Title: Why think? : evolution and the rational mind /
Authors: De Sousa, Ronald.
Publisher: Oxford University Press,
Year: 2007
Subjects: Knowledge, Theory of.; Evolution; Reasoning.
Abstract: "In a world where natural selection has shaped and adaptations of astonishing ingenuity, what is the scope and unique power of rational thinking?" "In this short and wide-ranging book, philosopher Ronald de Sousa looks at the twin set of issues surrounding the power of natural selection to mimic rational design, and rational thinking as itself a product of natural selection." "This book shows how our rationality and our irrationality are inextricable intertwines. Ranging over a wide array of evidence, it explores the true ramification of being human in the natural world."--Jacket.
Contents: Introduction -- Function and destiny -- What's the good of thinking? -- Rationality, individual and collective -- Irrationality.