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

In contemporary society, political rhetoric has divided thinking about historic and current events. This has caused many, including some in the scholarly community, to call into question the ability of human beings to think and behave rationally. In his latest book, Pinker (Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard Univ.; Enlightenment Now), a prominent scholar of the human mind and communication, has dissected the scientific process humans use to formulate their beliefs and the rationale they use to sustain these beliefs. Although scientific and statistical processes saturate his description, his simple, humorous, and easy-to-relate-to writing style—which he has used effectively in many previous works—will make it surprisingly simple to understand his reasoning, and most readers will come away feeling they have just had a sound educational experience. Pinker defines rationality as the use of knowledge to attain a goal, and, among other things, argues that human beings need to better use scientific tools, including the gathering of scientific evidence, before stating and holding to a belief, particularly those that are life altering, such as the effectiveness of vaccine for COVID-19.