Critical Feeling
How to Use Feelings Strategically

This book introduces the concept of 'critical feeling', which combines insights from different disciplines to address personal and societal issues.

Rolf Reber (Author)

9781107629769, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 7 March 2016

308 pages, 4 b/w illus. 2 tables
22.7 x 15.1 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

'This highly innovative book persuasively demonstrates that feelings can be strategically trained by appropriate practices. Such 'critical' feelings are shown to allow individuals to enhance their sensitivity to moral or artistic values, to broaden their learning abilities, to improve their reasoning and to foster their creative thinking. This important idea is centrally relevant to academic fields such as philosophy, psychology and the social sciences, but also should be a major source of inspiration for teachers, parents and for everyone interested in personal development.' Joëlle Proust, Institut Jean-Nicod, Fondation Pierre-Gilles de Gennes pour la Recherche, École Normale Supérieure

How can we develop the sensitivity necessary for playing music or making crafts? How can teachers make their lessons interesting? In what ways can consumers avoid undue influence? How do we acquire refined tastes, or come to believe what we want to believe? Addressing these issues and providing an account for tackling personal and societal problems, Rolf Reber combines insights from psychology, philosophy, and education to introduce the concept of 'critical feeling'. While many people are familiar with the concept of critical thinking, critical feeling denotes the strategic use of feelings in order to optimize an outcome. Reber discusses the theoretical and empirical foundations of critical feeling and provides an overview of applications, including well-being, skill learning, personal relationships, business, politics, school, art, morality, and religion. This original and thought-provoking study will interest a broad range of researchers, students, and practitioners.

Part I. The Basics of Critical Feeling: Introduction
1. Critical thinking
2. The psychology of feelings
3. Critical feeling
Part II. Applications of Critical Feeling: 4. Happiness through critical feeling
5. The role of sensory and bodily feedback
6. Living together
7. Critical feeling in business and politics
8. Critical feelings at school
9. Music, art, and literature
10. Religion and morality
Epilogue.

Subject Areas: Clinical psychology [MMJ], Business & management [KJ], Educational psychology [JNC], Cognition & cognitive psychology [JMR], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Psychology [JM]