The Edge of Reason

Resumen del libro

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.

Biografía del autor

Julian Baggini, (Reino Unido, 1968) doctor en Filosofía por la Universidad de Londres, es uno de los jóvenes filósofos británicos con mayor proyección. Colabora asiduamente con The Guardian, The Independent, The Observer y Radio 4, también en revistas como Prospect y Psyschologies, publica semanalmente una columna en The Herald y es cofundador de la revista trimestral The Philosopherx{0026} x02019;s Maganize. Es autor de una veintena de libros entre los que destacan ¿Pienso luego existo?, La trampa del ego y Cómo piensa el mundo, publicados en Ediciones Paidós.