The Edge of Reason

The Edge of Reason A Rational Skeptic in an Irrational World

Hardback (22 Sep 2016)

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Publisher's Synopsis

An urgent defense of reason, the essential method for resolving-or even discussing-divisive issues

Reason, long held as the highest human achievement, is under siege. According to Aristotle, the capacity for reason sets us apart from other animals, yet today it has ceased to be a universally admired faculty. Rationality and reason have become political, disputed concepts, subject to easy dismissal.
 
Julian Baggini argues eloquently that we must recover our reason and reassess its proper place, neither too highly exalted nor completely maligned. Rationality does not require a sterile, scientistic worldview, it simply involves the application of critical thinking wherever thinking is needed. Addressing such major areas of debate as religion, science, politics, psychology, and economics, the author calls for commitment to the notion of a "community of reason," where disagreements are settled by debate and discussion, not brute force or political power. Baggini's insightful book celebrates the power of reason, our best hope-indeed our only hope-for dealing with the intractable quagmires of our time.

Book information

ISBN: 9780300208238
Publisher: Yale University Press
Imprint: Yale University Press
Pub date:
DEWEY: 128.33
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 262
Weight: 502g
Height: 223mm
Width: 146mm
Spine width: 28mm