Irrationality

A History of the Dark Side of Reason

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Good & Evil, Ethics & Moral Philosophy
Cover of the book Irrationality by Justin E. H. Smith, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Justin E. H. Smith ISBN: 9780691189666
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: April 2, 2019
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Justin E. H. Smith
ISBN: 9780691189666
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: April 2, 2019
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

A fascinating history that reveals the ways in which the pursuit of rationality often leads to an explosion of irrationality

It’s a story we can’t stop telling ourselves. Once, humans were benighted by superstition and irrationality, but then the Greeks invented reason. Later, the Enlightenment enshrined rationality as the supreme value. Discovering that reason is the defining feature of our species, we named ourselves the “rational animal.” But is this flattering story itself rational? In this sweeping account of irrationality from antiquity to today—from the fifth-century BC murder of Hippasus for revealing the existence of irrational numbers to the rise of Twitter mobs and the election of Donald Trump—Justin Smith says the evidence suggests the opposite. From sex and music to religion and war, irrationality makes up the greater part of human life and history.

Rich and ambitious, Irrationality ranges across philosophy, politics, and current events. Challenging conventional thinking about logic, natural reason, dreams, art and science, pseudoscience, the Enlightenment, the internet, jokes and lies, and death, the book shows how history reveals that any triumph of reason is temporary and reversible, and that rational schemes, notably including many from Silicon Valley, often result in their polar opposite. The problem is that the rational gives birth to the irrational and vice versa in an endless cycle, and any effort to permanently set things in order sooner or later ends in an explosion of unreason. Because of this, it is irrational to try to eliminate irrationality. For better or worse, it is an ineradicable feature of life.

Illuminating unreason at a moment when the world appears to have gone mad again, Irrationality is fascinating, provocative, and timely.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A fascinating history that reveals the ways in which the pursuit of rationality often leads to an explosion of irrationality

It’s a story we can’t stop telling ourselves. Once, humans were benighted by superstition and irrationality, but then the Greeks invented reason. Later, the Enlightenment enshrined rationality as the supreme value. Discovering that reason is the defining feature of our species, we named ourselves the “rational animal.” But is this flattering story itself rational? In this sweeping account of irrationality from antiquity to today—from the fifth-century BC murder of Hippasus for revealing the existence of irrational numbers to the rise of Twitter mobs and the election of Donald Trump—Justin Smith says the evidence suggests the opposite. From sex and music to religion and war, irrationality makes up the greater part of human life and history.

Rich and ambitious, Irrationality ranges across philosophy, politics, and current events. Challenging conventional thinking about logic, natural reason, dreams, art and science, pseudoscience, the Enlightenment, the internet, jokes and lies, and death, the book shows how history reveals that any triumph of reason is temporary and reversible, and that rational schemes, notably including many from Silicon Valley, often result in their polar opposite. The problem is that the rational gives birth to the irrational and vice versa in an endless cycle, and any effort to permanently set things in order sooner or later ends in an explosion of unreason. Because of this, it is irrational to try to eliminate irrationality. For better or worse, it is an ineradicable feature of life.

Illuminating unreason at a moment when the world appears to have gone mad again, Irrationality is fascinating, provocative, and timely.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book At Lake Scugog by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book Liberating Judgment by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book The Emperor Nero by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book The Cultural Contradictions of Democracy by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book The Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book On Conan Doyle by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book The Theory of Taxation and Public Economics by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book Liberal Leviathan by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book Power without Persuasion by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book A Deadly Indifference by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book When Least Is Best by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book Universities in the Marketplace by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book Germaine de Staël by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book Wind Wizard by Justin E. H. Smith
Cover of the book Game of Loans by Justin E. H. Smith
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy