Senses Books

Various movies, books, and other sources have contributed to an "eroticisation" of Japanese, its people and its culture. Steven R. Reed, in his book, Making Common Sense of Japan, sets out to dispel common myths about Japanese culture some Americans still cling to.

In the first chapter, he sets out his framework by which asking whether Japan is a unique nation, and his conclusion on this may startle Americans: only when the United States is eliminated from comparison Japan is not unique. In fact, he says, it has much in common with Western European countries, with similar sizes of population and land space and that they are industrialized democracies. It is America, not Japan that is unique, in that it has a large population, land mass, and huge crime rate.

The second chapter tackles the question of culture. Reed looks at why people act they way they do, and de-emphasizes rationality (this is a sticking point for rational-choice theorists, who would have a rather technical criticism of his analysis), and dispels the notion of a mystical explanation of culture. Reed's conceptualizes culture in terms of "common sense", which is simply the knowledge gained by experience. He says that too much about a country is attributed to its culture, and for this he gives the example of the use of umbrellas. Upon visiting Japan, he found it odd that many Japanese would open their umbrellas when there was a mist, and quickly attributed it to their culture (they are "wimps" or "conformist"). He found, that after walking for a short period during a mist, that umbrellas were actually quite practical, because he found that walking in a mist made the shoulders of his suit very wet.

The subsequent three chapters deal with (in order) a structural learning approach, an explanation for Japanese permanent employment, and an the the nature of co-operation between government and business. The first chapter is a bit complicated, but the following two are interesting, especially in his concluding remarks of each chapter. Japanese permanent was a compromise between business and labour after World War II, which meant that in return for less worker autonomy, the unions would gain higher job security. Whether the Japanese like it or not, it's been institutionalized, meaning the cost of changing the system is higher than maintaining it. With regard to business-government co-operation, he says that "bureaucrats are the referees, not the players". He argues that some ministries lack enough enforcement power to force companies to stop cheating in the market, but more often than not, a threat is often enough to get companies to fly right.

In the concluding chapter Reed argues for a "reconceptualization of the market." He goes on: "We need to recognize that markets are created by governments and can be manipulated by governments...We need to study markets as institutions, not icons." Reed also makes some remarks on what America can learn from Japan, using his two examples of permanent employment and business-government co-operation. He fails to mention what Japan could learn from America, but it's a minor quibble. Another quibble is that I would have liked for him to touch on more topics than the two, for instance the legal system. But I really enjoyed the book, if not just for the main text but for the extensive notes in the back of the book, where he talks about his experiences with his students will lecturing at university and other wisdom. This book is essential for anybody who wishes to learn about Japan as a country and the Japanese as a people.

Yes I am indeed amazed that this has not been reviewed before. I read it when it first came out and have since given away many copies to clients and students. I was searching Amazon to see if it is still in print. I see that it is.

I think it is terrific. For me nearly 10 years ago it represented a major shift in thinking about leadership, seeing it not as influencing others to do what the leader wants but as helping a community to make meaning in their specific context.

This still is a radical shift - and as far as I am concerned the world would be a better place if it were more widespread. I haven't found any book since that presents such a radical change in such a short and simple way. A lot has been written about leadership in those 9 or 10 years, but I haven't found anything that really takes a new view.

Well perhaps there is - I see that the authors have (separately) written new things fairly recently, so now I will buy those and see where they have taken their thinking.....

This slim volume is THE most accessible book on theological reflection that I have read. While I loved his earlier book, Let Ministry Teach, my students found it rather dense and confusing. This book, based on the same process-theology approach, is much more accessible to students and layfolks. It is very clear in articulating the process by which one connects life with faith. Would be an excellent resource for pre-ministerial students or thoughtful laypersons.

I've read Whiteheads, Patton, deBeer and Killen and many others on this topic and Robert Kinast most clearly and understandably gets at a kind of reflection that is, at root, faith-based and theological.

McClendon tells the story of a year as interim pastor of a small church and interweaves his sermons. He explains the context in the life of the church. Good story-telling and good preaching.

This book is a treasure of information for those of us who are trying to become more informed and in charge of our own financial future. It gives insight into the insurance, securities and financial professions. Mr. Odishelidze is not trying to sell anything except common sense and a philosophy which has worked for him.

