An argument for the seductive proposal that our unconscious
intelligence is more productive than we think. Claxton, a visiting
professor of psychology and education at Bristol University in
England, builds his thesis on the dichotomy between the privileged
mode of intelligence - conscious, result-oriented problem-solving -
and the less respectable unconscious intelligence. This
unconscious, or "undermind," approaches problems playfully,
examines the questions themselves, and keeps us in touch with our
poetic nature. Claxton is admittedly using the tools of the enemy
to prove his point - since we give weight to scientific thought, he
will use scientific thought to show the merit of intuitive thought.
His multidisciplinary approach is beautifully executed, with a
constant dialogue on the virtues of intuition and a peaceful mind
drawing on the works of poets, novelists, and Buddhist teachings.
However, the slim thesis stretches thinly into 13 chapters as
Claxton approaches his proposition from all sides - intuition,
consciousness, biopsychology, reflections on society's standards of
intelligence. There's plenty of meaty new research - parallels with
instinct in animal behavior are especially intriguing - but the
overall effect becomes repetitious, and chapters begin to seem
padded and disjointed as the book progresses. And despite his
pointed attention to fashionable currents in psychology (evolution,
the rudiments of brain research), Claxton's book feels dated and
fussy. His metaphors are whimsical, and his repudiation of the
speed of the modern age echoes neo-Luddite fears of a computerized
world. There is only minor mention of gendered modes of thought,
that his "undermind" corresponds with the nonlinear, intuitive
process increasingly associated with women's thinking. The
pleasures of the "tortoise mind" tend to be poetic, very easy to
romanticize. Claxton makes a last-minute case for how this mode of
thought can be incorporated into the modern workplace, but his
heart obviously lies in its abstract beauty. (Kirkus Reviews)
'Learning to loaf' - this books explores the ways of knowing that
require more time, the ways we have unlearned or ignore, but that
are crucial to our complete mental development. The human
brain-mind will do a number of unusual, interesting and important
things if given time. It will learn patterns of a degree of
subtlety which normal, purposeful, busy consciousness cannot even
see, let alone master. It will make sense out of hazy, ill-defined
situations which leave everyday rationality flummoxed. It will get
to the bottom of personal, emotional issues much more successfully
than the questing intellect. It will detect and respond to meaning,
in poetry for example, that cannot be articulated. It will
sometimes come up with solutions to complicated predicaments that
are wise rather than merely clever. There is good, hard evidence,
from cognitive science and elsewhere, for all these capacities.
Claxton explores the slower ways of knowing and explains how we
could/should use them more often and more effectively.
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