Think: In Defence of a Thoughtful Life

by Svend Brinkmann

A defining feature of being human is our ability to think. We refer to ourselves, after all, as homo sapiens. But in a world where experiencing and achieving as much as possible is the number one preoccupation, there is little room for reflection. Technology is also making everything easier, eroding the need for us to think at all.

Of course deep, critical thinking can be difficult, sometimes painful, and it demands time. But it is fundamental to our well-being.  In this new book, bestselling philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann argues for a return to the thoughtful life, where we learn to think well, to think deeply, to lose ourselves in reverie and tune in to our inner voice.  By spending time in our thoughts and letting them wander freely, we will discover that thinking is one of the most enriching things we can do in life – and one of the most human too.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy

200 pages, Hardcover

Published January 23, 2024

About the author

Svend Brinkmann (født 23. december 1975) har været professor i almenpsykologi og kvalitative metoder på Det Humanistiske Fakultet på Aalborg Universitet siden 2009. Han er uddannet cand.psych. fra Aarhus Universitet.

Svend Brinkmann har skrevet og redigeret en lang række bøger og mere end 150 artikler. Derudover har han udgivet artikler og bogkapitler på syv forskellige sprog. I almenheden blev han i 2014 kendt for bogen Stå fast, hvori han gør op med, hvad han beskriver som tidens (selv)udviklingstyranni. Svend Brinkmann har også medvirket i radioprogrammet Netværket på P1 fra 2009-2016 og var i 2014 vært på DRK programmet Lev Stærkt.

Svend Brinkmann har gennem sin karriere modtaget mange priser og legater. Blandt andet modtog han i 2015 DR's formidlingspris Rosenkjærprisen og Gyldendals formidlingspris sammen med Lene Tanggaard.

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

To quote Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, “Let me explain. No, there’s too much. Let me sum up.”

Brinkmann has distilled quite a bit on thinking from some of the great thinkers. If you’ve already read Aristotle, Kant, Arendt, Heidegger, et. al., then this book probably won’t break new ground. If you’re like me, and you have yet to dig into those philosophers’ great works, this brings them together, explains their thoughts on thinking, and how they compare. One thing they all seem to agree on, true thinking takes time. The second thing they agree on is that, contrary to the legend of the lone genius, thinking requires cultural context and connections with others.

Brinkmann starts out his introduction with an example brainteaser he used in his review of Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking, Fast and Slow. After reading his review, a complete stranger called him to explain with great anger how he (and, presumably, Kahneman as well) had gotten that example completely wrong. He tried to walk her through the logic and her error, but she wasn’t having it.

For most of us, it’s important not only that we and our fellow human beings behave properly – comply with certain moral virtues – but also that we think properly and, in doing so, comply with certain intellectual virtues. It’s important not only to act well but also to think well.
    ...One theme of this book is that learning to think is part of the process known as formation (Bildung, as the Germans call it) – learning to be a fully rounded thinking person – which is described in detail later in the book. Thinking is fundamental to living a good life.
   ...The rounded individual understands the history and communities of which they are a part, and can think independently. They have developed their own voice, which makes them capable of forming their own opinions about issues and questions, but when doing so they always take into account other people and the world around them. Indeed, this is the basic idea of humanism: that you must learn to think for yourself. To think well. To use your reason. And to resist anything that threatens your ability to do so.

Like any good philosopher, Brinkmann then goes on to define his terms; what exactly do we mean when we talk about thinking? In English especially, this has become a hazy term that can mean ‘I feel,’ ‘I experience,’ or ‘I sense,’ none of which is deep, contemplative thinking. (And apparently has also made its way into Danish.) Once he has explained what he means by thinking, he examines why the modern world seems to discount and devalue thinking, which by nature is slow, in favor of speed and efficiency. He explains how thinking, far from being a pointless exercise, can generate wonder, liberate us briefly from time and ourselves, and bring us happiness. “This is what philosophy is about – breaking down the ego and finding joy in knowledge for its own sake.” He spends an entire chapter explaining how thinking is needed for formation, the “rising up to humanity through culture,” proposed by Hans-Georg Gadamer. He looks into how thinking comes about, both from an evolutionary standpoint and from individual development. Finally, he closes by looking at seven ways to bring more thoughtfulness into our lives. The good news, fellow readers, is that two of these ways are books and conversation.

As someone who has been told I have too many books, who has been asked ‘Why on earth would you want to learn/read about that?’, who has been reprimanded on occasion for not getting immediately to the point, this book gave me validation and a bit of smug satisfaction. (Okay, a lot of smug satisfaction.) Whether it was Brinkmann’s intention, it took me awhile to finish this because I kept pausing to think. “Only via thinking can we rise above the present, slow down time, travel without thought into the past and future, and perhaps – as Badiou would say – enjoy glimpses of infinity.”

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

Fine refleksioner omhandlende tanker og især deres betydning for samfundets og individets udvikling. Plus hvordan opbygningen af det nuværende samfund skader menneskers evne til at tænke bare for at tænke og undre sig

[Henriette Kiersgaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

En rigtig god bog, med masser af gode indsigter. Bestemt værd at læse.

[Catarina Clausen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeg bliver provokeret og fascineret undervejs. Men som altid får Svend Brinkmann mig til at være tankefuld, hvilket måske også er meningen med netop denne bog.

