Review of Mercier and Sperber’s The Enigma of Reason [Book Review]

Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines 31 (3):33-44 (2016)
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Abstract

In The Enigma of Reason, Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber (2017) defend the proposal that reason is a specialized module which produces intuitions about reasons. Reason serves two functions: for individuals to justify their own judgments and actions to themselves and others, and to persuade others. In this review, I briefly summarize the central claims of the book, critically examine Mercier and Sperber’s arguments that reason is not a general faculty underlying our inferential abilities, and explore the pedagogical implications of their work.

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10931082

DOI

10.5840/inquiryct201631317

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Mercier, Hugo, and Dan Sperber: The enigma of reason: Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2017, 1 + 396 pp, $29.95 , ISBN: 9780674368309.Paul J. D’Ambrosio - 2018 - Continental Philosophy Review 51 (3):465-468.
8. Could Reason Be a Module?Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier - 2017 - In Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier (eds.), The Enigma of Reason. Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press. pp. 128-147.
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Introduction: A Double Enigma.Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier - 2017 - In Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier (eds.), The Enigma of Reason. Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press. pp. 1-12.
16. Is Human Reason Universal?Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier - 2017 - In Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier (eds.), The Enigma of Reason. Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press. pp. 277-298.
Conclusion: In Praise of Reason after All.Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier - 2017 - In Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier (eds.), The Enigma of Reason. Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press. pp. 328-336.
13. The Dark Side of Reason.Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier - 2017 - In Dan Sperber & Hugo Mercier (eds.), The Enigma of Reason. Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press. pp. 237-250.
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Jeffrey Maynes
St. Lawrence University

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