Don't Think of an Elephant!

Know Your Values and Frame the Debate

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George Lakoff: Don't Think of an Elephant! (2004, Recorded Books)

Audio CD

English language

Published Sept. 6, 2004 by Recorded Books.

ISBN:
978-1-4193-3978-3
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OCLC Number:
61233409

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4 stars (5 reviews)

3 editions

Review of "Don't Think of an Elephant!" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Interesting, but flawed. The section at the start where he explains framing is interesting, then talks for a long time about a single frame, which he himself says isn't how framing works.

There is also a larger problem in that if you consistently reframe left wing talking points into language that appeals to the right wing, you will attract people who find those framings positive. i.e. right wing people. Left wing people don't want to be in a group full of right wing people, who, if you are LGBTQAI+ for example, don't want you to exist, meaning the group will move right.

He also laughably suggests people will "debate" in good faith. Which in a post gamergate era, I think we can say is bullshit.

Review of "Don't Think of an Elephant!" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I liked a lot of what he has to say, and I liked his earlier books ([b:Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind|53336|Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things What Categories Reveal About the Mind|George Lakoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388238853s/53336.jpg|2416443], [b:Metaphors We Live By|34459|Metaphors We Live By|George Lakoff|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388194058s/34459.jpg|34433]) but I don't like him (I've watched him on Internet videos.) I also don't like his materialism (reducing thoughts to brains and neurons) and his inability to see his own limitations (namely that all frames limit and so do the ones he uses, something he might even be willing to acknowledge).

However, I am criticizing him from the standpoint of my own long time interests and investigations (that is, I have chosen different frames than he chooses--actually meta frames in that I am speaking of how he thinks of frames) and that may not be of that much interest to a casual reader (which …

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