An urgent defense of reason, the essential method for resolving—or
even discussing—divisive issues: “A timely
masterpiece.”—Patricia S. Churchland, author of Touching a Nerve
Reason, long held as the highest human achievement, is under siege.
According to Aristotle, the capacity for reason sets us apart from
other animals, yet today it has ceased to be a universally admired
faculty. Rationality and reason have become political, disputed
concepts, subject to easy dismissal. Julian Baggini argues
eloquently that we must recover our reason and reassess its proper
place, neither too highly exalted nor completely maligned. Rationality
does not require a cold, sterile worldview—it simply involves the
application of critical thinking wherever thinking is needed.
Addressing such major areas of debate as religion, science, politics,
psychology, and economics, the author calls for commitment to the
notion of a “community of reason,” where disagreements are settled
by debate and discussion, not brute force or political power.
Baggini’s insightful book celebrates the power of reason, our best
hope—indeed our only hope—for dealing with the intractable
quagmires of our time. “The toxic gloating of ‘gut feelings,’
hateful politics and heart-over-head attacks on good sense urgently
need an antidote. Baggini has risen to the
occasion…compelling.”—Patricia S. Churchland, author
of Conscience: The Origins of Moral Intuition
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780300222081
Publisert
2016
Utgiver
Vendor
Yale University Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter