What happens when attention itself becomes part of the problem?
In What We Attend To, Kas Philippens explores attention as an active force shaping both individual experience and collective reality. Rather than treating attention as neutral or purely corrective, this essay argues that what we consistently focus on does not simply become clearer-it often grows in intensity, complexity, or persistence.
Drawing on research from psychology and sociology, the book examines how attention operates through mechanisms such as attentional bias, conditioning, and feedback loops. At the individual level, sustained focus can amplify anxiety and reinforce patterns that are difficult to break. At the collective level, similar dynamics appear in social discourse, where repeated emphasis on identity, conflict, and injustice can unintentionally entrench the divisions they aim to resolve.
This work does not deny the existence or urgency of issues such as racism, discrimination, or inequality. Instead, it questions how attention is structured once these problems are recognized. A central distinction is introduced between recognition and rumination: recognition brings problems into awareness, while rumination sustains them without necessarily contributing to resolution.
The essay further challenges the assumption that good intentions are sufficient for positive outcomes. While intention expresses direction, attention determines impact. Patterns of focus, especially when reinforced by media systems and social environments, shape perception, behavior, and long-term results regardless of intent.
Through a combination of theoretical analysis and lived experience, What We Attend To offers a framework for disciplined attention. It calls for a shift from reactive engagement toward conscious allocation of focus, where awareness is paired with responsibility and direction.
The aim is not to reduce attention to important issues, but to refine it. Effective engagement requires more than intensity; it requires understanding what attention does over time.
The question is not whether we care, but where that care is directed-and what grows because of it.
外文書商品之書封，為出版社提供之樣本。實際出貨商品，以出版社所提供之現有版本為主。部份書籍，因出版社供應狀況特殊，匯率將依實際狀況做調整。
無庫存之商品，在您完成訂單程序之後，將以空運的方式為你下單調貨。為了縮短等待的時間，建議您將外文書與其他商品分開下單，以獲得最快的取貨速度，平均調貨時間為1~2個月。
為了保護您的權益，「三民網路書店」提供會員七日商品鑑賞期(收到商品為起始日)。
若要辦理退貨，請在商品鑑賞期內寄回，且商品必須是全新狀態與完整包裝(商品、附件、發票、隨貨贈品等)否則恕不接受退貨。
