Paul Watzlawick

Called “one of the best books ever about human communication,” and a perennial bestseller, Pragmatics of Human Communication has formed the foundation of much contemporary research into interpersonal communication, in addition to laying the groundwork for context-based approaches to psychotherapy. The authors present the simple but radical idea that problems in life often arise from issues of communication, rather than from deep psychological disorders, reinforcing their conceptual explorations with case studies and well-known literary examples. Written with humor and for a variety of readers, this book identifies simple properties and axioms of human communication and demonstrates how all communications are actually a function of their contexts. Topics covered in this wide-ranging book include: the origins of communication; the idea that all behavior is communication; meta-communication; the properties of an open system; the family as a system of communication; the nature of paradox in psychotherapy; existentialism and human communication.

This classic book, available in paperback for the very first time, explores why some people can successfully change their lives and others cannot. Here famed psychologist Paul Watzlawick presents what is still often perceived as a radical idea: that the solutions to our problems are inherently embedded in the problems themselves. Tackling the age-old questions surrounding persistence and change, the book asks why problems arise and are perpetuated in some instances but easily resolved in others. Incorporating ideas about human communication, marital and family therapy, the therapeutic effects of paradoxes and of action-oriented techniques of problem resolution, Change draws much from the field of psychotherapy.

As he begins this book, the author muses about the fate of Macbeth at the hands of the three witches. Their strategies led to his downfall, and--though much refined due to modern technology--are in force today. The urge for ultra-solutions has been with us since unrecorded time, and the witches are always there to offer sinister encouragement. Sure-fire candidates for ultra-solutions emerge in such chapters as "Twice as Much Is Not Necessarily Twice as Good," "Good Can Be Bad," "Nonzero-Sum Games," "Brave Digitalized World," and "I Know Exactly What You're Thinking." Other chapters point out the dangers of security and the nature of order/disorder. Fortunately, all can defend themselves against Hecate and her companions. While Dr. Watzlawick appears to be outlining all the ways we can "snatch failure from the jaws of success," he is, paradoxically, making us aware of the absurdity of our behavior.

Als Psychotherapeut und Konstruktivist ist Paul Watzlawick weltberühmt, seine >>Anleitung zum Unglücklichsein

Neun namhafte Wissenschaftler fragen, wie wir wissen, was wir wissen, und beschreiben in so verschiedenen Gebieten wie Psychiatrie, Philosophie, Mathematik und Neurophysiologie die Rolle selbst erfüllender Prophezeiungen und idealistischer Annahmen beim Erschaffen der Wirklichkeit. Eine lohnende Lektüre, zudem amüsant und voller Überraschungen - seit über zwei Jahrzehnten ein Dauerseller. - >>Der Konstruktivismus erschafft oder :erklärt9 keine Wirklichkeit :da draußen9, sondern enthüllt, dass es kein Innen und Außen gibt, keine Welt der dem Subjekt gegenüberstehenden Subjekte

Describes brief strategic therapy, looking at its theory, applications, and techniques.

Paul Watzlawick, der Meister des >>Unglücklichseins