The evolution of reason: a new theory of human understanding – Science Weekly podcast

April 13, 2017
Submitted by: Love Knowledge
Category: Philosophy

Subscribe & Review on iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud & Acast, and join the discussion on Facebook and Twitter

Long heralded as one of the last remaining barriers between “man and beast”, our ability to use reason and logic has historically been seen as the most human of behaviours. But as the field of neuroscience and psychology continues to probe our cognitive processes, are the foundations of reasoning now experiencing a shake up? Or, as many argue, are they somehow immune?

Sitting down with Ian Sample in the studio this week to explore a new theory of reason is the Central European University, Budapest and the Institut Jean Nicod’s philosopher and cognitive scientist Professor Dan Sperber. Laid out in his new book, ‘The Enigma of Reason: A New Theory of Human Understanding’, Sperber (alongside his co-author Dr Hugo Mercier of Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod) looks to our evolutionary past and proposes a more social (or “interactionist”) function of reasoning, which includes what they call a “dark side”. Along the way, we also hear from the Minerva Schools at KGI, Californianeuroscientist Dr Daniel Levitin about how the likes of reason - and other cognitive processes - may leave us susceptible to the rise of ‘fake news.’