Do You Think What You Think You Think? by Julian Baggini

Do You Think What You Think You Think? Reviews

• 
  Sanjay Gautam

  Do I Think What I Think I Think?
  
  No!
• 
  Chip Cook

  English.
  In the first exercise, "there must be" pops up way to often. Must there be? Must the world or a mind be that simple?
  Did the authors consult anyone who designs marketing surveys when constructing the questions? Or did they just refine their questions using the feedback from people who already subscribe to the same ideas that they do?
  For instance, Tension 10. Is the unnatural wrong?
  If you agree that sanitation and medicine are good and that homosexuality is not bad, you must have a "tension."
  Apparently, medicine is unnatural. But is it? Unless your underlying belief is that humans are unnatural, then anything humans do is just as natural as anything a fungus does.
  Apparently, if you don't hold a moral stance on homosexuality at all, you don't care if it is right or wrong, and therefore you disagree with the statement that it is "wrong because it is unnatural" -- I'm not sure what they get from this.
  If you don't find either homosexuality or sanitation and medicine wrong, you are conflicted somehow.
  Here's another: Tension 13. It's quite possible that a person believes that a person sees atheists as having a "faith" not because of observed beliefs or lack of beliefs, but rather because their behavior is sometimes so similar to that of some religious people. If you agreed that atheists have a "faith" based on observed behavior of atheists, you are judged to have another "tension." The question does not allow you that option.
  If someone assumes that because something hasn't yet been proved in a manner that is satisfactory to him that it will never be proved, then he apparently believes the underlying assumption of Statement 8. How would I know? Charles H. Duell knew. Only he didn't know.
  If you ask for agreement/disagreement with ambiguous statements, you get answers that lack specifically identifiable meaning. The answers are all over the place because the questions are not precise. To do that then turn around and say there "must be" an alignment or an incongruence is presumptuous.
  I doubt I'll finish the book. I hope that the reason I find it irritating is that our common language isn't really common, that I in my country interpret the questions differently than the authors intended because we don't use the language the same way.
• 
  Jenny

  This was right up my alley. Fun, meta, personlly challenging, widely applicable. Had a few moments when I regretted my decision to forego a philosophy degree and subsequent JD. I do so love brain play. There are many tests included which I think will be of use for my critical thinking/government class.
• 
  J.C.

  Nobody Ever Went Wrong Thinking About Their Own Thought Processes
  
  "Do You Think What You Think You Think? was a nice little book with fun "thought exercises." This book was briefly discussed on a forum that I frequent, and as I've always been a fun of philosophy and thought exercises, I picked it up immediately (or as fast as the seller shipped it). Unfortunately, I don't think everyone will appreciate this book. With our dualistic and polarized thinking society, it can never hurt to learn a little bit more about why each of us think more critically about our thought processes; however, it seems anytime someone questions a belief or belief system, it is seemed as condescending or insulting. The authors make a good point in one of the potentially "controversial" chapters when they said "[This exercise) is a deep challenge only to those whose beliefs have shallow foundations." If you pick up this book with an open mind and wanting to know more about your belief system and thought process, then this book is for you. If you are only getting this book to reinforce what you already think, then you will most certainly not enjoy this book.
  
  Before I get too far along, I must say that this book should not be read as the "be all, end all" guide to thought analysis. It is simply some basic exercises that must be taken within the context of the goals of the book.
  
  Each chapter is divided into a different section: Logic, Taboos, Morality, Ethics, God, among others. While going through each section you answer questions that are later assessed to find contradictions or alignments in your thoughts and beliefs. A minor note that the authors are often correct that the scoring may "appear" difficult for a couple sections; but isn't. They are correct; however, the authors did not do as good a job explaining the scoring and I was sometimes left to read between the lines to figure it out for myself, and after I did, it wasn't difficult; but their description was rather lack-luster.
  
  This book was quick to read and fun to engage in. I personally enjoyed every minute of my time reading and interacting with this book. Like I said, I think it is unfortunate that not everyone will appreciate this book; but anyone who considers this as a book to read must go in to the book at face value. Many of the questions and sections can easily be misconstrued as making "right or wrong" judgments or can easily be read as "what you believe is wrong." But again, I think it only goes back to how superficial the person reading the book is. I was never uncomfortable reading this book, even when it pointed out the most obvious contradictions in my basic thoughts and values.
  
  The only other thing I will comment on is the price of the book. The back of edition I received had a price tag of $13. I would never pay that much for this book. I bought it from one of Amazon's used sellers for three or four dollars.
  
