A defining feature of being human is our ability to think. We refer to ourselves, after all, as Homo sapiens. But in a world where experiencing and achieving as much as possible is the number one preoccupation, there is little room for reflection. Technology is also making everything easier, eroding the need for us to think at all.

Of course deep, critical thinking can be difficult, sometimes painful, and it takes time. But it is fundamental to our well-being. In this new book, bestselling philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann argues for a return to the thoughtful life, where we learn to think well, to think deeply, to lose ourselves in reverie and tune in to our inner voice. By spending time in our thoughts and letting them wander freely, we will discover that thinking is one of the most enriching things we can do in life - and one of the most human, too.

Qualitative interviewing has become one of the most common research methods across the human and social sciences, if not the most prevalent approach. Qualitative Interviewing, Second Edition help readers conduct, write, represent, understand, and critique qualitative interview research in its many forms as currently practiced. It discusses excellent exemplars of qualitative interview research.

The book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to qualitative interviewing by presenting a variegated landscape of how conversations have been used for knowledge producing purposes. Particular attention is given to the complementary positions of experience focused interviewing (phenomenological positions) and language focused interviewing (discourse oriented positions), which concentrate on interview talk as reports (of the experiences of interviewees) and accounts (occasioned by the situation of interviewing) respectively.

The second edition has a new chapter on conducting interviews in practice and is updated with new sections on research ethics and the relevance of small-scale studies in a world of big data, many updated references, recent examples of interview studies, and reflections on similarities and differences between research interviews, journalism, and the arts.

The pace of modern life is accelerating. To keep up, we must keep on moving and adapting - constantly striving for greater happiness and success. Or so we are told. But the demands of life in the fast lane come at a price: stress, fatigue and depression are at an all-time high, while our social interactions have become increasingly self-serving and opportunistic.

How can we resist today's obsession with introspection and self-improvement? In this witty and bestselling book, Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann argues that we must not be afraid to reject the self-help mantra and 'stand firm'. The secret to a happier life lies not in finding your inner self but in coming to terms with yourself in order to coexist peacefully with others. By encouraging us to stand firm and get a foothold in life, this vibrant anti-self-help guide offers a compelling alternative to life coaching, positive thinking and the need always to say 'yes '

Qualitative interviewing has today become one of the most common research methods across the human and social sciences, but it is an approach that comes in different guises. Qualitative Interviewing will help its readers write, represent, understand, and critique qualitative interview research in its many forms as currently practiced. The book begins with a theoretically informed introduction to qualitative interviewing by presenting a variegated landscape of how conversations have been used for knowledge-producing purposes. Particular attention is paid to the complementary positions of experience-focused interviewing (phenomenological positions) and language-focused interviewing (discourse-oriented positions), which focus on interview talk as reports (of the experiences of interviewees) and accounts (occasioned by the situation of interviewing), respectively. The following chapters address various ways of designing qualitative interview studies and a guide to writing up the methodological procedures and results of an interview study. The book concludes with a presentation of the most common errors in interview reports, offering a range of solutions and strategies for evaluating research findings based on qualitative interviews.

What does morality have to do with psychology in a value-neutral, postmodern world? According to a provocative new book, everything.

Taking exception with current ideas in the mainstream (including cultural, evolutionary, and neuropsychology) as straying from the discipline's ethical foundations, Psychology as a Moral Science argues that psychological phenomena are inherently moral, and that psychology, as prescriptive and interventive practice, reflects specific moral principles.

The book cites normative moral standards, as far back as Aristotle, that give human thoughts, feelings, and actions meaning, and posits psychology as one of the critical methods of organizing normative values in society; at the same time it carefully notes the discipline's history of being sidetracked by overemphasis on theoretical constructs and physical causes--what the author terms the psychologizing of morality. This synthesis of ideas brings an essential unity to what can sometimes appear as a fragmented area of inquiry at odds with itself. The book's interpretive-pragmatic approach

- Revisits core psychological concepts as supporting normative value systems.

- Traces how psychology has shaped society's view of morality.

- Confronts the naturalistic fallacy in contemporary psychology.

- Explains why moral science need not be separated from social science.

- Addresses challenges and critiques to the author's work from both formalist and relativist theories of morality.

With its bold call to reason, Psychology as a Moral Science contains enough controversial ideas to spark great interest among researchers and scholars in psychology and the philosophy of science.

In Philosophies of Qualitative Research, Svend Brinkmann explores the different philosophical paradigms and ideas that influence qualitative research today. Adopting a historical perspective, the book shows readers exactly how philosophical ideas have evolved and influenced qualitative research in both the past and present.

