Description
This interdisciplinary work offers a comprehensive analysis of paradoxes and paradoxical thinking, exploring their manifestations in philosophy, societal dynamics, personality, and neuroscience. Demonstrating various methods for the augmentation of creativity and improved performance, this book uniquely integrates theoretical perspective with case studies and practical applications. As such it elucidates the theory and mechanisms of transforming the apparently impossible into the possible, illustrated by cases of social innovators successfully addressing insurmountable challenges. Aimed at graduate and postgraduate social science students and scholars, with over 500 bibliographical references, the text remains accessible to a broader audience due to its engaging language. Emphasizing the significance of paradoxes and paradoxical thinking in both professional and everyday contexts, it provides a nuanced exploration of paradoxical phenomena, making it a valuable resource for academic and general readers alike.
Table of Contents
List of Figures; List of Tables; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Part I. Paradoxes and What They Do to Us: 1. Defining the Concepts; 2. Mind and Paradoxes; 3. The Influence of Paradoxical Thinking and How to Evaluate It; Part II. Sudden Unexpected Changes: 4. Abrupt Changes; 5. Social Movements and Singularities; 6. Early Indicators of Possible Singularities: The Lessons Drawn from NSMs; 7. Predicting the Unpredictable; Part III. Challenging the Impossible: 8. Possibilitivity: Perceiving Insurmountable Challenges as Doable; 9. Possibilitivity Heroes; Part IV. Peace and Its Challenges: 10. Peace-Oriented Mindset (POM); 11. POM Heroes; Part V. Paradoxes and Creativity: 12. Generating New and Useful Ideas; 13. Brain Plasticity; 14. Avenues for Enhancing Neuroplasticity; Part VI. Paradoxes in Action: 15. Turning the Impossible into the Possible; 16. Paradoxes in Psychotherapy; 17. Life and Paradoxes; Précis; References; Index.
