The Enigma of Reason

The Enigma of Reason

PAPERBACK

04 Mar, 2019

By Hugo Mercier (author), Dan Sperber (author)

"Brilliant...Timely and necessary." --Financial Times "Especially timely as we struggle to make sense of how it is that individuals and communities persist...

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Last updated on 22 Feb, 2026

ISBN-10:

067423782X

ISBN-13:

9780674237827

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Dimensions

9.00 X 5.80 X 1.10 inches

Language

English

Description

"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

Product Details

ISBN-10

:067423782X

ISBN-13

:9780674237827

Publisher

:Harvard University Press

Publication date

: 04 Mar, 2019

Category

: Science

Sub-Category

: Cognitive Science

Format

:PAPERBACK

Language

:English

Reading Level

: All

No. of Units

:1

Dimension

: 9.00 X 5.80 X 1.10 inches

Weight

:500 g

Editorial Reviews

The Enigma of Reason is a comprehensive and well‐motivated overview of the contemporary scientific and philosophical literature on reasoning. This is 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" (5/9/2017 12:00:00 AM)
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