February-March BIG Book Club Title

“Don’t Think Like of an Elephant” Book Overview

The BIG Book Club’s next book to read and discuss together is “The All New, Don’t Think of an Elephant! Know your Values and Frame the Debate” by George Lakoff, a noted American cognitive linguist and philosopher, known as the “Father of Framing.”  We believe that learning about what “Framing” is and how to use it effectively will benefit our communication skills within the group and in reaching out to family, friends and other members of our community to achieve several goals that define our mission to “Engage Bandon area residents in creating an inclusive, just and fair community.”

Please come and join us in reading this book. It will be fun, rewarding and certainly time well spent as we read, learn about, and discuss the ideas presented in this book by George Lakoff.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

In this all-new edition, George Lakoff returns with new strategies about how to frame today’s essential issues. Called the “father of framing” by The New York Times, Lakoff explains how framing is about ideas.  Ideas that come before policy, ideas that make sense of facts, ideas that are pro-active not re-active, positive not negative, ideas that need to be communicated out loud every day in public.

The ALL NEW “Don’t Think of an Elephant” picks up where the original book left off.  Delving deeper into how framing works, how framing has evolved in the past decade, how to speak to people who harbor elements of both progressive and conservative worldviews, how to counter propaganda and slogans, and more. In this updated and expanded edition, Lakoff, urges progressives to go beyond the typical laundry list of facts, policies, and programs and present a clear moral vision to the country.  One that is traditionally American and can become a guidepost for developing compassionate, effective policy that upholds citizens’ well-being and freedom.

About the Author

George Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and philosopher, best known for his thesis that people’s lives are significantly influenced by the conceptual metaphors they use to explain complex phenomena. The conceptual metaphor thesis, introduced in his and Mark Johnson‘s 1980 book Metaphors We Live By has found applications in a number of academic disciplines. Applying it to politics, literature, philosophy and mathematics has led Lakoff into territory normally considered basic to political science.  According to him, an individual’s experience and attitude towards sociopolitical issues is influenced by being framed in linguistic constructions.

How to Join the BIG Book Club

If you are interested in reading this book and would like to join the BIG Book Club, please let us know by Friday, February 26, 2021 by sending an email to info@bandoninclusivitygroup.com