Can a book make us more rational? Can it help us understand why there is so much irrationality around us? Steven Pinker, author of the bestselling book The Enlightenment Continues (which Bill Gates called “his new favorite book of all time”), answers these questions.

Right now, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding — and at the same time, it seems, slowly going mad. Why is a species that developed Covid vaccines in less than a year mired in fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theories? Pinker quickly rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply irrational — that we are eternal troglodytes, ready to react to a lion in the grass with a host of prejudices, blind spots, false conclusions, and illusions. After all, it was we who discovered the laws of nature, transformed the planet, extended and enriched our own lives, and, not least, deduced the rules of rationality. In fact, our minds are not just suited to the Pleistocene savannah. They do just fine anywhere that doesn't involve scientific or technological questions, and humans rarely encounter anything like that. But they don't know how to make full use of the cognitive tools they've developed over the past millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability theory, notions of correlation and causality, and the best ways to refine opinions and implement decisions, both individually and collectively. These tools aren't taught in typical educational programs, and they've never been explained in a single book so clearly before.
"Rationality" also explores its opposite: how rational pursuit of self-interest, group solidarity, and a mythology designed to unite people create a paralyzing irrationality. Collective rationality is impossible without norms that are deliberately designed to encourage objectivity and assert truth.

Rationality Matters. It helps us make good choices both individually and as a society, and is ultimately the root cause of increased social justice and moral progress. With Pinker's signature insight and humor, Rationality enlightens, inspires, and encourages.