Rationality. What it is, why we lack it and why it is important
19.99 €
Out of stock
Rationality. What it is, why we lack it and why it is important
19.99 €
Can books make people more rational? Can it help us understand why there is so much irrationality around? Steven Pinker, bestselling author of The Enlightenment Continues (which Bill Gates called "his new favorite book of all time"), answers these questions. Right now, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time, it seems to be gradually losing its mind. Why is a species that has developed vaccines against covida in less than a year mired in fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theories? Pinker immediately dismisses the cynical cliché that man is simply irrational - that he is a perpetual troglodyte, ready to react to the lion in the grass with a pile of prejudices, blind spots, false inferences and illusions. After all, it is we who have been able to discover the laws of nature, transform the planet, prolong and enrich our own lives and, last but not least, derive the rules of rationality. In fact, our mind is not adapted to the Pleistocene savannah alone. It copes perfectly well wherever scientific or technological issues are not addressed, and humans, in fact, rarely face anything of the sort. But they, alas, do not know how to make full use of the tools of knowledge that they themselves have developed over the past millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability theory, notions of correlation and causality, as well as the best ways to clarify opinions and implement decisions, both individually and collectively. These tools are not taught in typical educational programs, and they have never, until now, been taught lucidly in a single book. "Rationality" also explores its opposite: how, because of the rational pursuit of self-interest, group solidarity, and mythology designed to bind people together, a paralyzing irrationality emerges that paralyzes society. Collective rationality is impossible without norms purposefully created to promote objectivity and assert truth. Rationality is important. It helps us make good choices, both at the individual level and at the level of society as a whole, and is ultimately the root cause of increased social justice and moral progress. Imbued with Pinker's characteristic insight and humor, Rationality enlightens, inspires, and encourages.
See also:
- All books by the publisher
- All books by the author