Insightful and comprehensive, Shotter outlines the importance and implications of self-other interaction on perception formation. The 'ordinary language' one chooses to express mental representations reflects one's dependence upon socially-derived tools for thought and expression. Similar to Certeau, Shotter discusses how an individual is presented with few alternatives to living through and therefore maintaining the 'traditions' (ordinary language) that guide our understanding. Shotter draws from the works of Austin, Bakhtin (how one's populating words with meaning makes subjective interpretation of what is 'reality' unavoidable), Vico, Wittgenstein (the fragmentary nature of understanding), Rorty (the self-other processes that guide perception formation and one's tendency to categorize based on 'solidarity'), among many others. Shotter makes the distinction between 'knowing that' and 'knowing how' and introduces a knowing of a third kind that has meaning only in relation to others. This book breaks down an otherwise difficult study of hermeneutics and human perception into clear and concise arguments, making such difficult concepts accessible to the average curiousity. Furthermore, its broad scope serves as a good foundation for the beginning scholar, welcoming the reader to a new and exciting dimension of knowledge.