Why read Actual Minds, Possible Worlds?

Book cover of Actual Minds, Possible Worlds

Book description

In this characteristically graceful and provocative book, Jerome Bruner, one of the principal architects of the cognitive revolution, sets forth nothing less than a new agenda for the study of mind. According to Professor Bruner, cognitive science has set its sights too narrowly on the logical, systematic aspects of mental…

Explore

Topics

Genres

Coming soon!

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Actual Minds, Possible Worlds as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

James Bernard Murphy

Author

What if all kinds of human thought and speech could be boiled down to just two? According to psychologist Jerome Bruner, those two kinds of human thought are stories and arguments.

Bruner considers evidence from neuroscience and from cognitive science to argue that stories and arguments are processed differently by our minds and are rooted in different parts of our brains.

Stories are structured by their plots, while arguments are structured by logic. Stories have a beginning, middle, and end, while arguments have premises and conclusions. Stories give us anecdotes, while arguments give us evidence.

I love books that compellingly…

From James' list on learning how to talk and how to listen to your fellow citizens.