Thought: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #343

by Tim Bayne

There is no denying that thinking comes naturally to human beings and that thinking is indeed central to what it means to be human. But what are thoughts? How does the brain--billions of tiny neurons and synapses--accomplish thought? In this compelling Very Short Introduction, Tim Bayne offers a compact but wide-ranging account of the nature of thought, drawing upon philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and anthropology. Bayne touches on a stimulating array of topics. Does thinking occur in public or is it a purely private affair? Do young children and non-human animals think? Is human thought the same everywhere, or are there culturally specific modes of thought? What is the relationship between thought and language? What kind of responsibility do we have for our thoughts? In what ways can the process of thinking go wrong? Beginning with questions about what thought is and what distinguishes it from other kinds of mental states, he explores the logical structures of thought as well as the mechanisms that make thought possible. In sum, this book provides an engaging survey of what we know--and what we don't know--about one of the most central of human capacities.
About the Series:
Oxford's Very Short Introductions series offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology, Politics to Classics, Literary Theory to History, and Archaeology to the Bible. Not simply a textbook of definitions, each volume in this series provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given discipline or field. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question, demonstrating how the subject has developed and how it has influenced society. Eventually, the series will encompass every major academic discipline, offering all students an accessible and abundant reference library. Whatever the area of study that one deems important or appealing, whatever the topic that fascinates the general reader, the Very Short Introductions series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Nonfiction, Science, Academic, Neuroscience

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2013

Reviews

[The Final Song ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really makes you think

[DoCong Nguyen]

Cuốn sách này có lẽ phù hợp với những ai muốn tìm hiểu về tư duy dưới góc độ nghiên cứu, bởi không có nhiều nội dung có thể liên hệ tới đời sống của từng cá nhân khi đọc cuốn sách này.

Cuốn sách đề cập tới khá nhiều vấn đề: khái niệm tư duy, trí tuệ nhân tạo, tư duy giữa người với người, giữa xã hội này với xã hội khác, tư duy ở loài vật, các loại huyễn tưởng ở bệnh nhân tâm thần, trách nhiệm cá nhân về ý tưởng và niềm tin của bản thân, và những giới hạn của tư duy.

Cuốn sách viết theo hình thức mà mình cho là khá phổ biến: đặt vấn đề, đưa ra các nghiên cứu liên quan, kết luận của bản thân tác giả. Nhìn chung thì các vấn đề tác giả đưa ra đều có những nghiên cứu nhất định giúp chúng ta hiểu thêm phần nào về tư duy, nhưng các vấn đề đều còn để ngỏ, và vẫn cần các nghiên cứu tiếp sau để hé lộ thêm bức tranh về tư duy.

Một điểm mình chưa hài lòng với cuốn sách đó là chất lượng bản dịch. Không quá tệ tuy nhiên còn nhiều chỗ mà theo cảm nhận bản thân là dịch word by word, có những chỗ dùng từ Hán Việt khó hiểu không cần thiết, nhất là với một cuốn sách dẫn nhập như cuốn này (mình biết bác BVNS dùng từ quan năng, nhưng nếu dịch giả cảm thấy từ này khó hiểu thì có thể đổi sang từ khác mà).

[Bojan Tunguz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thinking is a quintessential human activity. Capacity to think is considered such a prominent human trait that the very name of our species – Homo sapiens – means “thinking man.” Thinking comes so naturally to us that most of us rarely reflect on the fact that it’s a very complex activity. In fact, it’s very hard to properly define what thought really is.

This very short introduction aims to give the reader a better understanding of what thought and thinking are all about. The approach is predominantly philosophical, although it contains a fair dose of contemporary psychological and scientific understanding of thought processes and human mind in general. The book is very well written and it’s generally accessible, although some parts can be conceptually challenging. Readers should ideally have some familiarity with the philosophical ways of thinking and be willing to engage and entertain some pretty abstract concepts. The book presents various contemporary views on variability and malleability of thought between different individuals and across cultures. This is actually a very contentious academic area, and the book tries to be neutral between various arguments. (Sometimes to the fault, in my opinion.)

It is probably impossible to cover every topic pertaining to the idea of though in such a short book, but I do wish there were few interesting ones that were covered. In particular, I wish the book covered more on the topic of intelligence, and at least introduced artificial intelligence. The latter is one of the topics that I am very interested in, and over the past few years it has become a field that has brought out a lot of practical applications.

I really enjoyed reading this book, but its approach might be more academic than what one would have expected from a book intended for a very general audience.

[Avesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly informative read, although I think it's more than simply a short introduction to the matter, as it delves quite deep into the big questions surrounding 'thought', which I greatly enjoyed. Will definitely be reading this again for my research paper, since it discusses matters relating to delusions and religion quite well, and makes it quite easy to understand.

