Mental Leaps: Analogy in Creative Thought [Paperback]

Keith J. Holyoak (Author), Paul Thagard (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bradford Books | Publication Date: January 31, 1996

Analogy - recalling familiar past situations to deal with novel ones - is a mental tool that everyone uses. Analogy can provide invaluable creative insights, but it can also lead to dangerous errors. In Mental Leaps two leading cognitive scientists show how analogy works and how it can be used most effectively. Keith Holyoak and Paul Thagard provide a unified, comprehensive account of the diverse operations and applications of analogy, including problem solving, decision making, explanation, and communication.Holyoak and Thagard present their own theory of analogy, considering its implications for cognitive science in general, and survey examples from many other domains. These include animal cognition, developmental and social psychology, political science, philosophy, history of science, anthropology, and literature.Understanding how we draw analogies is important for people interested in the evolution of thinking in animals and in children; for those whose focus is on either creative thinking or errors of everyday reasoning; for those concerned with how decisions are made in law, business, and politics; and for those striving to improve education. Mental Leaps covers all of this ground, emphasizing the principles that govern the use of analogy and keeping technical matters to a minimum.A Bradford Book

Editorial Reviews

Review

"At once a contribution to the continuing scholarly debate on thenature of analogy and an accessible interdisciplinary overview forthe general reader of this central process of thinking andcommunication." David Lorimer, Times Higher Education Supplement

About the Author

Paul Thagard is Professor of Philosophy, Psychology, and Computer Science, and Director of the Cognitive Science Program at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of Coherence in Thought and Action (MIT Press, 2000) and Mind: Introduction to Cognitive Science (second edition, MIT Press, 2005).

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: A Bradford Book (January 31, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262581442
• ISBN-13: 978-0262581448
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #902,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Everyone should read!, October 3, 2001

By 

N. Emrah AYDINONAT (Ankara - Turkey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mental Leaps: Analogy in Creative Thought (Paperback)

"Mental Leaps" gives the impression of an academic book, and it is. However, it is written so well that [almost] everyone can understand it. It is a very good intoduction to the very concept "analogy" -- not very philosophical or very abstract, but rather "scientific" and concrete. Authors give a lot of examples and refer to experiments and case studies, thus the reader should have considerable amount of insight on "how we think", "how we learn", "how we understand" and etc. after reading this book. Of course, no one should expect to learn everything about these issues from this book, since cognitive science is still in its infancy. I think anyone can benefit from this book. A little insight about your own "thinking" won't hurt!

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book., June 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mental Leaps: Analogy in Creative Thought (Paperback)

A thoroughly well written very clear representation of the topics discussed. It was a joy to read a book written by authors who could present such an ambiguous topic with such clarity. I strongly recommend it to all those interested in Analogy.