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Rating: 
Summary: How to Think, Not What to Think
Review: Cohen's "What Would Aristotle Do?" is an important and welcome contribution not just to the fields of talk therapy in general and philosophical counseling in particular, but also to the long forgotten field of common sense and for this very simple reason: he teaches you how to think and not what to think. For over 2000 years people have been taught, to the demise of independent thought, what to think and not how to think. To quote a master on the subject, Paul Thyry, Baron D'Holbach, wrote in the preface to his book "Le Bons Sens" that "When we examine the opinions of men, we find that nothing is more uncommon, than common sense; or, in other words, they lack judgment to discover plain truths, or to reject absurdities, and palpable contradictions." Cohen's book offers people not only the conceptual tools they need but the conceptual tooks they must have to extricate themselves from the "lives of quiet despiration" they lead to the life they would lead if they only knew how. He does this, as only a philosopher can, by first distinguishing "thinking about things" from "thinking about one's own thinking." He then goes on to offer examples of how thinking about one's own thinking can lead a person from faulty and/or gratuitous assumptions to sound reasoning about the true nature of the problems people face. He identifies common fallacies in reasoning, demonstrates their fallaciousness, and illuminates, using his own logic-based REBT (Rational Emotion Behavior Therapy), how to think correctly. Unlike most books on talk therapy, as Thoreau said about newspapers, Cohen's book offers more than a change of names and dates; the content, as well as the approach, is decidedly and refreshingly different. For those people who have not yet learned how to think -- and if you do not understand what the phrase "how to think" means -- then this book will teach you how to think about the life you would lead if you only could. Kenneth Cust RPN, Ph.D.
Central Missouri State University
Rating:
Summary: How to Think, Not What to Think
Review: Cohen's "What Would Aristotle Do?" is an important and welcome contribution not just to the fields of talk therapy in general and philosophical counseling in particular, but also to the long forgotten field of common sense and for this very simple reason: he teaches you how to think and not what to think. For over 2000 years people have been taught, to the demise of independent thought, what to think and not how to think. To quote a master on the subject, Paul Thyry, Baron D'Holbach, wrote in the preface to his book "Le Bons Sens" that "When we examine the opinions of men, we find that nothing is more uncommon, than common sense; or, in other words, they lack judgment to discover plain truths, or to reject absurdities, and palpable contradictions." Cohen's book offers people not only the conceptual tools they need but the conceptual tooks they must have to extricate themselves from the "lives of quiet despiration" they lead to the life they would lead if they only knew how. He does this, as only a philosopher can, by first distinguishing "thinking about things" from "thinking about one's own thinking." He then goes on to offer examples of how thinking about one's own thinking can lead a person from faulty and/or gratuitous assumptions to sound reasoning about the true nature of the problems people face. He identifies common fallacies in reasoning, demonstrates their fallaciousness, and illuminates, using his own logic-based REBT (Rational Emotion Behavior Therapy), how to think correctly. Unlike most books on talk therapy, as Thoreau said about newspapers, Cohen's book offers more than a change of names and dates; the content, as well as the approach, is decidedly and refreshingly different. For those people who have not yet learned how to think -- and if you do not understand what the phrase "how to think" means -- then this book will teach you how to think about the life you would lead if you only could. Kenneth Cust RPN, Ph.D.
Central Missouri State University
Rating: 
Summary: Good Advice in Plain English
Review: Elliot Cohen gives easy to understand practical advice on a great variety of problems and issues anyone might run into in ordinary life. He explains clearly not only what the problems are but where they come from and then how to overcome them. This is a How-to book of the best sort: one that you can actually apply to real life to deal with some very serious issues. I recommend this book to both practitioners in the field of philosophical counseling and to anyone struggling to make sense of personal problems.
