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Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters
by
8/99
Critics' Rating Index
30/99
Readers' Rating Index
98/99
Scholars' Citation Index
94/99
Volume of Reviews
86/99
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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
"On this account, human reason doesn't march in a linear progression, as Mr."
"Among other things, Rationality is also a response to these critics, a reaffirmation of critical thinking against the encroachments of critical theory ..."
"The author can be heady and geeky, but seldom to the point that his discussions shade off into inaccessibility ..."
"strong and optimistic claims about the value of rationality at a moment in history that seems to have turned its back on logic and rationality."
"He manages to be scrupulously rigorous yet steadily accessible and entertaining whether probing the rationality of Andrew Yang's presidential platform, Dilbert cartoons, or Yiddish proverbs."
"His characteristic brew of Yiddish jokes, brainy comics and incisive argumentation is a pleasure to read, even when the subjects are technical and mathematical."
"At times, Pinker is too uncharitable about what he perceives as irrational belief ..."
"So instead of confronting his targets head on, the middle chapters engage in a kind of indirect culture warfare, dragging foes in as apparently incidental examples of irrationality or motivated reasoning."
"The subject of this book might seem innocent—a worthy attempt to rein in the madness of the post-truth era."
"His deployment of perhaps the finest of Jewish sex jokes as a tool to explain the concept of 'confounding variables' may deserve some sort of prize ..."
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