Today, qualitative researchers tend to report on their philosophical commitments in an altogether separate section of their research papers. However, as Philosophies of Qualitative Research asserts, the researcher's philosophical ideas influence everything from the conception of the topic to the final reporting of its results. Therefore, philosophy should not be thought of as a purely abstract discipline, disconnected from the practicalities of research, but rather as a concrete and pervasive aspect of all qualitative research practices.

In this book, Brinkmann offers readers an important introduction and discussion of the philosophical issues that are relevant today, regardless of the specific methods employed by qualitative researchers in the field.

'Because you're worth it', proclaims the classic cosmetics ad. 'Just do it ' implores the global sports retailer. Everywhere we turn, we are constantly encouraged to experience as much as possible, for as long as possible, in as many ways as possible. FOMO - Fear of Missing Out - has become a central preoccupation in a world fixated on the never-ending pursuit of gratification and self-fulfilment.

But this pursuit can become a treadmill leading nowhere. How can we break out of it? In this refreshing book, bestselling Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann reveals the many virtues of missing out on the constant choices and temptations that dominate our experience-obsessed consumer society. By cultivating self-restraint and celebrating moderation we can develop a more fulfilling way of living that enriches ourselves and our fellow humans and protects the planet we all share - in short, we can discover the joy of missing out.

A defining feature of being human is our ability to think. We refer to ourselves, after all, as Homo sapiens. But in a world where experiencing and achieving as much as possible is the number one preoccupation, there is little room for reflection. Technology is also making everything easier, eroding the need for us to think at all.

Of course deep, critical thinking can be difficult, sometimes painful, and it takes time. But it is fundamental to our well-being. In this new book, bestselling philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann argues for a return to the thoughtful life, where we learn to think well, to think deeply, to lose ourselves in reverie and tune in to our inner voice. By spending time in our thoughts and letting them wander freely, we will discover that thinking is one of the most enriching things we can do in life - and one of the most human, too.

Some studies estimate that each year, around a quarter of the population of Western countries will suffer from at least one mental disorder. Should this be interpreted as evidence for the progress of psychiatry, a discipline that is now able to identify and treat mental illnesses that have always existed, or might it be the case that modern life somehow creates new conditions, or social pathologies? This book argues that in fact something more fundamental has been taking place in recent years: the development of diagnostic cultures. Taking account of the phenomenon of patients themselves 'pushing for' pathologization - and acknowledging therefore that this is not simply a case of psychiatry pursuing an agenda of 'medicalisation from above' - this volume examines the emerging trend towards interpreting our sufferings in terms of psychiatric conceptions and diagnostic categories. Drawing on new empirical case studies of psychological diagnoses, including depression and ADHD, and employing both cultural-psychological and sociological analyses, it charts the development of contemporary diagnostic cultures and asks whether, in transforming existential, moral and political concerns into individual psychiatric disorders, we risk losing sight of the larger historical and social forces that affect our lives. A ground-breaking examination of the shift towards the pathologization of suffering and the dangers that this presents to human self-understanding, Diagnostic Cultures will be of interest to scholars of social theory and philosophy, the sociology of culture, psychology and the sociology health and medicine.

How are Christians capable of believing? Is it faith or delusion? Or is there something wrong with me? I do not believe in spirits, gods, miracles, resurrection or eternal life. But I will seek to cast off my prejudices and give God a chance. At least for a year.

Danish writer Svend Brinkmann spent a year with God, exploring faith and religion through the eyes of a sceptic. Each month, from January to December, he grappled with questions that had nagged at him since he was a child: Why does God let the innocent suffer? Does science disprove the existence of God? Does faith make you a better person? Can you doubt and still believe? It became a year of deep reflection and surprising revelations that challenged the bounds of his scientific worldview and led him to a new appreciation of faith and its place within a secular, mostly fulfilled life.

How are Christians capable of believing? Is it faith or delusion? Or is there something wrong with me? I do not believe in spirits, gods, miracles, resurrection or eternal life. But I will seek to cast off my prejudices and give God a chance. At least for a year.

Danish writer Svend Brinkmann spent a year with God, exploring faith and religion through the eyes of a sceptic. Each month, from January to December, he grappled with questions that had nagged at him since he was a child: Why does God let the innocent suffer? Does science disprove the existence of God? Does faith make you a better person? Can you doubt and still believe? It became a year of deep reflection and surprising revelations that challenged the bounds of his scientific worldview and led him to a new appreciation of faith and its place within a secular, mostly fulfilled life.