Rating:
Summary: Good Advice in Plain English
Review: Elliot Cohen gives easy to understand practical advice on a great variety of problems and issues anyone might run into in ordinary life. He explains clearly not only what the problems are but where they come from and then how to overcome them. This is a How-to book of the best sort: one that you can actually apply to real life to deal with some very serious issues. I recommend this book to both practitioners in the field of philosophical counseling and to anyone struggling to make sense of personal problems.
Rating:
Summary: A Fresh Look At Critical Thinking
Review: Elliot Cohen's latest book may be his best yet. In What Would Aristotle Do? Cohen once again lets the light of reason play on the shadowy side of our thinking. He well understands our twisted ways of inventing excuses for our conduct. His logic is sound, his experience wide-ranging. In simplest language, he shows what we can do if mental and emotional hang-ups are ruining our lives. If they are the kind that need only a bit of help from a reasonable philosopher/psychologist like Cohen himself, we should try this method of self-correction, and send those excuses and hang-ups packing!
Rating:
Summary: What Would Aristotle Do? A Review.
Review: There are so many virtues about Cohen's book, it is difficult to know where to begin. I will start off with some overall general comments and then I will give some specific remarks. First, what jumps out immediately is the clarity of Cohen's writing. His style is clear and engaging. The clarity is also enhanced by the numerous cases and examples that are used to illustrate his points. Next, what a reader will discover is the breadth of the topics Cohen covers. The issues range from abuse and anger, depression, Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy, to suicide and weakness of the will. Finally, Cohen's book reveals a remarkably acute dissection and meticulously careful discrimination of the central issues in philosophical counseling. The last point is really the strength of Cohen's book. His fine analysis of the issues in philosophical counseling are brought about by tying together the ancient wisdom of Aristotle, the penetrating insights of Rational Emotion Behavior Therapy, critical thinking, and Cohen's own special brand of logic-based REBT. What this means is that people generally decide to feel a certain way or to behave in a certain way by logically deducing them from premises harbored within their belief system. His underlying strategy, then, is this. Under his strict and precise supervision, Cohen show us how every belief a person may possess can be weighed and checked against the pitfalls of faulty thinking. Not only that, Cohen demonstrates persuasively how it is possible to identify inappropriate emotions and, after submitting them to the same conceptual framework, i.e., his logic-based REBT, apply antidotes to counteract the poison of badly chosen emotions and replace them with emotions that are rational and that lead to well-being. In my opinion, this is the very best "how to" book written on philosophical counseling. Samuel Zinaich, Jr.
Purdue University Calumet
Rating:
Summary: What Would Aristotle Do? A Review.
Review: There are so many virtues about Cohen's book, it is difficult to know where to begin. I will start off with some overall general comments and then I will give some specific remarks. First, what jumps out immediately is the clarity of Cohen's writing. His style is clear and engaging. The clarity is also enhanced by the numerous cases and examples that are used to illustrate his points. Next, what a reader will discover is the breadth of the topics Cohen covers. The issues range from abuse and anger, depression, Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy, to suicide and weakness of the will. Finally, Cohen's book reveals a remarkably acute dissection and meticulously careful discrimination of the central issues in philosophical counseling. The last point is really the strength of Cohen's book. His fine analysis of the issues in philosophical counseling are brought about by tying together the ancient wisdom of Aristotle, the penetrating insights of Rational Emotion Behavior Therapy, critical thinking, and Cohen's own special brand of logic-based REBT. What this means is that people generally decide to feel a certain way or to behave in a certain way by logically deducing them from premises harbored within their belief system. His underlying strategy, then, is this. Under his strict and precise supervision, Cohen show us how every belief a person may possess can be weighed and checked against the pitfalls of faulty thinking. Not only that, Cohen demonstrates persuasively how it is possible to identify inappropriate emotions and, after submitting them to the same conceptual framework, i.e., his logic-based REBT, apply antidotes to counteract the poison of badly chosen emotions and replace them with emotions that are rational and that lead to well-being. In my opinion, this is the very best "how to" book written on philosophical counseling. Samuel Zinaich, Jr.
Purdue University Calumet
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