[Simon Fisker · Rating 2 out of 5]

En bog der går meget i dybden med tænkningen i forskellige former. For lig bliver dette dog en tung omgang og meget gentagelse. Dette bliver dog løftet op af forskellige tankeeksperimenter som kan få læseren igang.

Det er lidt synd at bogen til tider har et politisk standpunkt, hvor jeg hellere ville havde at det var neutral. Dette ødelægger dog ikke de indsigter bogen ellers har, men detalje.

Læs bogen hvis du vil lære at tænke og hvad det vil sige i alle sine former.

[Nikolaj Wulff · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dårligere end Stå Fast. Lidt svært at finde ud af præcis hvad han gerne vil sige med denne bog :/

[Ethan Rogers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Danish psychology professor Svend Brinkmann believes that the increasing pace of modern life is training human beings not to think. This is because thought, according to Brinkmann, is a slow process that requires an ability to mull over a problem while resisting any kneejerk reactions. Brinkmann appeals to a range of great thinkers--Heidegger, Aristotle, Dewey, etc.--both to support his diagnosis of modernity and to coach his readers to begin thinking, which is very meaningful. I rate this book two stars not because I disagree with Brinkmann but because I found the book lacking in insights beyond what would be obvious to anyone who had encountered these thinkers.

I chose to read this book because I hoped that Brinkmann would use his psychological expertise to describe more specifically the ways that he thinks thought is being suppressed by modern culture, but this is not that book. Brinkmann writes for people who feel on some level that thinking is important but who, for whatever reason, do not dare to read the major thinkers themselves. For such readers, Brinkman writes clearly and approachably.

[David Top · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book on thinking in which Brinkmann, as most of his authorship, focuses on the intrinsic good of different aspects of life. It is important for our shared humanity to value thinking as presented as a reflective, contemplative activity much like Aristotle in his Metaphysics.

It is not a "how to" or a coaching book, as would be ironic, but simply a minor study and advocacy for bringing more thinking into our lives. This is done through a number of thinkers who have thought about this deeply like Heidegger, Arendt and others.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone else than 'philosophers' or people who have engaged with the big thinkers already, as this might be repetition.

[Elisabeth Froholdt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeg hørte "Tænk" som lydbog og vil helt klart anbefale andre at anskaffe sig en fysisk kopi af bogen for at give sig bedre tid til at reflektere over indholdet (meget i tråd med et af værkets hovedpointer ;)). Passende balance mellem referencer til andre filosofers ideer) der spæner helt fra det antikke Grækenland til Kant til eksistentialismen) og Svends egne argumenter. Grundlæggende er jeg meget enig i at tankefuldheden står i kontrast til nutidens effektivitetssamfund, og det kan være farligt for både vores relationer til hinanden og måden vi opfatter vores eget liv på. Anbefalelsesværdig!

[mars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meget interessant med gode eksempler og referencer til filosoffer og andre forfattere. Selv hvis man ikke læser bogen for at kunne tænke (bedre), er det lige det bogen får dig til at gøre. Også får man at vide, at lige meget hvad du gør, tænker du faktisk hele tiden.
Den er desuden nemt og hurtigt at læse. Man bliver virkelig fanget i den og den får en til at tænke dybt, med de masse af tankeeksperimenter.

Denne bog anbefaler jeg til folk, der bare har lyst til at læse mere om livet og vil gerne vide, hvordan et liv kan blive bedre gennem gode tanker :)

[Jens Poder · Rating 4 out of 5]

En god og tænksom bog. Jeg synes måske nok at der er lidt for meget baggrund og refereren af videnskab om tænkning, og lidt for lidt ideer til, hvordan vi så i praksis kan ændre vores tilværelse, så der bliver mere plads til tænkning. Det bliver berørt i sidste kapitel, men meget hurtigt.

Han kunne med fordel have droppet kapitlet, hvor han gennemgår alt den forskning om, hvordan tænkning er opstået. Det er selvfølgelig interessant baggrund, men bidrager, i mine øjne, ikke så meget til bogens projekt.

[Kåre Petersen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Som altid velskrevet og imponerende hvordan han organiserer og formidler både andres og egne tanker. Kunne mærke igennem alle kapitler hvordan tankefuldhed virkelig er et emne, som optager Svend B. og det smitter, hvorfor jeg mener det her er en af hans bedste bøger - har også lavet et utal af noter af egne tanker og fået inspiration til yderligere læsning.

[Fatma Kızıl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben İletişim’den çıkan çevirisini okudum. Brinkmann psikolog, kitap felsefe ve psikolojiden yararlanarak “düşünceli bir hayat” sürmenin önemi ve yollarından bahsediyor. İnce ama yavaş ilerleyen, yoğun bir kitap.

[Birgitte Dion]

1

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kort bog, der var rar at lytte til.

Meget tankevækkende og interessant at det er børn der er bedst til at stille filosofiske spørgsmål.

MOFIBO Lydbog

[Christoffer Ravn-Nielsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Den er sgu god! Den er er god og rammer det hele godt ind. Ikke så sjov som stå fast men måske endnu mere tankefuld og fotdybende

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

As expected, much food for thought in this deceptively slim book by a great contemporary thinker.

[Thoger E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Synes den var svær at følge, og måtte kæmpe mig lidt igennem til sidst. Der var dog nogle interessante tanker og en introduktion til nogle tænkere