The Edge of Reason: A Rational Skeptic in an Irrational World - Softcover

Baggini, Julian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0300228724 ISBN 13: 9780300228724

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2017

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.

About this title

Book Description:

In this eloquent book a philosopher offers an urgent defense of reason, too often dismissed in today’s divisive public discourse. He explores the power and value of reason and calls for a “community of reason” where disagreements are settled by rational debate and discussion in place of brute force or political intimidation.

About the Author:

Julian Baggini is a philosopher, cofounder of The Philosopher’s Magazine, and author, coauthor, or editor of more than twenty books. He lives in Bristol, UK.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0300228724
• ISBN 13: 9780300228724
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272