The Enigma of Reason - Paperback

Name: The Enigma of Reason - Paperback
Brand: BooksCloud
SKU: 9780674237827
Price: 22.00 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

by Hugo Mercier , Dan Sperber

$22.00

Book Overview

"Brilliant...Timely and necessary." --Financial Times

"Especially timely as we struggle to make sense of how it is that individuals and communities persist in holding beliefs that have been thoroughly discredited."
--Darren Frey, Science

If reason is what makes us human, why do we behave so irrationally? And if it is so useful, why didn't it evolve in other animals? This groundbreaking account of the evolution of reason by two renowned cognitive scientists seeks to solve this double enigma. Reason, they argue, helps us justify our beliefs, convince others, and evaluate arguments. It makes it easier to cooperate and communicate and to live together in groups. Provocative, entertaining, and undeniably relevant, The Enigma of Reason will make many reasonable people rethink their beliefs.

"Reasonable-seeming people are often totally irrational. Rarely has this insight seemed more relevant...Still, an essential puzzle remains: How did we come to be this way?...Cognitive scientists Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber [argue that] reason developed not to enable us to solve abstract, logical problems...[but] to resolve the problems posed by living in collaborative groups."
--Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker

"Turns reason's weaknesses into strengths, arguing that its supposed flaws are actually design features that work remarkably well."
--Financial Times

"The best thing I have read about human reasoning. It is extremely well written, interesting, and very enjoyable to read."
--Gilbert Harman, Princeton University

ISBN	9780674237827
Author	Hugo Mercier , Dan Sperber
Publisher	Harvard University Press
Genre	Education, Self-help & personal development, and Philosophy
Format	Paperback
Published	March 2019
Language	ENG- English
Pages	408
Weight	1.0 lb
Target Audience	Adults
Print Size	Standard Print

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About Hugo Mercier

Hugo Mercier is a cognitive scientist at the Jean Nicod Institute in Paris and the coauthor of The Enigma of Reason. He lives in Nantes, France. Twitter @hugoreasoning