Book reviews Book reviews 122 Argumentum. Journal of the Seminar of Discursive Logic, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric 16 (1): 123-129, 2018 Measuring "Consumers' Hearts" Herbert L. Meiselman (editor), Emotion Measurement (Woodhead Publishing, Elsevier, 2016) Daniel-Rareș OBADĂ In the last years, the study of emotions has expanded rapidly due to researchers' interest from psychology, psychiatry, marketing, communication, design, semiotics, neuroscience, language, or computer science. Although scholars from various disciplines and different orientations towards emotion proposed alternative perspectives, in emotion literature there is still a lack of cohesion on the most important conceptual and measurement issues of emotions. The study of emotion is a large area of research and becomes even more complex in the context of enormous diversity of ideas that exists in the field of emotion measurement. The aim of this book, Emotion Measurement, edited by dr. Herbert L. Meiselman is to bring different perspectives on emotion measurement together. As dr. H. L. Meiselman explains in preface, Emotion Measurement combines articles from academic research on emotions, applied commercial research and clinical research. Even though these studies existed isolated, the editor considers that a compilation could lead to a progress in understanding and measuring emotions, by combining methods and insights. Therefore, the main focus of this volume is on measurement challenges and opportunities of emotions, using the latest studies from psychology, psychiatry, communication, design, semiotics, neuroscience, language, or computer science. Such an extensive effort must be appreciated because, of our knowledge, this is the first book on emotions measurement in which different scholars share their thinking, methods, and results on measuring „consumers' hearts". In Part I of Emotion Measurement, Géraldine Coppin and David Sander refer to some "Theoretical Approaches to Emotion and Its Measurement". In this section, the first chapter is opened with a broad discussion about theoretical approaches on emotion and its measurement: challenges of defining the concept, different debates from the literature regarding emotion classification, and consequences of this debates on emotion models. Coppin and Sander discuss three major theories of emotion (i.e. basic emotion, dimensional, and appraisal theories) and describe it as a phenomenon with multiple components, mainly: (1) expression, (2) action tendency, (3) bodily reaction, (4) feeling, and (5) appraisal. Lisa Feldman Barrett in "Navigating the Science of Emotion", in chapter 2, presents a consistent literature review on emotion theories and important Book reviews 124 implication for emotion measurement. She explains that emotion theories are classified into classical (i.e. emotion are "separate and independent ability, or faculty, with its own separate processes"; each emotion is different from every other emotion and has a physical basis) and construction approaches the theory of constructed emotion (i.e. "any emotion refers to a category or population of instances of that emotion"). Barrett recommends a constructionist approach for emotions measurement using a multimodal measurement, not just facial, physiological, or self-report. Catherine Rouby, Arnaud Fournel, and Moustafa Bensafi in "The Role of the Senses in Emotion", chapter 3 of this volume, discuss the role of senses in emotion outlining that each sense (i.e. touch, hearing, sight, taste, and smell) works independently of other senses, but they are integrated centrally. Rouby and her colleagues emphasize the role of senses in emotion by discussing the need for a properly function, in order to avoid mental disorders. Greg J. Norman, Elizabeth Necka, and Gary G. Berntson end Part I with a reflection on "The Psychophysiology of Emotions", in chapter 4. The three authors present a history of psychophysiological measurement of emotion, starting with 19th century to the late 20th century. They argue that, although there is "some evidence of emotion-specific ANS responses," the evidence is still not strong on such relationships. Part II of this volume deals with "Methods for Studying Emotions", such as: behavioral methods, facial scaling, emotion lists and lexicons, sentiment analysis, questionnaires, conceptual profiling, or temporal analysis. Rubén Jacob-Dazarola, Juan Carlos Ortíz Nicolás, and Lina Cárdenas Bayona discuss "Behavioral Measures of Emotion", in chapter 5. They start their presentation with a reflection on emotion definition and continue with behavioral measures, such as: facial scaling, measurement of voice and gestures (body expressions), and with different interactions among these three behavioral measures. Ruben et al. emphasize the multidimensional characteristics of emotions and responses on cognitive, physiological, thought-action, facial and vocal level, and finally the subjective emotional experiences. They restate an important idea: measuring