The audio book, Intuition Pumps And Other Tools for Thinking
, by Daniel C. Dennet is not for the casual listener. The tools in listed in this book can be used by philosophers to test the validity of assertions. These assertions are tested by manipulating the knobs on the intuition pump. In other words, if we vary the conditions of the thought experiments does the conjecture still hold up or does it fall apart.He attacks the notion from some neuroscientists that there is no such thing as free will. He uses a thought experiment that if someone is told they have no free will, their behavior changes and can often be irresponsible. Having free will allows you to make decisions about acting responsibility.
The Flin effect: The thinking tools from the sciences and philosophy have filtered down to the general public and resulted in a 30 point increase on the IQ test over 50 years ago.
Simple tip: Watch out for the "surely " in any argument. This usually introduces the weakest point in the argument. Prepare to attack this point vigorously.
This is one book that bears repeated review and time spent playing with the implications. It stands along side Edward de Bono's many books on thinking with the added bonus of an extended discussion on the various types of computers from the Turing Machine (U of Cambridge) to a Von Neumann Machine (Britannica).
Thinking is hard - 8 min.
Intuition Pumps and other tools for thinking - Google - 62 min.
Tools to transform our thinking - 79 min.
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