market Space In Blue Ocean Strategy W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne tackle the central problem facing all businesses: how to perform better than your competitors? Their solution involves taking a creative approach to the normal view of competition. In the normal framework competition is a zero-sum game: if there are two companies competing for the same market as one does better the other has to do worse. The authors’ creative leap is to suggest one can beat the competition by not competing. Companies should avoid confronting competitors in crowded marketplaces what they call “red oceans ” and instead seek out new markets or “blue oceans. ” Once the blue oceans have been identified companies can get down to the task of creating unique products which exploit that market. Chan and Mauborgne argue for example that a wine company might decide to start appealing to a group previously uninterested in wine. This would be a “blue ocean” market giving the winemaker a huge advantage which they could exploit by creating a wine that appealed to the tastes of a beer-drinking demographic. A classic of business writing Blue Ocean Strategy is creative thinking and problem solving at its best. | An Analysis of W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne's Blue Ocean Strategy How to Create Uncontested Market Space GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations Despite being written between 170 and 180 Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations often resonates with modern readers because of its remarkable resemblance to a self-help book. Written as a series of personal notes in the last decade of his reign as Roman emperor the meditations were never intended for circulation. But they remain today among the classics of stoic philosophy – and as exquisite examples of problem-solving. Meditations sees a great leader engaged in solving one of the central problems of all philosophy: how to live a good life. Marcus Aurelius is quick to ask questions and generate solutions all of which lead him to a greater understanding of what a good life really is. He makes the decision that philosophy is an important tool we can use every day to help us understand and deal with the world. The best way to get to the bottom of a problem he records is to analyze its different aspects with care – this will help to ‘dissolve’ the issue. To keep our minds well balanced it is vital to keep our desire for the material and the sensual in check to avoid falling prey to negative behaviors like jealousy quarrelling and indulgence. Philosophy the Meditations show can also help us to understand other people’s problems and difficulties – acting as a continual spur to the consideration and resolution of problems wherever they arise. | An Analysis of Marcus Aurelius's Meditations GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of St. Augustine's Confessions St. Augustine’s Confessions is one of the most important works in the history of literature and Christian thought. Written around 397 when Augustine was the Christian bishop of Hippo (in modern-day Algeria) the Confessions were designed both to spiritually educate those who already shared Augustine’s faith and to convert those who did not. Augustine did this through the original maneuver of writing what is now recognized as being the first Western autobiography – letting readers share in his own experiences of youth sin and eventual conversion. The Confessions are a perfect example of using reasoning to subtly bring readers around to a particular point of view – with Augustine inviting them to accompany him on his own spiritual journey towards God so they could make their own conversion. Carefully structured the Confessions run from describing the first 43 years of Augustine’s life in North Africa and Italy to discussing the nature of memory before moving on to analyzing the Bible itself. In order the sections form a carefully structured argument moving from the personal to the philosophical to the contemplative. In the hundreds of years since they were first published they have persuaded hundreds of thousands of readers to recognize towards the same God that Augustine himself worshipped. | An Analysis of St. Augustine's Confessions GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom Amartya Sen uses his 1999 work Development as Freedom to evaluate the processes and outcomes of economic development. Having come to the conclusion that development is best summed up as the expansion of freedom Sen examines traditional definitions and understandings of the term. He says people tend to think of freedoms as economic (the freedom to enter into market exchanges) or political (the freedom to vote and be an active citizen) and tries to understand why the definition has been so narrow hitherto. He concludes that an evaluation of true freedom must necessarily include the freedom to access social services such as healthcare sanitation and nutrition just as much as it must acknowledge economic and political freedoms. Evaluating the relevance of the current thinking behind development Sen concludes that the term ‘freedom’ cannot simply be about income. In many ways measuring income does not account for various “unfreedoms” (manmade or natural bars to wellbeing) that hinder development. Sen’s evaluation is all the more powerful for its clarity: The freedom-centered perspective has a generic similarity to the common concern with quality of life. | An Analysis of Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Amartya Sen's Inequality Re-Examined Amartya Sen’s Inequality Re-Examined is a seminal text setting out a theory to evaluate social arrangements and inequality. By asking the question ‘equality of what’? Sen shows that (in)equality should be assessed as human freedom; for people to have the ability to pursue and achieve goals they value or have reason to value. The text lays out the fundamental ideas to Amartya Sen’s Capability Approach. This approach is celebrated in diverse academic disciplines because of its specific contribution towards the improvement to debates on inequality beyond economic deprivation and utility measures. Furthermore the arguments put forward by Sen in Inequality Re-Examined has had many practical applications throughout policy circles including the Human Development Index the Multi –Dimensional Poverty Measure the compilation of lists of capabilities and drawing further attention to human agency and democracy. Amartya Sen won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1998 for his contribution to welfare economics; the core arguments of this work is found in this book. | An Analysis of Amartya Sen's Inequality Re-Examined GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of E.E. Evans-Pritchard's Witchcraft Oracles and Magic Among the Azande The history of anthropology is to a large extent the history of differing modes of interpretation. As anthropologists have long known examining analyzing and recording cultures in the quest to understand humankind as a whole is a vastly complex task in which nothing can be achieved without careful and incisive interpretative work. Edward Evans-Pritchard’s seminal 1937 Witchcraft Oracles and Magic Among the Azande is a model contribution to anthropology’s grand interpretative project and one whose success is based largely on its author’s thinking skills. A major issue in anthropology at the time was the common assumption that the faiths and customs of other cultures appeared irrational or illogical when compared to the “civilized” and scientific beliefs of the western world. Evans-Pritchard sought to challenge such definitions by embedding himself within a tribal culture in Africa – that of the Azande – and attempting to understand their beliefs in their proper contexts. By doing so Evans-Pritchard proved just how vital context is to interpretation. Seen within their context he was able to show the beliefs of the Azande were far from irrational – and magic actually formed a coherent system that helped mould a functional community and society for the tribe. Evans-Pritchard’s efforts to clarify meaning in this way have proved hugely influential and have played a major part in guiding later generations of anthropologists from his day to ours. | An Analysis of E. E. Evans-Pritchard's Witchcraft Oracles and Magic Among the Azande GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order The end of the Cold War which occurred early in the 1990s brought joy and freedom to millions. But it posed a difficult question to the world's governments and to the academics who studied them: how would world order be remade in an age no longer dominated by the competing ideologies of capitalism and communism? Samuel P. Huntington was one of the many political scientists who responded to this challenge by conceiving works that attempted to predict the ways in which conflict might play out in the 21st century and in The Clash of Civilizations he suggested that a new kind of conflict one centred on cultural identity would become the new focus of international relations. Huntington's theories greeted with scepticism when his book first appeared in the 1990s acquired new resonance after 9/11. The Clash of Civilizations is now one of the most widely-set and read works of political theory in US universities; Huntington's theories have also had a measurable impact on American policy. In large part this is a product of his problem-solving skills. Clash is a monument to its author's ability to generate and evaluate alternative possibilities and to make sound decisions between them. Huntington's view that international politics after the Cold War would be neither peaceful nor liberal nor cooperative ran counter to the predictions of almost all of his peers yet his position – the product of an unusual ability to redefine an issue so as to see it in new ways – has been largely vindicated by events ever since. | An Analysis of Samuel P. Huntington's The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Ernest Gellner's Nations and Nationalism To the dismay of many commentators – who had hoped the world was evolving into a more tolerant and multicultural community of nations united under the umbrellas of supranational movements like the European Union – the nationalism that was such a potent force in the history of the 20th-century has made a comeback in recent years. Now more than ever it seems important to understand what it is how it works and why it is so attractive to so many people. A fine place to start any such exploration is with Ernest Gellner's seminal Nations and Nationalism a ground-breaking study that was the first to flesh out the counter-intuitive – but enormously influential – thesis that modern nationalism has little if anything in common with old-fashioned patriotism or loyalty to one's homeland. Gellner's intensely creative thesis is that the nationalism we know today is actually the product of the 19th-century industrial revolution which radically reshaped ancient communities encouraging emigration to cities at the same time as it improved literacy rates and introduced mass education. Gellner connected these three elements in an entirely new way contrasting developments to the structures of pre-industrial agrarian economies to show why the new nationalism could not have been born in such communities. He was also successful in generating a typology of nationalisms in an attempt to explain why some forms flourished while others fizzled out. His remarkable ability to produce novel explanations for existing evidence marks out Nations and Nationalism as one of the most radical stimulating – and enduringly influential – works of its day. | An Analysis of Ernest Gellner's Nations and Nationalism GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales In The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat neurologist Oliver Sacks looked at the cutting-edge work taking place in his field and decided that much of it was not fit for purpose. Sacks found it hard to understand why most doctors adopted a mechanical and impersonal approach to their patients and opened his mind to new ways to treat people with neurological disorders. He explored the question of deciding