This book argues that the science of reasoning will prove most useful if focused on studying what human reasoning does best - understanding people. Bonnefon argues that humanity's unique reasoning abilities developed in order to handle the complexities of cooperative social life. Accordingly, human beings became exquisite students of the minds of other people to predict the kind of decisions they make, and assess their character. In particular, this volume explores the inferences humans make about the moral character of others, how they delude themselves about their own moral character, and the ways in which they can see through the delusions of others. In conclusion, the book considers how to leverage the power of human reasoning in order to sustain democratic life.
This work will interest scholars and students working in fields including theory of mind, decision-making, moral cognition, critical thinking, experimental philosophy, and behaviouraleconomics, as well as policy makers interested in how reasoning impacts our political understanding.

Discusses how we judge others moral character Argues that the science of reasoning can be useful in developing democratic politics Examines how human reasoning developed to navigate our complex social interactions

Autorentext

Jean-François Bonnefon is a research psychologist affiliated with the Toulouse School of Economics, France. He is the author of more than 100 academic publications on rational thinking and behavior in the domains of psychology, computer science, philosophy, and economics.

Inhalt
1 Introduction.- 2 Is reasoning useful?.- 3 What is special about human reasoning?.- 4 Decisions.- 5 Morality.- 6 Delusions.- 7 Democracy.