Name: Rationality: What it is, why it Seems Scarce, why it Matters
Price: 709.00 ZAR
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Author: Steven Pinker
ISBN: 9780241380284

portada Rationality: What it is, why it Seems Scarce, why it Matters

Rationality: What it is, why it Seems Scarce, why it Matters

Type

Physical Book

Author

Steven Pinker

Publisher

Penguin

Year

2021

Language

English

Pages

432

Format

Paperback

ISBN13

9780241380284

Edition No.

Rationality: What it is, why it Seems Scarce, why it Matters

Steven Pinker (Author) · Penguin · Paperback

New Book Imported to South Africa

Delivery: 16 Jul - 14 Aug

R 709

R 709

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Synopsis "Rationality: What it is, why it Seems Scarce, why it Matters "

Humans today are often portrayed as cavemen out of time, poised to react to a lion in the grass with a suite of biases, blind spots, and illusions. But cognitive scientist and rational optimist Steven Pinker argues that this cannot be the whole picture. A list of the ways in which we are stupid cannot explain how we're so smart: how we discovered the laws of nature, transformed the planet, and lengthened and enriched our lives. Indeed, if humans were fundamentally irrational, how did they discover the benchmarks for rationality against which humans fall short? The topic could not be more timely. 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 sequenced the genome and detected the Big Bang produce so much fake news, conspiracy theories, and 'post-truth' rhetoric? Rationality explains the key tools for rational thinking, guiding the reader through the basics of logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and helping us to make rational choices alone and with others. Rationality matters. As the world reels from foolish choices made in the past and dreads a future that may be shaped by senseless choices in the present, rationality may be the most important asset that citizens and influencers command. Steven Pinker, the great defender of human progress, having documented how the world is not falling apart, now shows how we can enhance rationality in our lives and in the public sphere. Rationality is the perfect toolkit to seize our own fates.

Steven Pinker

(Author)

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Steven Pinker (Montreal, Canada, September 18, 1954) is one of the most influential psychologists, linguists, and science communicators internationally. With a PhD from Harvard and currently a professor at that university, his work has revolutionized the understanding of language, the mind, and human nature, advocating theories about linguistic instincts, the evolution of thought, and the power of reason. Among his most famous books are The Language Instinct (1994), How the Mind Works (1997, Pulitzer finalist), The Blank Slate (2002), The Better Angels of Our Nature (2011), Enlightenment Now (2018), and Rationality (2021), essential works addressing everything from the reduction of violence to the role of humanism and science in social progress.

Recognized for his rigor and clarity of exposition, Pinker has been included among the world's most influential thinkers by Time, Foreign Policy, and Prospect. He has received accolades such as the William James Book Prize (three times), the Los Angeles Times Science Book Prize, the George Miller Prize, the Humanist of the Year, and the Frontiers of Knowledge Award from the BBVA Foundation (2022). He was a Pulitzer finalist on two occasions and has received honorary doctorates in various countries. His work as a communicator and his defense of critical thinking and empirical evidence have established him as an essential voice for understanding the mind and human progress in the 21st century.

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