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Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters
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8/99
Critics' Rating Index
30/99
Readers' Rating Index
98/99
Scholars' Citation Index
94/99
Volume of Reviews
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About This Book
Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it help us understand why there is so much irrationality in the world? These are the goals of Rationality, Steven Pinker's follow-up to Enlightenment Now (Bill Gates's new favorite book of all time"). In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding--and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theorizing? Pinker rejects the cynical clich� that humans are an irrational species--cavemen out of time saddled with biases, fallacies, and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives, and discovered the benchmarks for rationality itself. Instead, he explains that we think in ways that are sensible in the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning our best thinkers have discovered over the millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and optimal ways to update beliefs and commit to choices individually and with others. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book--until now. Rationality also explores its opposite: how the rational pursuit of self-interest, sectarian solidarity, and uplifting mythology by individuals can add up to crippling irrationality in a society. Collective rationality depends on norms that are explicitly designed to promote objectivity and truth. Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress.. Brimming with insight and humour, Rationality will enlighten, inspire, and empower.
Reviews
"These slips matter because they suggest that for all his clear thinking, Pinker still doesn't quite understand how ambiguity and uncertainty, as well as illogicality and cognitive biases, limit the reach of rationality."
"The result is both a celebration of humans' ability to make things better with careful thinking and a penetrating rebuke to muddleheadedness."
"It's hard to argue against Pinker's own logic, yet there will always be a ghost in the machine, those urges and instincts that serve to distort reality ..."
"offers a pragmatic dose of measured optimism, presenting rationality as a fragile but achievable ideal in personal and civic life ..."
"A reader-friendly primer in better thinking through the cultivation of that rarest of rarities: a sound argument."
"Rationality will improve your own critical thinking—pass it on."
"Pinker's book does more than just lay out how we ought to reason."
"He still disparages those who have the audacity to question his ideas about progress ..."
"Adjusting your sample of Rationality as you go...you can find an informative and briskly written book about types of reasoning and their applications."
"Pinker discuss the possible limits of reason when it comes to comprehending the world within our heads ..."
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