Rationality

What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters

By: Steven Pinker

Narrated by: Arthur Morey

Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it help us understand why there is so much irrationality in the world? Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now (Bill Gates’s "new favorite book of all time”) answers all the questions here


Today humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding--and also appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theorizing?

Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply irrational--cavemen out of time saddled with biases, fallacies, and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives, and set out the benchmarks for rationality itself. We actually think in ways that are sensible in the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning we’ve discovered over the millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and optimal ways to update beliefs and commit to choices individually and with others. These tools are not a standard part of our education, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book--until now.

Rationality also explores its opposite: how the rational pursuit of self-interest, sectarian solidarity, and uplifting mythology can add up to crippling irrationality in a society. Collective rationality depends on norms that are explicitly designed to promote objectivity and truth.

Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with Pinker’s customary insight and humor, Rationality will enlighten, inspire, and empower.


* This audiobook includes a PDF of charts and graphs.

Critic reviews

"Erudite, lucid, funny and dense with fascinating material . . . A pragmatic dose of measured optimism, presenting rationality as a fragile but achievable ideal in personal and civic life. . . . It’s no small achievement to make formal logic, game theory, statistics and Bayesian reasoning delightful topics full of charm and relevance."—The Washington Post

“An impassioned and zippy introduction to the tools of rational thought… Punchy, funny and invigorating.”—The Times (London)

“An engaging analysis of the highest of our faculties and perhaps (ironically) the least understood” —The Wall Street Journal

“If you’ve ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead.”—Jonathan Haidt, New York Times bestselling co-author of THE CODDLING OF THE AMERICAN MIND

“Pinker manages to be scrupulously rigorous yet steadily accessible and entertaining whether probing the rationality of Andrew Yang’s presidential platform, Dilbert cartoons, or Yiddish proverbs. The result is both a celebration of humans’ ability to make things better with careful thinking and a penetrating rebuke to muddleheadedness”—Publishers Weekly (starred)

“A reader-friendly primer in better thinking through the cultivation of that rarest of rarities: a sound argument.”—Kirkus Reviews

clear, useful, and important

The contents of this book would be most useful to those who will never read it, unfortunately. But we all evolved irrational heuristics and need to consciously assist our thought patterns to get things right. Pinker lays out a guidebook of sorts to assist in thinking more clearly. Good reminders and a good read.

Last few chapters best

The book is extremely useful, but also challenging. It humbled me in facing the intricacies of logic and probability and how counterintuitive they can be. The book also encourages me in clarifying that I do think rationally often and that I’m open and reflective in my thinking process. It’s an excellent book to fight complacency, which can undo even conscientious people into forgetting their way.

Good plead to Rationality and human race

An interesting approach to Rationality and how it is still missing in the majority of humanity. Although some parts can be argued to be controversial, it is the interpretation that makes it so. A valuable read

I need to read this . . .

A tough book for Audible. Morey is an excellent reader/narrator. I need to revisit w pen in hand.

Great content but some sections require pdf

loved the explanation of rationality. If you're not somewhat familiar with logic diagrams and tables, be sure to have the pdf available while listening.