emotions at one level does not necessarily predict other levels. In order to recognize emotion, the three authors include also behavior. In chapter 6, Hyisung C. Hwang and David Matsumoto present the problematic of "Measuring Emotions in the Face", by covering direct and indirect approaches to facial measurement of emotions. Hwang and Matsumoto main idea is that direct methods are more frequent (e.g. consist in direct measurement of the facial muscles and then classification into emotion expressions) than indirect methods (e.g. involve judgments of facial expressions). These two authors refer to different direct measurement methods of facial expressions, such as: FACS (i.e. used for adults), MAX (i.e. used for infants), and facial EMG (i.e. which is used less often), and argue that automated expression recognition systems is not fully developed yet. Book reviews 125 Daniel Grühn and Neika Sharifian, in "Lists of Emotional Stimuli", chapter 7, address the issue of using different emotional stimuli, such as words, images, faces, and film clips in standardized lists to measure emotions. Their proposal is to evaluate emotion lists based on a matrix of five characteristics: (1) ecological validity (i.e. like real life), (2) temporal resolution (i.e. processing time), (3) controllability (i.e. internal validity), (4) complexity (i.e. number of aspects, the opposite of controllability), and (5) emotional intensity (i.e. lower for words, higher for films). In chapter 8, Armand V. Cardello and Sara R. Jaeger refer to "Measurement of Consumer Product Emotions Using Questionnaires" and argue that emotions could be better measured through verbal report (i.e. questionnaires), rather than using other physiological and behavioral methods. They provide a strong argument: researchers usually study broad families of emotions, than a small number of basic emotions – thus, with questionnaires this aim is possible to achieve. The chapter ends with a discussion on using products as stimuli to elicit emotions with a high intensity. Also Armand et al. restate the importance of product names and customers' expectations regarding choosing stimuli product. In chapter 9, Saif M. Mohammad presents a "Sentiment Analysis: Detecting Valence, Emotions, and Other Affectual States from Text". He provides a definition of sentiment analysis and explains that this measurement method includes automatic determination of valence (i.e. positive/negative) and automatic determination (i.e. computer processing) of affective states towards a person, object or event. Mohammad concludes that the main task of scholars using this technique is to select the most appropriate list. Another problem is that most of the sentiment analysis lists are in English, although there are some lists available in other languages. David M. H. Thomson, in chapter 10, refers to "Conceptual Profiling" an alternative method for accessing subject's preconscious and revealing previously hidden insights (i.e. the conceptualizations), which trigger emotions. The importance of conceptual associations is that they trigger emotions; although they don't substitute for emotions, they provide important information about them. Thomson concludes that conceptual associations represent a constructive alternative to the measurement options of people's affective responses. In chapter 10, Gerry Jager discusses "Short-term Time Structure of Foodrelated Emotions: Measuring Dynamics of Responses" by approaching the issue of temporal analysis of emotion. Jager begins her chapter by arguing the importance of using a dynamic approach in measuring emotions, rather than a traditional static one. The main argument of her is the fact that a traditional static measurement technique might compromise the ecological validity of data. Jager concludes by emphasizing: "a dynamic view of emotion adds a novel dimension because reveals different patterns of results depending on the time or stage in the emotion process at which they are assessed". The main limitations of using this Book reviews 126 approach are: expensive equipment, sophisticated statistical analysis of large data sets, issues in statistical assumptions of these types of data, and laboratory biases. Panteleimon Ekkekakis and Zachary Zenko propose an interesting perspective on emotions, in chapter 12: "Measurement of Affective Responses to Exercise: From Affectless Arousal to The Most Well-Characterized Relationship Between the Body and Affect". They begin this chapter on affective response to exercise with a review of 19th and 20th century history of psychology, and the role of exercise in psychology. Based on studies regarding positive effects of exercise on anxiety, these two authors state the danger of fixed research methods, not easily subject to change (i.e. the case with exercise and affect), which can lead to biases or misinterpreted results. Ekkakis and Zenko discuss the case of affective responses to exercise research and consider it an example that can be used by scholars interested in study affects (i.e. a three-step approach). In the chapter 13, Sara R. Jaeger and Armand V. Cardello discuss some "Methodological Issues in Consumer Product Emotion Research Using Questionnaires", and address some measurement and methodological challenges of using questionnaires in emotions studies. Jaeger and Cardello emphasize the importance of individuals' personality differences in describing emotions. Part III of this volume refers to "Studying Emotions in Practice", in different settings: in clinical practice, eating environment, product, odorous products, foods, and beverages. Ulrich Kramer, in chapter 14, has an interesting perspective about "Emotions in Clinical Practice" the field of clinical treatment and research. Kramer explains the importance of emotions studies from clinical practice, and presents clinical tools used in psychotherapy, such as: self-report questionnaires, observer-rated methods, and physiological methods. Kramer outlines that choosing an emotion measurement instrument depends on researchers theoretical view, assessment aim, time, and cost. Kramer discusses a large number of methods to capture emotions in clinical settings and reaffirms his skepticism about self-report measures validity. In chapter 15, John S.A. Edwards, Heather J. Hartwell, and Agnes Giboreau present "Emotions Studied in Context: The Role of the Eating Environment". They start by referring to contextual research terminology and propose different terms, such as: foodscapes, ambience, atmosphere, or environment – for eating context. In their opinion, two popular assumptions about eating context are challenged: meals structure and family meals frequency. Edwards et al. explain that meals frequency and timing have changed over the centuries (i.e. from two to three meals per day, with less fixed pattern, snacks and eating out of the home) and mention some important issues that need to be managed by scholars in emotions studies: the choice of locations, subjects, and using paid or free food. Chapter 16 contains Pieter M.A. Desmet, Steven F. Fokkinga, Deger Ozkaramanli and JungKyoon Yoon article about "Emotion-Driven Product Design". In this chapter, Desmet et al. refer to the complex relationships Book reviews 127 between emotions and product design. They outline the need for a "more holistic than a traditional product-focused view", by suggesting that negative emotions can be reduced to increase positive emotions. In chapter 17, C. Porcherot, S. Delplanque, C. Ferdenzi, N. Gaudreau, and I. Cayeux refer to "Emotions of Odors and Personal and Home Care Products" as emotions stimuli with a major role. The main idea is that products odors influence consumers' mood by inducing positive or negative moods, relaxation or excitation, both behaviorally and physiologically. Porcherot-Lassallette et al. describe the pharmacological and psychological mechanisms involved in olfaction on emotion, and emphasize the importance of managing association of emotions to odors. Silvia C. King presents in chapter 18 "Emotions Elicited by Foods", and starts with an overview on food emotion, including the whole food experience viewed at different stages: (1) food choice, (2) food purchase, (3) food preparation, (4) consumption, and (5) post consumption. In her view, the emotions responses to an event or stimuli (e.g. food) are more a reaction to a series of events during a period of time, each with a different set of emotions. In this context, King starts to review a series of studies to outline the importance of each stage in food experience and triggering emotions. King argues that the postconsumption phase, although has received less attention, is essential to understand consumers' emotion (e.g. emotions after eating, namely guilt restrain eaters). Finally, King restates the need to study product emotions before, during, and after consumption, and considers that scholars should study the role of negative emotions in product (i.e. food) testing. In chapter 19 of this volume, Hannelize van Zyl reflects on an interesting topic: "Emotion in Beverages" and places beverage emotions into a multifactor model of product, person, and context including preceding events. Van Zyl outlines the role of emotion measurement in product development, and emphasize that emotions need to be considered along with hedonic and functional aspects of products. As King, Van Zyl states that negative emotions are also important: often, beverages are expected to reduce negative emotions. Therefore, Van Zyl recommends the use of TDE methods to capture simultaneously a small number of positive and negative emotions. Jaime L. Kurtz and Cheryl A. Welch approach in chapter 20 a fascinating topic: "The Emotion of Happiness". Their perspective is consistent with positive psychology paradigm. Kurtz and Welch describe measures of happiness that they equate with subjective well-being, based on the idea that happiness is subjective. In their view, happiness contains both cognitive (i.e. satisfaction with life) and affective (i.e. frequent positive