Beyond Reasoning

The Life, Times and Work of Peter Wason, Pioneering Psychologist
1. Auflage 2020
ISBN: 978-0-367-65127-5
Verlag: Routledge

Buch, Englisch, 238 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 529 g

This book tells the story of Peter Cathcart Wason, offering unique insights into the life of the pioneering research psychologist credited for establishing a whole new field of science: the psychological study of reasoning. And this was just one of the major contributions he made to psychology.

Covering much more than Wason’s academic work, the author, Ken Manktelow, paints a vivid and personal portrait of the man. The book traces Wason’s eclectic family history, steeped in Liberal politics and aristocratic antecedents, before moving through his service in the Second World War and the life-changing injuries he sustained at the end of it, and on to his abortive first attempt at a career and subsequent extraordinary success as a psychologist. Following a chronological structure with each chapter dedicated to a significant transition period in Wason’s life, Manktelow expertly weaves together personal narratives with Wason’s evolving intellectual interests and major scientific discoveries, and in doing so simultaneously traces the worlds that vanished during the twentieth century.

A brilliant biography of one of the most renowned figures in cognitive psychology, this book will be of interest not only to students and scholars in thinking and reasoning, but to anyone interested in the life and lasting contribution of this celebrated scholar.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Manktelow, Ken

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Kognitionspsychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychologie / Allgemeines & Theorie Geschichte der Psychologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of figures and tables

Preface and style notes

1. Creation

2. Hell and heaven

3. End of a world

4. Service

5. The most important moment

6. Oxford to London, via Scotland

7. Curiosity pays

8. Life and chess

9. Clearing the fog

10. As easy as 2-4-6

11. Hits of the 60s

12. Moving on

13. Fruits of the field

14. Working with the problem

15. Two minds

16. Reading and writing

17. New problems

18. Turning tides

19. The final chapter

Appendix 1: Wason's family tree: Paternal line

Appendix 2: Wason's family tree: Maternal line

Appendix 3: Wason's family tree: Chronological list

Notes and sources

Name index

Subject index

Über Autor(innen)

Ken Manktelow was formerly Professor of Psychology at the University of Wolverhampton, having begun his academic career with a PhD on reasoning, examined by Wason himself. He is the author of several books and articles on the topic.