what such new ways might be by deploying his formidable creative thinking skills. Sacks felt the issues at the heart of patient care needed redefining because the way they were being dealt with hurt not only patients but practitioners too. They limited a physician’s capacity to understand and then treat a patient’s condition. To highlight the issue Sacks wrote the stories of 24 patients and their neurological clinical conditions. In the process he rebelled against traditional methodology by focusing on his patients’ subjective experiences. Sacks did not only write about his patients in original ways – he attempt to come up with creative ways of treating them as well. At root his method was to try to help each person individually with the core aim of finding meaning and a sense of identity despite or even thanks to the patients’ condition. Sacks thus redefined the issue of neurological work in a new way and his ideas were so influential that they heralded the arrival of a broader movement – narrative medicine – that placed stronger emphasis on listening to and incorporating patients’ experiences and insights into their care. | An Analysis of Oliver Sacks's The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Moses Maimonides's Guide for the Perplexed Written by the great medieval Jewish philosopher Maimonides The Guide of the Perplexed attempts to explain the perplexities of biblical language—and apparent inconsistencies in the text—in the light of philosophy and scientific reason. Composed as a letter to a student The Guide aims to harmonize Aristotelian principles with the Hebrew Bible and argues that God must be understood as both unified and incorporeal. Engaging both contemporary and ancient scholars Maimonides fluidly moves from cosmology to the problem of evil to the end goal of human happiness. His intellectual breadth and openness makes The Guide a lasting model of creative synthesis in biblical studies and philosophical theology. | An Analysis of Moses Maimonides's Guide for the Perplexed GBP 5.99 1
An Analysis of Christopher R. Browning's Ordinary Men Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland Of all the controversies facing historians today few are more divisive or more important than the question of how the Holocaust was possible. What led thousands of Germans – many of them middle-aged reservists with apparently little Nazi zeal – to willingly commit acts of genocide? Was it ideology? Was there something rotten in the German soul? Or was it – as Christopher Browning argues in this highly influential book – more a matter of conformity a response to intolerable social and psychological pressure? Ordinary Men is a microhistory the detailed study of a single unit in the Nazi killing machine. Browning evaluates a wide range of evidence to seek to explain the actions of the ordinary men who made up reserve Police Battalion 101 taking advantage of the wide range of resources prepared in the early 1960s for a proposed war crimes trial. He concludes that his subjects were not evil; rather their actions are best explained by a desire to be part of a team not to shirk responsibility that would otherwise fall on the shoulders of comrades and a willingness to obey authority. Browning's ability to explore the strengths and weaknesses of arguments – both the survivors' and other historians' – is what sets his work apart from other studies that have attempted to get to the root of the motivations for the Holocaust and it is also what marks Ordinary Men as one of the most important works of its generation. | An Analysis of Christopher R. Browning's Ordinary Men Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism The German sociologist Max Weber is considered to be one of the founding fathers of sociology and ranks among the most influential writers of the 20th-century. His most famous book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a masterpiece of sociological analysis whose power is based on the construction of a rigorous and intricately interlinked piece of argumentation. Weber’s object was to examine the relationship between the development of capitalism and the different religious ideologies of Europe. While many other scholars focused on the material and instrumental causes of capitalism’s emergence Weber sought to demonstrate that different religious beliefs in fact played a significant role. In order to do this he employed his analytical skills to understand the relationship between capitalism and religious ideology carefully considering how far Protestant and secular capitalist ethics overlapped and to what extent they mirrored each other. One crucial element of Weber’s work was his consideration the degree to which cultural values acted as implicit or hidden reasons reinforcing capitalist ethics and behavior – an investigation that he based on teasing out the ‘arguments’ that underpin capitalism. Incisive and insightful Weber’s analysis continues to resonate with scholars today. | An Analysis of Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Donna Haraway's A Cyborg Manifesto Science Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century Haraway’s ‘A Cyborg Manifesto’ is a key postmodern text and is widely taught in many disciplines as one of the first texts to embrace technology from a leftist and feminist perspective using the metaphor of the cyborg to champion socialist postmodern and anti-identitarian politics. Until Haraway’s work few feminists had turned to theorizing science and technology and thus her work quite literally changed the terms of the debate. This article continues to be seen as hugely influential in the field of feminism particularly postmodern materialist and scientific strands. It is also a precursor to cyberfeminism and posthumanism and perhaps anticipates the development of digital humanities. | An Analysis of Donna Haraway's A Cyborg Manifesto Science Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands Europe Between Hitler and Stalin A flagbearer for the increasingly fashionable genre of transnational history Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands is first and foremost a stunning example of the critical thinking skill of evaluation. Snyder's linguistic precocity allows him to cite evidence in 10 languages putting fresh twists on the familiar story of World War II fighting on the Eastern Front from 1941-45. In doing so he works to humanize the estimated 14 million people who lost their lives as their lands were fought over repeatedly by the Nazis and their Soviet opponents. Snyder also works to link more closely the atrocities committed by Hitler and Stalin which he insists are far too often viewed in isolation. He focuses heavily on the adequacy and relevance of his evidence but he also uses the materials he has culled from so many different archives as fuel for an exemplary work of reasoning forcing readers to confront the grim realities that lie behind terms such as ‘cannibalism’ and ‘liquidation. ’ In consequence Bloodlands has emerged only a few years after its publication as one of the seminal works of its era one that is key to Holocaust studies genocide studies and area studies and to sociology as well as to history. A masterly work of literature as well as of history Bloodlands will continue to be read for decades. | An Analysis of Timothy Snyder's Bloodlands Europe Between Hitler and Stalin GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Gustavo Gutiérrez's A Theology of Liberation Peruvian priest Gustavo Gutiérrez wanted to solve the problem of how the church could conduct itself to improve the lives of the poor while consistently positioning itself as politically neutral. Despite being a deeply religious man Gutiérrez was extremely troubled by the lukewarm way in which Christians in general and the Catholic Church in particular acknowledged and supported the poor. In A Theology of Liberation he asked what he knew was an awkward question and came to an awkward answer: the Church cannot separate itself from economic and political realities. Jesus showed his love for the poor in practical ways – healing the sick feeding the hungry liberating the oppressed. His example showed Gutierrez that economic political social and spiritual development are all deeply connected. His problem-solving prowess then led him to conclude that the church had to become politically active if it was to confront poverty and oppression across the world. For Gutierrez the lives of the poor and oppressed directly reflect the divine life of God. | An Analysis of Gustavo Gutiérrez's A Theology of Liberation GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of C.L.R. James's The Black Jacobins Today we take it for granted that history is much more than the story of great men and the elites from which they spring. Other forms of history – the histories of gender class rebellion and nonconformity – add much-needed context and color to our understanding of the past. But this has not always been so. In CLR James’s The Black Jacobins we have one of the earliest and most defining examples of how ‘history from below’ ought to be written. James's approach is based on his need to resolve two central problems: to understand why the Haitian slave revolt was the only example of a successful slave rebellion in history and also to grasp the ways in which its history was intertwined with the history of the French Revolution. The book's originality and its value rests on its author's ability to ask and answer productive questions of this sort and in the creativity with which he proved able to generate new hypotheses as a result. As any enduring work of history must be The Black Jacobins is rooted in sound archival research – but its true greatness lies in the originality of James's approach. | An Analysis of C. L. R. James's The Black Jacobins GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason is one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy – not to mention one of the most challenging. Its topic is the nature of human knowledge and the question of whether or not it is possible to have knowledge of the world at all. Over two centuries later Kant’s treatise remains a subject of fierce debate among philosophers who continue to offer new interpretations of his meaning. What is not in doubt is the work’s originality and brilliance – nor its mastery of creative thinking. Creative thinkers are able to bring a new perspective to questions and problems look at things from a different angle and show them in a fresh light. Kant achieved this by mediating between the two major schools of philosophical thought concerning knowledge – empiricism and rationalism – to create a complex third way. Where empiricists believed all knowledge is founded on experience and rationalists believed true knowledge is founded on reason alone Kant evaluated their arguments and proposed a third position – one incorporating elements of both but within specific limits. As infamously dense as it is profound Kant’s Critique shows creative thinking operating at a level few can aspire to reach. | An Analysis of Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Historians of the American Revolution had always seen the struggle for independence either as a conflict sparked by heavyweight ideology or as a war between opposing social groups acting out of self-interest. In The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution Bernard Bailyn begged to differ re-examining familiar evidence to establish new connections that in turn allowed him to generate fresh explanations. His influential reconceptualizing of the underlying reasons for America's independence drive focused instead on pamphleteering – and specifically on the actions of an influential group of ‘conspirators’ who identified and were determined to protect a particularly American set of values. For Bailyn these ideas could indeed be traced back to the ferment of the English Civil War – stemming from radical pamphleteers whose anti-authoritarian ideas crossed the Atlantic and embedded themselves in colonial ideology. Bailyn's thesis helps to explain the Revolution's success by pointing out how deep-rooted its founding ideas were; the Founding Fathers may have been reading Locke