[Víctor Bermúdez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Table of Contents

1: What is thought?
2: The mechanical mind
3: The inner sanctum
4: Of brutes and babes
5: 'They don't think like we do'
6: Thought gone wrong
7: The ethics of thought
8: The limits of thought

[SUMAYA]

#الفكر
#تيم_باين
#thought by #timbayne

بدايةً قرأت هذا #الكتاب للمرة الأولى أواخر عام 2018 وأحجمت عن إتمامه بسبب وعورة -في رأيي آنذاك- أساليبه لإيصال الفكرة، سواءً أكان ذلك بموجب صعوبة موضوعة الكتاب بحد ذاتها أم بسبب اختيار #المترجم للمرادفات العويصة التي وضعها به، لكنه اليوم حاز على الحظوة الأرفع مقاماً في قلبي -ورأيي على حدٍ سواء-
تحدث فيه #تيم_باين عن ماهية الفكر وطبيعته، ثم انتقل سريعاً إلى تمحيص الآراء والروايات المتباينة المطروحة حول منشأ الفكر وأصله، فتناولها من النظرة المنحازة للنزعة الفيزيائية، أيد ما أيد منها وأقام الحجة على ما لم يكن موضع إقرار منه، أو من مختصين آخرين، ناقش في الفصل الذي يليه العناصر المعرفية للصورة الديكارتية، حللها، لخصها، وأخرج أندى ما تضمنتها، ثم طرح عدداً من التحديات المنهجية التي واجهتها استراتيجيات تفي بأن اللغة شرط للتفكير، وركز فيما بعد على السجال الدائر بين السايكولوجيين (النظرة التعميمية) والأنثروبولوجيين (النظرة التخصيصية) عن آرائهم حول أنماط الفكر الإنساني، نصل إلى الفصل الأكثر أهمية -بالنسبة لي على الأقل- فصل الأوهام والأفكار الضالة، ناظر فيه عن طبيعة الأوهام وتنوعها، عن الحالات الواجمة التي تم رصدها من خلال كتابات بعضاً من النابغة في العلم والفن، عن إمكانية رسغ بعض الأوهام تحت تفسيرات، يمكن بشكل أو بآخر، عقلنتها وتخفيف حدتها، وآخر ما تمت محاججته هو ما إذا كان بإمكان المرء تحديد خطوط واضحة الجلاء للفكر، بمعنى أنه غير قادر على تخطي مداه المزعوم و رَوْز حقائق الكون قاطبة.
وأخيراً أود الإشارة إلى أن ما يعيب الترجمة، وهذا عيب ضاوٍ، توطين الأسماء الممثل بها، وإحلال أسماء عربية محل الأصلية، فمثلاً بدلاً من "ماركو" و "فالنتينا" ارتأى المترجم تحويلها إلى "فرح" و "سليمان" ولولا وجود تلكم الهفوة، لما تسنى لي معرفة ما كان قبلاً مما صار إليه.

[Bill Tyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a classic example of a Parsons egg - interesting and open minded in some sections (thinking in other species, the possibility of limits to thought) and all too brief and dismissive in others (the dismissal of Searles arguments in the ""Mechanical mind" chapter is all too prefunctory and there is very little detail on neurobiology studies of cognition and thought. This could have been a really excellent addition to the VSI library; as it stands it is sadly a very very (all too) short introduction - needlessly so as several other books in the series are much longer than this one.

[Dinghao Luo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally, a slightly off-topic Psychology 101 booklet like this wouldn’t be worth a four-star review, but it’s genuinely well written, covers a wide range, and always manages to tie things back to 'thought'.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview on what thought means, how we think, why we think certain things we think, and what goes on in our minds when we think.

[Charlie Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book ignited my enthusiasm to study philosophy. It gives a very concise, accessible treatment to the common debates about thought.

[Charlotte Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chapters 4 and 5 were particularly interesting.

[Caomhghain · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive coverage though not exciting or original in any way. Well what do you expect in a VSI. Good start on the topic.

[Alekhya Bhat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear, concise, interesting: good for those interested in dipping their toes into early philosophy and psychology without being overwhelmingly meaty.

[Cal Davie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An intriguing overview into what thought actually is. Something that we don't often think enough about.

[Jane Arleth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 - Nice and short intro to Thought from the lens of psychology, philosophy and neuroscience. Quite interesting :)

[عبدالرحمن عقاب · Rating 2 out of 5]

كنت متحمسًا جدًا للكتاب. وتوقعت أن أجد فيه الكثير . لكن للأسف لم يرتق إلى "فكرة" الفكرة . وقد طوّف كاتبه القاريء في مجالات عدة مما يتعلّق في الأفكار والتفكير خالطا بين الإثنين أو غير قادر على الإفلات من مصيدة الخلط
لا يخلو الكتاب من نقاشات جيدة لكنها محدودة ومبتورة في غالبه��

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some good ideas into different philosophers' and psychologists' research in this area. Some sections are a bit hazy in its analysis and the writing style is a little muddled at some times. The book is a good start into the topic and will definitely make you think.

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book on Thought really made me think. It gives plausible answers on how people think, how language plays into thinking, and even gives theories on what processes are involved with thinking disorders, such as Schizophrenia. A good introduction into a fascinating field.

[Kenneth Bachmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Mild disappointment in never getting to the heart of the question, "What exactly is a thought?" Chapter 8 was the best with issues expressed similarly to the writing of Maimonides. There are unknowables not attainable by our thoughts.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly lucid overview to this most fascinating and still not fully-understood process...

[Oliver Ho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking and surprisingly dense in parts. Lots of food for thought--the references and recommendations for further reading will be useful.

[متنفسة الأمل · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it...

[Claus · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sharp enough.