Analysis of Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing our Own and Other People's Minds Book - Coursework Example

 Gardner (2006) emphasizes the importance on an important component of human psychology while elucidating in detail the technical aspects of changing a human mind in his book Changing Minds: The Art And Science Of Changing Our Own And Vother People's Minds. In every aspect of human life, the way a person thinks or feels about any matter determines his actions. Gestures, speech, action and the way of life itself are vastly influenced by the nature of thought process going on in a human mind. For these reasons, it is very important that a person should have the best possible and most appropriate attitude towards a matter at hand. It might be at individual level or at a larger level all the way to a global level of way of thinking. The vitality of psychological aspects of thinking and mind set cannot be denied in any circumstances. For that matter, it becomes important to understand the process of changing one’s own mind as well as the minds of others around in the debate at hand. While considering the generalized scenario, several examples from the history of the world throw light on the importance and outcomes of the way in which thinking of a group of people was modified by their leaders. In times of war and peace, political leaders have been inspiring and motivating their people and thus obtaining great results. But this is only possible through vigilance of the part of the one influencing the change because bringing a change is never an easy task. Not only in the political field, but in every walk of life, the crucial nature of this aspect of human mind cannot be ignored. Through folk lore, poetry, prose and teachings of important public figures, revolutions can be brought in the lives of people. For that matter it is important to discuss in a concise fashion, what the author tries to explain in his piece of work. As one goes through the book, it becomes evident that the author, Howard Gardner belongs to the ‘constructivist’ school of thought in the seat of American Psychology. The ideas and beliefs of the author tend to differ from those of other more traditional psychologists and this fact has been proved several times at various points in the book under consideration. The views based on this angle point towards the belief that a person’s understanding of and beliefs about any matter should be based on his own experience and should be weighed instead of taken for granted from an already decided set of rules. The contents of this book cater the intellectual needs of an audience a tad bit advanced than a lay man. For that matter the facts thus elucidated are not easily understandable by any person apart from the intellectual community. Gardener addresses the educationist while he embarks upon the journey of making this point clear that the first seat of bringing a change in the way of a person’s thinking is the school itself. In the environment of learning, a lot of knowledge is imparted on a young receptive mind. It is at this stage that Gardener believes this change can be started. Moving onwards, the author covers all professions and considers the role various professionals can play in this context of bringing a change. He then goes on and mentions some examples from the political scenario. Mentioning Margaret Thatcher, Nelson Mandela and the likes, this book elaborates in explicit terms the practical demonstration of successful modulation of a human mind. Moving all the way from an individual to an entire nation, this book throws light on the importance and vitality of changing one’s own mind and also the minds of others. However, it should be kept in mind that this book is not the absolute authority in the matter at hand. Although the author puts forwards his theories and explains them, the content of this book fail to pass the scrutinizing eyes of critics. Many faults have been pointed out and the common idea is that while Gardener explains elaborately the ways to change a person’s way of thinking about a matter, he fails to deliver his message in lucid terms. In his views of constructivism, Howard Gardener does not stand alone. In fact, there is whole school of thought that believes in and preaches the same message. It has been said that this way of thinking is more practically applicable for the educationists and the world in general, especially in the context of bringing a change in the way of thinking (Oxford 1997, Staver 1998). While talking of change, it should be emphasized that flexibility in thinking and outlook regarding every aspect of human life is a necessity to some extent. Various examples and studies support this fact that a change of mind can lead to great consequences (Nadler, Hibino, 1990). Not only this but another concept discussed be Gardener has been discussed and thought right by other authors as well and that is the school and educationists as the seat of change. Seigler (n.d.) mentions similar belief in his work thus further elucidating and strengthening this point. In short, the author Howard Gardener diligently explained a handful of important concepts of human mind and the practical application of change in thinking. The author starts with the importance of changing the way a person thinks and the influence thoughts can have in decision making and everyday life of an individual. Belonging to the constructionist school of thought the author enjoys freedom of thought as far as the psychology of thinking is concerned. The openness of view this belief provides to its follower has been depicted beautifully in the work of Howard Gardener. Through examples of world leaders, implications of human thinking are presented throughout the pages of the book. However, the work is not free from critique and attracts negative views as well. Many are of the belief that the context and central idea of the book has been explained in a way that falls short of perfection and clarity. The reader is left with an uncertainty and has to embark on the journey of using his own mind in reaching a solid conclusion. References: Google Books (n.d.). Emerging Minds:The Process of Change in Children's Thinking. [online] Retrieved from: http://books.google.com.pk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=lb-hjI0Et8kC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=changing+the+way+of+thinking&ots=0IuMPzIqIs&sig=vKq5KjCtkoKlgaWpcxeGk5VHnOc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=changing%20the%20way%20of%20thinking&f=false [Accessed: 4 Jan 2013]. Nadler, Hibino (1990) Breakthrough thinking: Why we must change the way we solve problems, and the seven principles to achieve this. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.getcited.org/pub/102799744 [Accessed: 4 Jan 2013]. Oxford RL (1997) Constructivism: Shape-shifting, substance, and teacher education Applications-Peabody Journal of Education 72:1 [online] Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327930pje7201_3 [Accessed: 4 Jan 2013]. Staver JR (Onlinelibrary.wiley.com) (2011). Constructivism: Sound theory for explicating the practice of science and science teaching - Staver - 1998 - Journal of Research in Science Teaching - Wiley Online Library. [online] Retrieved from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2736(199805)35:5%3C501::AID-TEA3%3E3.0.CO;2-T/abstract [Accessed: 4 Jan 2013] Read More