but the men they led were inspired by shorter pithier and altogether far more radical works. Only by understanding this Bailyn argues can we understand the passion and determination that allowed the rebel American states to defeat a global superpower. | An Analysis of Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Eugene Genovese's Roll Jordan Roll The World the Slaves Made Most studies of slavery are underpinned by ideology and idealism. Eugene Genovese's ground-breaking book takes a stand against both these influences arguing not only that all ideological history is bad history – a remarkable statement coming from a self-professed Marxist – but also that slavery itself can only be understood if master and slave are studied together rather than separately. Genovese's most important insight which makes this book a fine example of the critical thinking skill of problem-solving is that the best way to view the institution of American slavery is to understand why exactly it was structured as it was. He saw slavery as a process of continual renegotiation of power balances as masters strove to extract the maximum work from their slaves while slaves aimed to obtain acknowledgement of their humanity and the ability to shape elements of the world that they were forced to live in. Genovese's thesis is not wholly original; he adapts Gramsci's notion of hegemony to re-interpret the master-slave relationship – but it is an important example of the benefits of asking productive new questions about topics that seem superficially at least to be entirely obvious. By focusing on slave culture rather than producing another study of economic determinism this massive study succeeds in reconceptualising an institution in an exciting new way. | An Analysis of Eugene Genovese's Roll Jordan Roll The World the Slaves Made GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of David Graeber's Debt The First 5 000 Years Debt is one of the great subjects of our day and understanding the way that it not only fuels economic growth but can also be used as a means of generating profit and exerting control is central to grasping the way in which our society really works. David Graeber's contribution to this debate is to apply his anthropologists' training to the understanding of a phenomenon often considered purely from an economic point of view. In this respect the book can be considered a fine example of the critical thinking skill of problem-solving. Graeber's main aim is to undermine the dominant narrative which sees debt as the natural – and broadly healthy – outcome of the development of a modern economic system. He marshals evidence that supports alternative possibilities and suggests that the phenomenon of debt emerged not as a result of the introduction of money but at precisely the same time. This in turn allows Graeber to argue against the prevailing notion that economy and state are fundamentally separate entities. Rather he says the two were born together and have always been intertwined – with debt being a means of enforcing elite and state power. For Graeber this evaluation of the evidence points to a strong potential solution: there should be more readiness to write off debt and more public involvement in the debate over debt and its moral implications. | An Analysis of David Graeber's Debt The First 5 000 Years GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman offers a general audience access to over six decades of insight and expertise from a Nobel Laureate in an accessible and interesting way. Kahneman’s work focuses largely on the problem of how we think and warns of the dangers of trusting to intuition – which springs from “fast” but broad and emotional thinking – rather than engaging in the slower harder but surer thinking that stems from logical deliberate decision-making. Written in a lively style that engages readers in the experiments for which Kahneman won the Nobel Thinking Fast and Slow’s real triumph is to force us to think about our own thinking. | An Analysis of Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow GBP 6.50 1
An Analysis of Geoffrey Parker's Global Crisis War Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century Few historians can claim to have undertaken historical analysis on as grand a scale as Geoffrey Parker in his 2013 work Global Crisis: War Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century. It is a doorstop of a book that surveys the ‘general crisis of the 17th century ’ shows that it was experienced practically throughout the world and was not merely a European phenomenon and links it to the impact of climate change in the form of the advent of a cold period known as the ‘Little Ice Age. ’ Parker’s triumph is made possible by the deployment of formidable critical thinking skills – reasoning to construct an engaging overall argument from very disparate material and analysis to re-examine and understand the plethora of complex secondary sources on which his book is built. In critical thinking analysis is all about understanding the features and structures of argument: how given reasons lead to conclusions and what kinds of implicit reasons and assumptions are being used. Historical analysis applies the same skills to the fabric of history asking how given chains of events occur how different reasons and factors interact and so on. Parker though takes things further than most in his quest to understand the meaning of a century’s-worth of turbulence spread across the whole globe. Beginning by breaking down the evidence for significant climatic cooling in the 17th-century (due to decreased solar activity) he moves on to detailed study of the effects the cooling had on societies and regimes across the world. From this detailed spadework he constructs a persuasive argument that accounts for the different ways in which the effects of climate change played out across the century – an argument with profound implications for a future likely to see serious climate change of its own. | An Analysis of Geoffrey Parker's Global Crisis War Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century GBP 6.50 1