Encounters in thought : beyond instrumental reason /

This book is an odd jumble of ramblings against analytical science, consumerism, digital distractions, aggressive industrialization, and--ironically--cluttered thinking. Kerr (philosophy, Gannon Univ.) begins with the call to "rinse [one's] mind" (p. ix); he ends with a weird paean to water as a metaphor for openness in thought and life, but mixes in vague criticisms of the modern scientific and industrial treatment of water, all expressed more in rhetorical questions and vague suggestions than arguments. Kerr is sloppy in describing goals and targets, e.g., he argues against "instrumental reason" (discussed in chapter 6) while reminding the reader that water (belief, open thinking, contemplation, and so on) has various benefits one could obtain if one used it properly. This suggests the author does not understand what "instrumental reasoning" is, and that his real target is some subset or misuse thereof, which he never clearly identifies. His breezy calls for spiritual regeneration, and criticisms of mental distraction and the commodification of nature and perception, offer nothing that cannot be found in the more eloquent works of Thoreau or Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos (1983). Summing Up: Not recommended. --Scott E. Forschler, independent scholar