'Because you're worth it', proclaims the classic cosmetics ad. 'Just do it!' implores the global sports retailer. Everywhere we turn, we are constantly encouraged to experience as much as possible, for as long as possible, in as many ways as possible. FOMO - Fear of Missing Out - has become a central preoccupation in a world fixated on the never-ending pursuit of gratification and self-fulfilment.

But this pursuit can become a treadmill leading nowhere. How can we break out of it? In this refreshing book, bestselling Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann reveals the many virtues of missing out on the constant choices and temptations that dominate our experience-obsessed consumer society. By cultivating self-restraint and celebrating moderation we can develop a more fulfilling way of living that enriches ourselves and our fellow humans and protects the planet we all share - in short, we can discover the joy of missing out.

Today's approaches to the study of the human mind are divided into seemingly opposed camps. On one side we find the neurosciences, with their more or less reductionist research programs, and on the other side we find the cultural and discursive approaches, with their frequent neglect of the material sides of human life. Persons and their Minds seeks to develop an integrative theory of the mind with room for both brain and culture. Brinkmann's remarkable and thought-provoking work is one of the first books to integrate brain research with phenomenology, social practice studies and actor-network theory, all of which are held together by the concept of the person.

Brinkmann's new and informative approach to the person, the mind and mental disorder give this book a wide scope. The author uses Rom Harré's hybrid psychology as a meta-theoretical starting point and expands this significantly by including four sources of mediators: the brain, the body, social practices and technological artefacts. The author draws on findings from cultural psychology and argues that the mind is normative in the sense that mental processes do not simply happen, but can be done more or less well, and thus are subject to normative appraisal.

In addition to informative theoretical discussions, this book includes a number of detailed case studies, including a study of ADHD from the integrated perspective. Consequently, the book will be of great interest to academics and researchers in the fields of psychology, philosophy, sociology and psychiatry.

Wherever love and death meet there is grief. It affects us all regardless of ethnicity, age, class, or sexual orientation. Grief is universal - it has endured across time, societies and cultures from the earliest human communities to the present day. But the way we deal with grief is changing. Increasingly, we are diagnosing grief as a medical condition to be treated rather than embracing it as a natural part of being human.

In this book, Svend Brinkmann gets to the heart of what it is to grieve, arguing that the sorrow we experience after the death of a loved one is a necessary and meaningful dimension of human existence. However painful, it unites us all. As humans we are uniquely privileged to feel grief. Rather than trying to escape or smother grief, we must allow ourselves to feel and accept it as the price we pay for love.

Wherever love and death meet there is grief. It affects us all regardless of ethnicity, age, class, or sexual orientation. Grief is universal - it has endured across time, societies and cultures from the earliest human communities to the present day. But the way we deal with grief is changing. Increasingly, we are diagnosing grief as a medical condition to be treated rather than embracing it as a natural part of being human.

In this book, Svend Brinkmann gets to the heart of what it is to grieve, arguing that the sorrow we experience after the death of a loved one is a necessary and meaningful dimension of human existence. However painful, it unites us all. As humans we are uniquely privileged to feel grief. Rather than trying to escape or smother grief, we must allow ourselves to feel and accept it as the price we pay for love.

Self-help gurus, life coaches and business consultants love to tell us that we must strive for constant self-improvement to realize our full potential and become truly happy. But it doesn't seem to work - for many of us, life still seems hollow and meaningless. So focused are we on personal development and material possessions that we've overlooked the things that make life truly fulfilling and worthwhile.

So how do we figure out what's really worth striving for? In this compelling follow-up to his bestselling book Stand Firm, Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann shows us that the important things in life are those with intrinsic value, like goodness, freedom, truth and love. We should stop asking 'what's in it for me?', and turn our attention outwards to our friends, families and communities. By putting others first and embracing these unconditional principles, or standpoints, he argues, we can find a more meaningful and sustainable way of living.

Self-help gurus, life coaches and business consultants love to tell us that we must strive for constant self-improvement to realize our full potential and become truly happy. But it doesn't seem to work - for many of us, life still seems hollow and meaningless. So focused are we on personal development and material possessions that we've overlooked the things that make life truly fulfilling and worthwhile.

So how do we figure out what's really worth striving for? In this compelling follow-up to his bestselling book Stand Firm, Danish philosopher and psychologist Svend Brinkmann shows us that the important things in life are those with intrinsic value, like goodness, freedom, truth and love. We should stop asking 'what's in it for me?', and turn our attention outwards to our friends, families and communities. By putting others first and embracing these unconditional principles, or standpoints, he argues, we can find a more meaningful and sustainable way of living.