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Why does reason matter, if (as many people seem to think) in the end everything comes down to blind faith or gut instinct? Why not just go with what you believe even if it contradicts the evidence? Why bother with rational explanation when name-calling, manipulation, and force are so much more effective in our current cultural and political landscape? Michael Lynch's In Praise of Reason offers a spirited defense of reason and rationality in an era of widespread skepticism--when, for example, people reject scientific evidence about such matters as evolution, climate change, and vaccines when it doesn't jibe with their beliefs and opinions. In recent years, skepticism about the practical value of reason has emerged even within the scientific academy. Many philosophers and psychologists claim that the reasons we give for our most deeply held views are often little more than rationalizations of our prior convictions. In Praise of Reason gives us a counterargument. Although skeptical questions about reason have a deep and interesting history, they can be answered. In particular, appeals to scientific principles of rationality are part of the essential common currency of any civil democratic society. The idea that everything is arbitrary--that reason has no more weight than blind faith--undermines a key principle of a civil society: that we owe our fellow citizens explanations for what we do. Reason matters--not just for the noble ideal of truth, but for the everyday world in which we live.
| ISBN | 0262017229 | | Pages | 184 | | ISBN13 | 9780262017220
(What's this?) | | Weight (grammes) | 340 | | Publisher | MIT Press Ltd | | Published in | Cambridge, Mass. | | Imprint | MIT Press | | Height (mm) | 203 | | Format | Hardback | | Width (mm) | 136 | | Publication date | 13 Apr 2012 | | Spine width (mm) | 12 | | DEWEY | 121.3 | | Academic level | Undergraduate, Postgraduate | | DEWEY edition | DC23 | |
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"Some psychologists and philosophers have played down the scope of reason in our lives. Michael Lynch has done a splendid job of explaining what reason is, and why there is no good excuse for abandoning the Enlightenment's best idea: that we share a common currency of reason with our fellow human beings. What's striking about the book is the light touch with which the author handles profound arguments."--Anthony Gottlieb, author of The Dream of Reason "Objective reason stands to reason, and is to be followed for that reason. How can this be so and what are the implications? The extensive answer in this book combines philosophical depth with historical and thematic breadth. It attains rigor without jargon, clarity with concision. It makes its case against currents of relativism in philosophical thought, and against currents of dogmatic conservatism in political thought. This needs to be done again and again, and Michael Lynch does it very well."--Ernest Sosa, Board of Governors Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers University  Be the first to write a customer review
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