Tesco
The Function of Reason
Article

The Function of Reason

Dan Sperber
Edge, 2017
Read the article

Read or listen offline

automatisch generiertes Audio
  • 0.5×
  • 0.75×
  • 1×
  • 1.25×
  • 1.5×
  • 1.75×
1×
automatisch generiertes Audio

Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Innovative
  • Scientific

Recommendation

Human reasoning is often flawed. So why has it evolved in the first place? Dan Sperber, a Paris-based social and cognitive scientist, believes that reason didn’t evolve to enhance individual cognition but support humans in their social interactions. This isn’t a light read, but getAbstract recommends Sperber’s deliberations to anybody who likes to take time to ponder one of the great philosophical questions about what makes people human.

Take-Aways

  • Human reasoning isn’t a “superpower”; humans engage in reasoning errors all the time.
  • The dual system approach distinguishes between intuition, an automatic system that humans and animals share, and reason, which involves acquired problem-solving skills unique to humans.
  • Those rejecting the dual system approach argue that intuition isn’t a separate faculty.

About the Author

Dan Sperber is a Paris-based social and cognitive scientist.

Comment on this summary or Diskussion beginnen