Winning : reflections on an american obsession /

Most of us are taught from a young age to be winners and avoid being losers. But what does it mean to win or lose? And why do we care so much? Does winning make us happy? Winning undertakes an unprecedented investigation of winning and losing in American society, what we are really after as we strug...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Duina, Francesco
Corporate Authors: De Gruyter.
Published: Princeton University Press,
Publisher Address: Princeton, N.J. :
Publication Dates: [2010]
©2010
Literature type: eBook
Language: English
Edition: Course Book.
Subjects:
Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9781400836680
http://www.degruyter.com/doc/cover/9781400836680.jpg
Summary: Most of us are taught from a young age to be winners and avoid being losers. But what does it mean to win or lose? And why do we care so much? Does winning make us happy? Winning undertakes an unprecedented investigation of winning and losing in American society, what we are really after as we struggle to win, our collective beliefs about winners and losers, and much more. Francesco Duina argues that victory and loss are not endpoints or final destinations but gateways to something of immense importance to us: the affirmation of our place in the world. But Duina also shows that competition is unlikely to provide us with the answers we need. Winning and losing are artificial and logically flawed concepts that put us at odds with the world around us and, ultimately, ourselves. Duina explores the social and psychological effects of the language of competition in American culture. Primarily concerned with our shared obsessions about winning and losing, Winning proposes a new mind-set for how we can pursue our dreams, and, in a more satisfying way, find our proper place in the world.
Carrier Form: 1 online resource (256 pages) : illustrations
ISBN: 9781400836680
Index Number: HN90
CLC: D771.28
Contents: Frontmatter --
Contents --
Acknowledgments --
Chapter One. THE PROBLEM --
Chapter Two. DIFFERENTIATION --
Chapter Three. I WIN, THEREFORE I AM RIGHT --
Chapter Four. THE QUEST FOR SPACE --
Chapter Five. POWERS AND LIMITATIONS --
Chapter Six. TYPES OF WINNERS AND LOSERS --
Chapter Seven. PROCESS VERSUS OUTCOMES --
Chapter Eight. INJECTING VALUE --
Chapter Nine. AWARENESS AND COMPETITION --
Chapter Ten. OUR RESTLESSNESS --
Notes --
References --
Index.