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Eleanor Gordon-Smith

Autor(a) de Stop being reasonable

4 Works 58 Membros 3 Críticas

Obras por Eleanor Gordon-Smith

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Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

STOP BEING REASONABLE is a dense little book filled with philosophical musings on varied subjects such as why guys catcall, how someone escaped a cult, and if a girl is telling the truth about being abused by her parents. Each chapter starts with a couple of lines from philosophy that sets the tone for the case study, such as this one from Blaise Pascal: People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof but on the basis of what they find attractive.

Those who have a background in philosophy will enjoy this book for the anecdotes that illustrate various ways of thinking. My experience with philosophy is minimal, so I am sure a great deal of the material is going over my head. The stories about the people were mildly interesting, just not wholly captivating for me. Perhaps I expected different handling of the subject. This does not detract from the writing itself, just a caveat to potential readers that this is a heavier read than normal.

The author has a background in debate as well, and her skills are apparent in the way she writes and presents her facts. A common theme to all the stories is: examine closely what you expect to be true, for things are not what they seem to be.
… (mais)
 
Assinalado
kwskultety | 1 outra crítica | Jul 4, 2023 |
Do not pick this book up if you are looking for How We Really Change Our Minds.
She gives her belief that facts alone do not change minds then tells some stories to support that.
I would give this a 1 for false advertising, however the brief discussion of some of the concepts was worth listening to.
 
Assinalado
GShuk | 1 outra crítica | Oct 27, 2019 |
It's complicated, but fascinating. Lots of ideas to be revisited.

My sketchy notes:

Using six case studies Gordon-Smith looks at ways in which people may have to change their minds about significant things, and how complicated how they achieve it (if they do), can be.

Chapter 1

Words don't share the same value in different mouths.

No matter how often the author tells men she is interviewing, that women don't enjoy being catcalled or being grabbed by strangers (sharing recent statistics), the men continue to say she can't speak for all women. And insist on reading women's smiles as pleasure than possibly as armour to ensure they get out of the situation.

Rationality is compromised when words don't carry the same value whoever the speaker is, so women saying the identical thing as men are not heard. Not an unfamiliar experience, I had it in a meeting myself recently. Being one of only two women out of ten in the meeting, and the most junior staff member, my comments were passed over, but when a male colleague half my age said exactly the same thing, the idea was given debate!

People of colour experience similar devaluation.

So how can a decision-making situation be totally rational under these circumstances.

Chapter 2

'don't believe what other's tell you', except much of what we believe comes from the testimony of others, we don't/can't always demand to see the evidence, even if there is evidence beyond testimony.

(My thought: the whole court system is based often on testimony alone. Testimony that only partially may have evidence to back it up).

In relation to cult believers, you need them to interrogate who is telling them to believe something (and why they believe them/trust what they say), before changing what is believed.

Chapter 3

Narrative of the self. Can we change it? Programme 'Faking it'. A young toff participated in an early reality tv programme, where people are asked to train, and present themselves as different people during a four week period. Alex trains to be a London East End club bouncer. The programme concludes with the participant trying to pass him or herself off in the new role, and experienced people have to choose out of five contenders who is the fake. Alex managed to convince the pro he was for real. After the show aired, Alex did not return to his old life, but emigrated to Australia with his partner, where he still lives, the confidence he gained in transforming himself for the programme helped him find a more authentic self.

Chapter 4

Doubt. Susie learns her husband is a paedophile. How could she not have known, is what others ask. In order to trust, in relationships, does one have to suspend doubt?

Chapter 5

Unreliable memory. A woman who as a child aged seven, reports she has been abused by her mother. Aged 17 she claims no memory of either the psychological analysis she underwent, nor the incidents, until she is about to see the original tapes of her testimony, when some of the 'memories' return. Over the following years other information comes to light, and the woman is led to constantly flip-flop her belief about what occurred. She doesn't believe she will ever know for sure.

Chapter 6

Learning you may not be who you thought you were, in the way you thought you were. Peter learns aged 50 that the parents and family he believed his own, had adopted him, when his birth mother and half sister turn up on the doorstep. He also learns that everyone in the small town where he grew up knew, but no one told him. A complicated situation for Peter to parse.
… (mais)
½
 
Assinalado
Caroline_McElwee | Jul 29, 2019 |

Estatísticas

Obras
4
Membros
58
Popularidade
#284,346
Avaliação
½ 3.4
Críticas
3
ISBN
9
Línguas
1

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