emotions) components, and shows high stability within individuals. Kurtz and Welch consider that the future of measuring happiness consists in biologically based measurement in natural settings. Megan Viar-Paxton and Bunmi Olatunji begin chapter 21, "Measurement of Disgust Proneness", with a recent history of disgust research by depicting a broader image of disgust: from a defensive mechanism aimed at curtailing eating Book reviews 128 unsafe things, to a broader disease avoidance and protective function involving more than food items. Although disgust varies in individuals, in some degree exists in everyone. Viar-Paxton and Olatunji explain that individual differences in disgust are generated by factors, such as: (1) cultural perceptions of personal attractiveness, (2) predicting mate preferences, (3) behavioral shifts during pregnancy, (4) political and religious ideology, and (5) choice of profession. Kremer and den Uijl recommend that scholars should use "tailored emotion lexicon" in questionnaires for testing very elderly or frail elderly consumers. Part IV of this volume is a compilation of different Cross-Cultural Studies of Emotions. The section on cross-cultural studies begins with chapter 23: "Translatability of Emotions" by Anna Ogarkova. Ogarkova raises an important issue in conducting emotion studies: translated words in other languages have the same meaning? The answer generates an interesting debate in the literature, but Ogarkova argues that this depends on the discipline of the inquiry. She explains that linguistic meaning involves the combination of denotation and connotation, and requires both meaning and meaning evaluation. In her view, researchers interested in conducting cross-culturally studies should consider the problem of translation when they use questionnaires and other verbal methods. In chapter 24, Yulia E. Chentsova-Dutton and Samuel H. Lyons discuss "Different Ways of Measuring Emotions Cross-Culturally", and recommend that scholars should ensure that "the methods, participants, research settings and constructs that are being studied, the meanings and significance of these constructs, and the language and psychometric characteristics of the assessment tools are comparable across different cultural contexts". In their view, working with local experts to ensure cultural equivalence may be a solution. ChentsovaDutton and Lyons conclusion is that "liking and disliking products cannot be assumed to reflect the same dimension across cultural contexts and need to be assessed separately." Keiko Ishii and Charis Eisen, in chapter 2, discuss the issue of "Measuring and Understanding Emotions in East Asia". They explain an important difference between East and West: "the self is considered independent and separate from other people in Western cultural contexts, but it is interdependent and connected with other people in Eastern cultural contexts (Markus & Kitayama, 1991)." Ishii and Eisen conclude that people have different emotional responses to their environment in culturally specific ways, and scholars should understand and adapt their studies to these differences. We conclude this book review considering that Emotion Measurement volume is a useful resource for theoreticians and practitioners interested of emotions, with a clear focus on methodological opportunities and challenges in measuring „consumers' heart". In this section, we briefly outline some important ideas from this book to arouse potential readers' interest. First of all, the authors cover a broad range of topics and present emotion studies from different fields: psychology, psychiatry, marketing, communication, Book reviews 129 design, semiotics, neuroscience, language, or computer science. These various studies are a useful compilation of methods and measurement instruments, with advantages and disadvantages. We must notice the balance of perspectives in presenting emotion measurement and the idea that no method is superior to other – researchers should select the most appropriate research design in conformity with their research objectives. Second, scholars interested in conducting emotion studies have a wide range of methodological options, such as: physiological, behavioral, and selfreport methods. Each method is discussed in detail and the biases are critically presented. However, in the literature seems to be an agreement on using selfreport methods to capture emotion. Most authors outline the importance of adopting a theoretical framework and an appropriate method for specific emotion studies. Third, another issue of emotion research is choosing the adequate context: laboratory vs. natural settings. In order to avoid many biases in individual emotional responses, scholars recommend using natural, realistic settings, rather than artificial. Also, due to emotion conceptualization, theoreticians and practitioners should use a dynamic approach in measuring emotion. Forth, regarding the number of emotion studied, it seems to be an agreement among researches that a small