Rationality. What is it, why do we lack it and what is important. Pinker S.

Right now, humanity reaches new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time, it seems, gradually goes crazy. Why does the species, less than a year have developed vaccines against Covid, are mired in fake news, medical charlatanism and conspiracy theories?

The linker immediately refuses the cynical cliche, stating that the person is simply irrational - that this is eternal troglot, ready to react to a lion in the grass with a heap of prejudices, blind spots, false defacations and illusions. In the end, we were able to discover the laws of nature, transform the planet, extend and enrich our own life and (not least) to derive the rules of rationality. In fact, our mind is not adapted to the Savannah of the Pleistocene era. He copes perfectly wherever scientific or technological issues are not resolved, and people, in fact, rarely face something like that. But they, alas, do not know how to fully use the instruments of cognition, which they themselves have developed over the past millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability theory, ideas about correlation and causality, as well as in optimal ways to clarify opinions and implement the decisions made - as alone, and collectively.

These tools are not taught in the framework of typical educational programs, and they have never been told about them intelligibly in one book. Rationality is important. It helps us make the right choice both at the individual level and at the level of society as a whole, and ultimately is the root cause of the growth of social justice and moral progress. Previously saturated with insight and humor, “rationality” enlightens, inspires and encourages.