Thought Work

Thinking has, for many of us, become as passive as breathing.While it’s essential to our very existence, we devote little energy or time to cultivating it. Thought Work:Thinking, Action, and the Fate of the World challenges us to reinstate the restless, complicated activity of thinking as the heart of all education, life, and work.

Our underappreciation of careful thought has crippled our ability to sustain a moral, conscience-driven society, and it now falls to each of us to examine the underlying thought processes that guide our every action. Distinguished philosopher Elizabeth K. Minnich and evaluation studies pioneer Michael Quinn Patton gather a diverse cast of thought leaders to respond to this dilemma. From systems and strategic thinking, entrepreneurial thinking, and critical and evaluative thinking, to ethical and philosophical thinking and thinking grounded in and informed by the humanities and community organizing, this volume unpacks vital creative processes and develops schema to support increased thought training in and across individual professions.

Together, the contributed thought works of this volume will empower students, scholars, and professionals in any field to reignite their dedicated, thoughtful progress towards long term conscience-driven goals.

ELIZABETH K. MINNICH is Distinguished Fellow with the Association of American Colleges & Universities and a professor of moral philosophy at Queens University. Among her publications are The Evil of Banality: On the Life and Death Importance of Thinking and Transforming Knowledge, 2nd Edition.



MICHAEL QUINN PATTON is former president of the American Evaluation Association and author of eight major evaluation research books. His most recent books are Principles-Focused Evaluation (2018), Facilitating Evaluation (2018) and Blue MarbleEvaluation for Global Systems Change (2019).