number of emotions are more practical, but using more emotions is better because collected data allows a clearer discrimination between mixed emotions. This decision should be taken in accordance with a specific aim of research. Fifth, an important idea that we need to outline is the need to consider a right balance between positive and negative emotions. Thus, understanding how negative emotions are measured and used in practice, in commercial studies, is essential for conducting studies. Sixth, considering the large number of cross-cultural studies, a discussion on adjusting the measurement instruments is necessarily and useful because we need to reflect if the emotional words have the same meaning in different cultures. We conclude that Emotion Measurement volume Emotion Measurement, edited by dr. Herbert L. Meiselman, is an important collection of information that contributes to a better understanding of methodological issues in emotion field. Argumentum. Journal of the Seminar of Discursive Logic, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric 16 (1): 130-132, 2018 Women Representation ‒ from Reality to Fiction Megan Hoffman, Gender and Representation in British "Golden Age" Crime Fiction ‒ Women writing women (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2016) Ioana JIJIE Gender discrimination and promoting certain stereotypes, especially regarding the role of women in society, are issues that are often discussed and never obsolete, even at the present time. Although it may seem strange at first glance, a gender analysis of golden age crime fictions novels shows its literary, psychological and rhetorical importance. Ultimately, the novels of that period were drawing their core from the reality of that time, and its shards still perpetuate today. Why this segmentation? Because Classic British 'golden age' crime fiction provides an ideal space in which to explore issues that accompany changing models of feminity. Moreover, the depiction of a woman in a crime novel, whether as victim, villain, suspect or detective, is loaded with social and cultural meanings as well as with expectations attached to the genre's typical characters. Megan Hoffman does not attempt to suggest either that depictions of women in golden age crime fiction written by women are unequivocally empowering, or that their conservatism is inevitably repressive. Rather, she argues that these depictions are ambivalent, advocating a modern, active model of feminity that gives agency to female characters, while also displaying with their resolutions an emphasis on domesticity and on maintaining a heteronormative order. This ambivalence provides a means to deal with anxieties about women's place in society without advocating either a radical feminist dismissal of social conventions or a return to a Victorian ideal of submissive domesticity. Thereby, in the second chapter of the book, the author establishes the historical context for this depictions. All started with the First World War. Not only that women begin to assume a more prominent role in the male-dominated public sphere, they also gained access to jobs that would previously have been closed to them on the basis of gender. Women's increased presence in the workplace during the First World War fundamentally changed views towards traditional gender roles. But, expectations and prejudices accompanying gendered social roles did not change quickly and this tension was played out during the decades following the First World War through conflicting depictions of these roles in popular cultures. Such tensions form the cultural backdrop for a period during which Book reviews 131 crime novels and stories began to reach an unprecedented level of popularity and women played a substantial role in both their audience and their creation. Crime fiction allows considerable scope for portraying transgressions of gender and social boundaries. This does not necessarily mean that women writers of crime fictions identified themselves unequivocally with feminism. In the third chapter of the book it is illustrated the idea that from education for women to the "surplus" of single women, from women in the workplace to lessbianism, golden age crime fiction by women writers engages with contemporary anxieties about women's place in society and changing modes of feminity. First, educated women were a threat not only to the long established "sacred" male traditions of universities but also to a society in which they were under pressure to conform to a domestic ideal. Behind the homophobia that became ingrained in British culture in the first half of 20 century was the anxiety that women would reject marriage, motherhood and domesticity as desirable modes of feminity. This fact was threatening the stability of traditional gender roles in a heteronormative social model. The reaction to this threat, combined with the pressure created by the ideology of the "cult of domesticity" meant that women who resisted traditional feminity were resented, dismissed and /or suppressed. Then, the author highlights the significance of nonconforming female characters. Their importance does not lie in their inevitable containment at the narratives conclusions, but in their disturbing potential for agency and the accompanying questions raised about the transgressive and the normal. Moreover, when single women characters are employed as villains and victims, however, these depictions of them become far less nuanced and more negative. Dorothy L Sayers says publishers and editors still labour under the delusion that all stories must have a nice young man and woman who have to be united in the last chapter. As a result, some of the finest detective-stories are marked by a conventional love story, irrelevant to the action and perfunctory worked in. Despite such criticisms the fact remains that many writers continued to incorporate representations of love and marriage in their novels, since conventional love stories continued to be a conspicuous feature in the plots of golden age crime fiction. Megan Hoffman mentions that this changing in understanding of both the marriage relationships and gender roles within that relationship was beginning to redefine what constitutes a model of partnership between spouses. It also created inevitable tension between the traditional domesticity still held as an idea and the potential for more active roles for women. In the end, the modes of masculinity and feminity changed: the new woman took on the practical and emotional control once the province of men: she was competent, assured and unemotional. The narrative provides a space for explorations of women's evolving roles in the public sphere, roles that are shown to be nearly inextricable from the pull of traditional expectations surrounding feminity, domesticity and sexuality. While the narratives often offer conservative resolutions the many depictions of Book reviews 132 successful women can be read as undermining essentialist assumptions about women's abilities. Despite such conflict, crime novels also explore the positive implications to be found for women in the workplace. The last chapter of this book underline that representation of gender in women's golden age crime fiction are rarely stable and are often fraught with contradictions. The modes of feminity explored in the novels and stories reflect those available during the period and independence and nonconformity are often contained by the safety of conversationally heteronormative conclusions. One such site of instability and unsolvability is the body. Mary Douglas maintains that the human body is always treated as an image of society and that there can be no natural way of considering the body that does not involve ar the same time a social dimension. The exploration of women's bodies in the previous chapter provides a means to examine the ways in which golden age crime narratives construct strategies for dealing with conflicting social and cultural forces that influenced depictions of gender in popular culture. The bodies of both killers and victims represent the disturbance of gender and social codes that became evident in a crime narrative's conflict. In conclusion, the significance of the analysis contained Mehan Hoffman's book lies in the breadth of its examination of feminity in women's golden age crime fiction. Moreover, by moving beyond the detective to consider killers, victims and romantic interests, a clearer yet more intricate and more nuanced picture emerges of the issues that arise when women write women. Argumentum. Journal of the Seminar of Discursive Logic, Argumentation Theory and Rhetoric 16 (1): 133-135, 2018 The Role that Dialectical Theatre Can Play Lara Stevens, Anti-War Theatre After Brecht. Dialectical Aesthetics in the Twenty-First Century (Macmillan Publishers Ltd., London, 2016) Roxana-Simona POCLID In Brechtian theatre, the act serves either a political or social idea. With the Anti-War Theatre After Brecht paperwork, Lara Stevens brings on stage the importance of political theatre, the one that can shape an attitude or it can talk in his own language about the mistakes of the society. In the War of Terror context how do we answer the "Which role has the theatre today?" question? Chapter one, Introduction, presents how Brecht thought historical process of transformation can be represented on stage and transformed after in civic actions. Starting with other authors' opinions, the second part of the chapter illustrates the power of the theatre to intervene, criticize, use parody or change the dominant language and pattern of invasion, conflict, terrorism and terror. Even Jacques Rancière observes that an artwork can present a political issue, but it can never control how politics will be seen after the play ends, it can, however, make a political issue more salient. In this case, the dialectical aesthetics of an artwork -in an individual circumstance-, is a way of framing a part of reality. Maybe we are not always concern about the others and their problems, more