Englischsprachige Literatur

Hofstadter Sander

Surfaces and Essences

Basic/Perseus Books, Philadelphia 2013

Galbraith3

This voluminous book by two authors, Sander being a psychologist, is about how thinking is done in anologies and is expressed in anologies, which does not come as a big surprise for the uninitiated reader. You might say, a basic truth is blown out of proportion by scientific minds.

But in large parts it is a really good read, because it is written in a witty style, full of metaphors and analogies, thus showing what it is all about.

On the other hand you might find analogies in thought and speech dangerously close to prejudices, which as p. c. tells us to believe, are strictly forbidden and a good person must do everything to eradicate them.

But the authors show, no thinking and acting is possible without recurring to previous experience, justified or not. They have collected an enormous number of real live conversations and other examples to prove their argumentation.

They might have done this in half the number of pages, though.