Lawrence Berger’s ground-breaking study of attention provides a remarkably wide-ranging investigation of a phenomenon central to human presence. Berger’s is the first work to treat attention in a way that critically engages with both the contemporary scientific and philosophical literature. Grounded in phenomenological and hermeneutic thinking, it provides a comprehensive exploration of the ontology of attention as well as the centrality of attention to political life.

Jeff Malpas, Emeritus Distinguished Professor, University of Tasmania

Lawrence Berger offers us a deeply learned and imaginative account of attention and human flourishing. Synthesizing a dazzling array of thinkers and theories that span centuries and subject areas, Berger articulates an idealistic and attractive vision of mindfulness that, widely practiced, might elevate our communal and political lives.

Ben Berger (no relation), associate professor of political science at Swarthmore College and author of Attention Deficit Democracy: The Paradox of Civic Engagement

In The Politics of Attention and the Promise of Mindfulness, Lawrence Berger makes a significant contribution to the phenomenology of attention. His claim that attention is an extended form of human presence in the world is comprehensive in scope, rigorously argued, and creative.

James Risser, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Seattle University, and editor of the journal Research in Phenomenology

In a time when the media are mercilessly clamoring for our constant attention, nothing perhaps could be more urgent than a book helping us to understand and work with our ability to exercise attention with due awareness. Larry Berger’s comprehensive, well-researched and insightful study, critically examining the contributions of the empirical sciences while also drawing on the resources of experiential phenomenology and practices of mindfulness, argues in a reader-friendly style for the importance of disciplines of attention in facilitating the kind of mutually satisfying communication necessary for a flourishing democracy.

David Kleinberg-Levin, Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, Northwestern University

Lawrence Berger's new book provides an important account of the phenomenology of attention and its social implications. This is the kind of scholarship that advances the relevance of Heidegger's thought for urgent questions we face today, especially in understanding the complexities of a political community.

Lawrence J. Hatab, Louis I. Jaffe Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, Old Dominion University

Lawrence Berger calls for the recognition of attention as indispensable for reshaping our traditional views of the body, self, and politics. Rigorous yet accessible, this book offers readers interested in hermeneutics, phenomenology, and political philosophy valuable new insights into the gathering power of attention for individual and community formation.

Katherine Davies, assistant professor of philosophy, The University of Texas at Dallas