Hare Brain, Tortoise Mind

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In this illuminating and fascinating book, Guy Claxton discusses the differences between ways of thinking. He says that although ‘intelligence' in the West is measured by how well we can verbalise what we do, much of human capability suffers when subjected to the spotlight of conscious attention.

He contrasts this ‘Western' approach with the actions of the ‘intelligent unconscious' citing research and experimental data to back up his claim that much of our best thinking takes place below consciousness.

This book has vast implications for our understanding of how hypnotherapy works and indeed, goes a long way towards validating what many therapists using hypnosis have known for a long time - that thinking about a problem isn’t always the best way to solve it.

He covers areas such as creativity, intuition and other topics previously thought of an ‘unscientific' and ‘airy fairy' promising fascinating future possibilities for hypnosis and related disciplines.

Hare Brain Tortoise Mind Chapter Headings

1. The Speed of Thought
2. Basic Intelligence: Learning by Osmosis
3. Premature Articulation: How Thinking Gets in the Way of Learning
4. Knowing More than We Think: Intuition and Creativity
5. Having an Idea: the Gentle Art of Mental Gestation
6. Thinking Too Much? Reason and Intuition as Antagonists and Allies
7. Perception without Consciousness
8. Self-Consciousness
9. The Brains behind the Operation
10. The Point of Consciousness
11. Paying Attention
12. The Rudiments of Wisdom
13. The Undermind Society: Putting the Tortoise to Work

Also by Guy Claxton: Wise Up, The Wayward Mind