Some deep thinking this time, with a look at how Socrates approached critical thinking. The book is not really written as a practical guidebook but more as a high level survey of some of Socrates’ “conversations” and what they might mean to us now.
What I really liked about this book was the multiple thought experiments where the author guides you through a mental experiment to illustrate her points in more detail. I also liked how the author didn’t linger too much on historical backgrounds and instead got right down to the deep thoughts.
However I soon realized that this book is delving farther into debates of thought than I had expected, and despite being aimed at the layman I often felt like I was reading an academic work. Which is fine – but books for an academic setting and for a layman’s consumption have different goals and approaches. While this one started easy enough, I found myself less interested in the second half of the book.
Still, there was some great stuff in here. It was fascinating to hear the musings of someone who is paid to think professionally.
Next I am reading We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.
