The Enigma of Reason by Hugo MercierMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Why I read this book
This was my second read of 2021 and part of my challenging 52-book challenge that complements my slogan for this year: "A Year of Ratio & Will".
While my motivation to read this book was to think, become, and act more "rational" it turned out to make me question the function and utility of "reasoning" in the first place.
What the book is about
In this highly thought-provoking book the authors put forth a new theory of rationality which they have been developing for over a decade. They argue, that reason, counter to classical thoughts, has two main purposes:
(1) to produce justifications for protecting one's social reputation
(2) to produce arguments to convince others of one's own views.
With this, they reject classical philosophies on rationality and argue, that biases and laziness are actually no flaws of the human mind, but a highly valuable feature to support human communication and coordination.
One lesson I am taking from it
This is not an easy read and a highly theoretical book. Still, I want to take one practical lesson with me. Namely, that in order to improve my "rationality" I should try to reduce solitary reasoning and instead more often engage in argumentative reasoning with other people.
Reading Recommendation / Who should read this?
I cannot recommend this book enough; especially if you bought into / are convinced by the prominent work of Daniel Kahneman (Thinking, Fast and Slow). The author's theory may then represent quite a paradigm shift for you. I am a layman, but wouldn't be surprised to see this treatise have a huge impact in scientific circles.
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