good to think with

is a suggestion that people do not think with abstractions but -concrete things from everyday life, like housing arrangements and tattoos, or imaginary things from myth and folklore, like briar rabbit and his briar patch. Just as some materials are particularly good to work with, some things are especially good to think about.

Levi-Strauss argues that many peoples do not think in the manner of philosophers, by manipulating abstractions. Instead, they think with things-- concrete things from everyday life, like housing arrangements and tattoos, or imaginary things from myth and folklore, like Brer Rabbit and his briar patch. Just as some materials are particularly good to work with, some things are especially good to think about (bonnes à penser). They can be arrangedees.

good to think with, n.Definitions

good to think with