If I were teaching the introductory courses in Economics this is the book I would use in a final unit to test the students'ability to critically absorb what should have been learnt throught the semester or the year. As the author meant: this is a book to digest the textbooks in much the same way an antiacid works upon an upset stomach. Written at a level that should be understood by anyone with the basic rudiments in economic analysis, it should, at least, expose the reader to an interdisciplinary approach to it.
The author dwells into the contradictions between theory and practice stemming from the ideological and epistemological foundations on which social phenomena is perceived. It is written in an easygoing style in which the author is as comfortable in explaining in three pages and a footnote the complexities of: Marx'labor theory of value, Sraffa's standard commodity, von Neumann's maximum rate of growth and how the Perron-Frobenius theorem relates to equilibrium prices in an exchange economy (mind you, with a minimum of lineal algebra),- as in explaining how Machiavelli's and Hobbes' understanding of human behavior help us understand the workings of the market in a capitalist economy and how it relates to other social institutions.
For the economist this is a book much like - in intent if not in content - to Joan Robinson's Freedom and Necessity through which economic phenomena is seen within the context of historical evolution and social reality. To the layman in Economics it provides the philosophical, historical and sociological framework within which the different issues debated among economists,in the realms of theory and public policy, can be understood.

This book is easy to read and full of wonderful ideas for teachers, counselors, parents, and anyone who is in contact with a child who has ADD/ADHD. In fact, as a teacher, this book is a great resource for all students. The ideas are great for all students.

I read these works for a graduate seminar on Aristotle.
Poetry appeals to human passions and emotions. Powerful beautiful language and metaphor really appeal to emotion. This idea really disturbed Plato, who takes on Homer in the Republic. Plato thought that early Greek poetry portrays a dark world; humans are checked by negative limits like death. Tragedy has in it a character of high status brought down through no fault of his own. Plato says this is unjust. Republic is about ethical life and justice. It starts with the premises that might makes right and then moves onto the idea much like modern religions that justice comes in the afterlife. Plato hates the idea that in tragedy bad things can happen to good people. He wanted to ban tragedy because he found it demoralizing.

Aristotle's Poetics is a defense against Plato's appeal to ban tragedy. Tragedy was very popular in Greek world so Aristotle asks can it be wrong to ban it? Yes, it is wrong thus he decides to study it. Plato says Poetry is not a technç because the poets are divinely inspired. Aristotle disagrees Poetics is a handbook for playwrights. Mimçsis= "representation or imitation." Plato uses it in speaking of painting, thus art is imitation. Another meaning is to mimic, like actors mimicking another person. Plato and Aristotle use it to mean psychological identification like how we get absorbed in a movie as if the action were real, eliciting emotions from us. We suspend reality for a while. Aristotle says this is natural in humans; we do this as children, we mimic. If imitation is important for humans then tragic poetry is worthwhile for Aristotle to study.

Definition of tragedy- "Through pity and fear it achieves purification from such feelings. This is a famous controversial line. Katharsis= "pity and fear" thus the purpose of tragedy is to purge katharsis. Katharsis can also mean purification or clean. There is a debate if it means clarification, through which we can come to understand katharsis. Aristotle thinks tragedy teaches us something about life. Tragedy is an elaboration on Aristotle's idea that good or virtuous people sometimes get unlucky and in the end, they get screwed. Tragedy shows this so we can learn to get by when life screws us. The whole point of tragedy is action over character. Action is the full story of the poem like the Iliad. Character is only part of the action.
Aristotle distinguishes between poetry and history. Poetry is concerned with universals, history is concerned with particulars.

I recommend Aristotle's works to anyone interested in obtaining a classical education, and those interested in philosophy. Aristotle is one of the most important philosophers and the standard that all others must be judged by.

This book contains activities that are easy to do, enjoyable, and full of learning opportunities. This book is unique in that it provide modification options for children with special needs.

I can't put this book down. I've read it two times already, and plan to read it again and again. This book is unlike all the others I've read on NLD. It breaks down all those "quirky things" about NLD into their own chapters, providing real-life stories, and giving suggestions on how to handle situations that fall under each NLD characteristic. Other books explain NLD, which is good and necessary, but this book goes farther - it puts you into the mind of the NLDer. I am grateful to the mom and the therapist who collaborated on this book. I do plan to read it again - as soon as I get it back from my son's school teacher! :) (P.S. This book is an easy read - 14 short chapters, but full of "a-ha" moments.)