when "the others" are strangers who live in a different place. Notwithstanding, we can imagine things they have to face. When we see a play, read newspapers or articles on the internet, watch a movie or documentary, we are connected with the world stories. In our global village, the art in general plays an important role, because it can speak about the facts that affect the people, makes the world insecure, brings pain and distracts us from the idea of humanity. Even though human kind has the power to forget and forgive, some historical moments, like 2011 terrorist attack, should always be in our memory. More than never, in the digital age, all social media resources must be used, starting with the certainty that information arrives fast in each corner of the world. In this context, theatre keeps its particularity to create a direct and human connection. Theatre is a way to keep people together. Brecht thought that epic theatre can transform a passive spectator into an active thinker. Its point of view shapes the spectator's way of seeing, saying and doing. Through dialectical aesthetics we can reveal a system of domination. In Book reviews 134 many cases, not only the message is important, but rather the play potential to provoke audiences to constantly analyze what they have seen on the stage. In chapter three, From Epic to Dialectical Theatre, the author Lara Stevens explains the linkage between Marxism and Brechtian theatre. Other authors, Ollman and Smith, demonstrate the meanings of dialectics in Marxism, meanings used by Brecht in theatre. Thereby, dialectics are a way of thinking, a means by which to characterize society, a method for investigating reality and a mode of conveying such a reality. Brecht's desire was to create "a theatre that encourages spectators to think critically and skeptically about their social, political and economic conditions." He believed that a change in spectator consciousness can be enough to create a new world. For Brecht, the theatre is the right place where the actors, the play itself can alter the ordinarily ways of seeing things. The spectator does not stay on a chair and only enjoys the play. He also asks himself about the things that are represented and ends judging his own life, the society and political systems. It does not mean that the theatre must not bring the joy or should ignore it, embrace only a practical purpose. It can't resolve the world problems, but it can talk about them. It can represent an ideal world, but it can also depict the one lived by people. The one that hurts. This chapter is important because it shows different philosophical influences in Brecht's ideas about theatre and makes more intelligible the idea of dialectical aesthetics. The "Marx and Dialectics", "Brecht and Dialectics", "Brecht and Marxism", "Spectatorship, Dogma and Defamiliarization in the Age of Late Capitalism", "The Post-Brechtian" subsections offer a better understanding of Steven's research and of its way of underlining the importance of some plays in revealing the anti-war artistic movement. We go on with the first play brought into discussion, chapter four, "Homebody/Kabul" and "Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall be Unhappy", written by Tony Kushner. These two plays do not intend to give simplistic answers. They provoke complex questions around the ethics of war and its victims. In this manner, the plays are not didactic, because they ask the audience to think dialectically. The audience is not invited to give simple answers ("yes" or "no") or to judge what it is "bad" or "good", but to contemplate and try to see the full picture of the world after the terrorist attack in 2011. "Le Dernier Caravansérail", Théâtre du Soleil's play, chapter five, followed the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. It is not only about this play. The entire theatre wants to reveal the world problems, as the company says "we want to reinvent the rules of the game that unveil daily reality by showing it not as familiar and immutable, but as surprising and transformable". The play embraces its own failure in the attempts to fully represent the "absent bodies and silent voices of refugees in a globalized word". In this way, the play offers the opportunity for multiple dialectical possibilities. Book reviews 135 In each play analyzed, we do not have an answer. We have to search the multiple questions and give an answer. Or more answers. The whole paperwork, with its two last chapters, "Carly Churchill's Iraq.doc and Seven Jewish Children: A play for Gaza" and "Elfriede Jalinek's Bambiland" is a meritorious analysis of dialectical thinking and how it can be done through theatre. When media representation requires a critical understanding, the dialectical theatre can provoke an ethical rejection about war and accelerate an attitude that can save people's lives. And even if it sounds poetically, the dialectical theatre can make us feel for a while the other's pain. Is this not an important role that theatre can play?