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How many questions do we ask each day? Why do we ask them in the first place? Do we always ask because we're trying to learn something? Or are there some questions we don't expect to have answered - and some questions that simply can't be answered at all? What do our questions tell us about ourselves? Do they define who we are? Who asked the world's first question? Can anyone answer all these questions? Is that a stupid question, or is it a really good one? And what does Pia Lauritzen, Aarhus University's questioner-in-chief, think of all of this?

Questions: Between Identity and Difference is in many ways a curious book. It is a scholarly book, but tests the boundaries of traditional academic methods. It is a philosophical book, but bases its arguments on observational studies in classrooms where Danish, Russian, Spanish, and Chinese schoolchildren are taught in their native languages. It is a demanding book, one that assumes its readers think for themselves. Yes it is also a generous book, which draws on the author's own experience in researching and exploring what it means to be human across a variety of thoughts and behavioural patterns.

Ofte forklarer vi forskelle mellem mennesker med be­grebet kultur. Men det forklarer ikke, hvorfor mennesker forstår sig selv som nogen, der adskiller sig fra nogen andre. Det gør derimod den model for spørgsmålets struktur, der introduceres i denne bog. Spørgsmål - mellem identitet og differens er på mange måder en mærkværdig bog. Den er videnskabelig, men bevæger sig på kanten af traditionelle videnskabelige metoder. Den er filosofisk, men bygger sine argumenter på observationsstudier af skoleklasser, hvor kinesiske, russiske, spanske og danske børn undervises på deres modersmål. Det er en krævende bog, der forudsætter, at læseren tænker selv. Men det er også en gavmild bog, der trækker på forfatterens egne erfaringer i ud­forskningen af, hvad det vil sige at være menneske på tværs af forskellige tanke- og handlemønstre. Pia Lauritzen er drevet af en dyb fascination af spørgs­mål. I denne bog kombinerer hun tysk fænomenologi med sociolingvistiske studier af, hvorfor og hvordan spørgsmål virker mellem mennesker.