Gutes Denken (PDF)

good decision.... Recommended..." --B. C. Beins, Ithaca College, CHOICE   

"...Good Thinking is cleverly written and well pitched to a college- or university-level audience of undergraduates who would benefit from an excellent survey of concepts and theories that are not likely to be seen elsewhere in a single collection, and it represents some of the more powerful ideas that our intellectual culture considers as the basis for rationality. Virtually every idea in Good Thinking can be gotten elsewhere either in its original form or as part of extended volumes on a specific topic, but having them tied together in a single book written by a single hand gives more life and cohesiveness to the ensemble than might otherwise be the case.... a pleasant way to stimulate the appetite for more.... For some time to come, Good Thinking will be a relevant and useful resource for educators as well as those who seek to reflect on our Western thought traditions and their origins." -Dr. Donald MacGregor, senior research scientist with the Decision Science Research Institute (Decision Research) in Eugene, Oregon  

Cambridge University Press Staff Top 5 recommended books and gifts in Philosophy and Psychology, December, 2012   

"...the seven basic tenets that guide our critical thinking..." - "We intuitively know that plagiarizing is wrong. In Good Thinking: Seven Powerful Ideas That Influence the Way We Think (Cambridge University Press, 2012), psychologist and philosopher Denise Cummins reveals how we know this. She discusses how economists, philosophers and other experts have helped to define what makes a decision rational or a judgment moral. She lays out the seven basic tenets that guide our critical thinking and explores tactics to correct faulty logic."--Victoria Stern, MindBooks Roundup, Scientific American, December 14, 2012   

"...illuminates key aspects of how we reason and decide." - Good Thinking offers an engaging analysis of seven fundamental modes of human thought. Drawing expertly on a broad range of disciplines and examples from everyday life, Denise Cummins considers both the strengths and weaknesses of our mental machinery and in so doing illuminates key aspects of how we reason and decide. -- Daniel L. Schacter, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Seven Sins of Memory: How the Mind Forgets and Remembers   

"...a quick and engaging tour of the landscape of human thinking..." - If you’ve ever wondered where creative ideas come from, why smart people sometimes do stupid things, why liberals and conservatives disagree about the basics of morality, or why you’ve made decisions you came to regret, you’ll want to read this book. Good Thinking will take you on a quick and engaging tour of the landscape of human thinking, surveying the phenomena that psychologists and philosophers have found there. --Keith Holyoak, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles   

"...an entertaining and accessible review of the classical theories of reasoning and decision making..." - In her book, Good Thinking, Denise Cummins provides an entertaining and accessible review of the classical theories of reasoning and decision making that it has taken philosophers and mathematicians almost two millennia of endeavour to construct.  Many would argue that these theories are among the towering intellectual achievements of humankind that underpin crucial aspects of the modern world, like computers and quantum theory. However, these theories have received a bad press in the abundance of popular books showing that people's decision-making and reasoning is hopelessly biased and inaccurate compared to these theories. Cummins thesis is that a better appreciation of these theories may lead us to make better decisions and to better understand how others, particularly professionals, make decisions. There is no doubt that aspects of human psychology must be taken into account in good thinking and Cummins deals with these aspects of decision-making as well. In general, though this book functions as a fascinating corrective to the tendency of popular books to deride the only real practical tools we have to aid our attempts to improve our decisions in an uncertain and changing world. -- Dr. Mike Oaksford, Professor of Psychology, Birkbeck College, University of London, UK   

"...a witty and articulate overview of critical aspects of human thought..." - Cummins provides a witty and articulate overview of critical aspects of human thought processes.  Her analyses of topics such as rational choice, moral judgment, and causal reasoning combine the insights of diverse fields including philosophy, psychology, economics, and neuroscience.  The astute examples anchor the topics squarely in readers’ everyday experience.  --Dr. Richard Gerrig, Professor of Psychology and Psycholinguistics, SUNY at Stonybrook