Encounters in Thought

“In Encounters in Thought: Beyond Instrumental Reason, Aaron K. Kerr interrogates the effects of contemporary technological culture on how humans think. Stating that we have settled into a pattern of ‘thinking more and more about less and less,’ Kerr asks us to rinse our mind with genuine practices of openness, wonder, receptivity, and contemplation. Kerr provides a rigorous philosophical meditation on the significance of water to human life and an example of contemplative inquiry praxis.”


—Annette M. Holba, Plymouth State University





“We live in a time that’s alluring with its promises and uncertain with its prospects. We find ourselves floating in its currents. Aaron Kerr gently pulls us to firm ground, letting us see where the firm ground is flourishing and that there is a tradition of people who disclose to us the splendor of the simple. At the same time, Kerr’s book is clearly structured and eminently teachable.”


—Albert Borgmann, author of Real American Ethics





“In this wise, wide-ranging book, drawing on models as disparate as Anselm of Canterbury and Malcolm X, Aaron Kerr encourages us to move beyond the passivity of digital distractions and the narrowness of pragmatic, often exploitative technologism to develop a ‘synergy of mind and heart,’ to recover essential qualities of openness, wonder, receptivity, and contemplation that lead both to authentic personal integration and to creative engagement with the critical problems of our time. The invitation to accompany him on these challenging, exhilarating explorations is an opportunity not to be missed!”


—Patrick F. O’Connell, editor, The Merton Seasonal