  J.Stoner
• 
  Aly

  Not sure I learned much I didn’t already know, but the quizzes were still entertaining/interesting
• 
  ger

  Light read with quizzes to test your philosophical congruity. Makes some interesting points but as with all ideas the devil is in the detail.
• 
  Aseel Karmi

  I will read it again
• 
  George Magkonis

  Very clever tests covering almost everything.
• 
  Frank Jude

  This is a brilliant book! A philosophy book for both those who have studied and are interested in philosophy, but perhaps even more so, for those who haven't given the issue much conscious thought at all! People think they know what they think, but without real conscious inquiry, many hold incompatible ideas and views because they have not spent time and energy on developing clear and congruent ideas about the world and what they truly believe.
  
  This book presents a variety of quizzes that will help the reader to gain insight into where they may hold contradictory ideas as well as help uncover blind spots in their thinking. After quizzes that help spotlight inconsistencies in one's thinking processes, there are quizzes that will shed light on what your ethical foundations really are.
  
  Really, if you are at all interested in gaining greater self-knowledge, then this is a must read -- and more importantly -- must use book. And be prepared to be humbled.
• 
  Dava Kharis

  It is a fun book to read that really distorts your usual beliefs. This book really covers a lot of grounds from God, freedom, logic, morals, even art. It teaches you to think consistently whatever your beliefs are. Learning philosophy can be fun with quizzes or minigame inside every chapter and somehow the jokes are quite funny (spoiler: the author messed around with you at the end of the book haha). I recommend you to read this book!
• 
  Rick

  Can the great ideas of philosophy be reduced to mathematical algorithms based on quiz show questionnaires which call for individual opinions? And is philosophy just a combination of opinions? The authors of this book think so. I took the quizzes and I didn't feel any further along than when I started. I was not impressed.
• 
  Ali

  I read this with a book group and it guided us through some really interesting discussions. Some chapters are more interesting and "discussable" than others, but overall I liked the book and the ideas it prompted you to think about. As expected, most people do not think what they think they think.
• 
  Jaymes Dunlap

  This was an excellent read: informative, witty [couldn't you guess by the title?], and also increases understanding/awareness in the universal and personal senses. Clear, crisp, writing style kept me turning pages and anticipating next activity. Not at all like the more serious or "drier" (as others might say) works of some classical thinkers.
  
  Not going to say I condone or agree with everything one hundred percent, but the reasoning and arguments kept me, a thinker, engaged in the work. I think some of the more emotive readers or the ultra-analytical might get a bit upset with the (yet sometimes witty) analyses, reasoning, and conclusions. I believe it is meant to spark discussions and interaction rather than being an "authoritative" text.
  
  It is a neat little book to find out just how logical you and your reasoning processes are!
• 
  Hind Abdin

  Spicy, salty and sweet! Pineapple pizza barely comes close to it.🍍
  Get ready for your thought process, belief system, moral frames, assumptions and opinions to be boiled, broiled and baked through dozens of brainteasers.
  The book would have been better for me if more precise terminology - especially in the analysis section - was used and the provided book's website was working. :(
  Yet, the summary at the end of each chapter was adored.
  Strongly recommended for anyone looking for coherence.
• 
  Kaycie

  I enjoyed this bit of a self-check for your brain, and the way that the test were done was nicely eye-opening without being anything that I think people could take offense at.
  
  I guess I was looking for more nuanced discussion of the philosophies behind everything after the quizzes, which is why it got docked a star.
• 
  Fernanda Göller

  Imaginei que seria uma leitura diferente, que seriam testes mais profundos, mais filosóficos mesmo. Mas é no mínimo interessante para uma reflexão dos pensamentos e atitudes que temos às vezes sem pensar.
• 
  Gavin

  Maybe the first philosophy (nominal philosophy? thing by a philosopher?) I read. Can't quite remember if it was amazing, but I ended up doing philosophy so it can't have been bad.
• 
  Andrew Gagne

  A perfect companion book for the author's previous works.
• 
  Edith Cortes

  Es una lectura que vale la pena, te hace pensar muchisimo
• 
  Manila

  This book has concluded that I am either a subtle thinker or a mass of contradictions. Now I am contradicting this hint of contradiction in a very subtle manner, phew!
• 
  Khalid Alomran

  Not sure what I just read
• 
  Surya Ds

  ⭐3,5⭐
  
  Menarik, terutama bagian penjelasannya. Walau beberapa bagian kayak Battleground God kurang objektif, yang percaya sama tuhan Spinoza kayak Enstein enggak bisa relate wkwk
• 
  Doni

  Fun!
• 
  Mark Edon

  Another book in my campaign to step outside of my skull and have a good rummage around inside it.
  
  This book catches you out in errors of thought that you didn't know you were making - a fantastic gift to anyone who wants to get better at thinking straight. Be warned, this can be painful. But by the end I was willing myself to find more faults with my thinking.
  
  Doubting yourself can be useful, if you can use this to make a decision now that you can't actually make that decision just yet and furthermore if you can decide now what additional information you need to, in the future, decide when a decision might be made as well as deciding what that decision is when said information is to hand.
  
  So to speak.