Steven Pinker's new book, "Rationality: What It Is, Why It Seems Scarce, Why It Matters," offers a pragmatic dose of measured optimism, presenting rationality as a fragile but achievable ideal in personal and civic life. ... Pinker's ambition to illuminate such a crucial topic offers the welcome prospect of a return to sanity. ... It's no small achievement to make formal logic, game theory, statistics and Bayesian reasoning delightful topics full of charm and relevance.
It's also plausible to believe that a wider application of the rational tools he analyzes would improve the world in important ways. His primer on statistics and scientific uncertainty is particularly timely and should be required reading before consuming any news about the [COVID] pandemic. More broadly, he argues that less media coverage of shocking but vanishingly rare events, from shark attacks to adverse vaccine reactions, would help prevent dangerous overreactions, fatalism and the diversion of finite resources away from solvable but less-dramatic issues, like malnutrition in the developing world.
It's a reasonable critique, and Pinker is not the first to make it. But analyzing the political economy of journalism - its funding structures, ownership concentration and increasing reliance on social media shares - would have given a fuller picture of why so much coverage is so misguided and what we might do about it.
Pinker's main focus is the sort of conscious, sequential reasoning that can track the steps in a geometric proof or an argument in formal logic. Skill in this domain maps directly onto the navigation of many real-world problems, and Pinker shows how greater mastery of the tools of rationality can improve decision-making in medical, legal, financial and many other contexts in which we must act on uncertain and shifting information. ..
Despite the undeniable power of the sort of rationality he describes, many of the deepest insights in the history of science, math, music and art strike their originators in moments of epiphany. From the th 19 -century chemist Friedrich August Kekulés discovery of the structure of benzene to any of Mozart's symphonies, much extraordinary human achievement is not a product of conscious, sequential reasoning. Even Plato's Socrates - who anticipated many of Pinker's points by nearly 2,500 years, showing the virtue of knowing what you do not know and examining all premises in arguments, not simply trusting speakers' authority or charisma - attributed many of his most profound insights to dreams and visions. Conscious reasoning is helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff, but it would be interesting to consider the hidden aquifers that make much of the grain grow in the first place.
The role of moral and ethical education in promoting rational behavior is also underexplored. Pinker recognizes that rationality "is not just a cognitive virtue but a moral one." But this profoundly important point, one subtly explor
The author refers to the ancient Greek philosophers to:
- highlight the influence of their thinking on the development of Pinker's arguments.
- show how dreams and visions have for centuries influenced subconscious behaviour and pathbreaking inventions.
- reveal gaps in Pinker's discussion of the importance of ethical considerations in rational behaviour.
- indicate the various similarities between their thinking and Pinker's conclusions.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
The author of the passage refers to ancient Greek philosophers to point out the gaps in Steven Pinker's argument about rationality. While Pinker views rationality as both a cognitive and moral virtue, the author suggests that he does not fully explore the role of moral and ethical education in shaping rational behavior.
By mentioning philosophers like Plato’s Socrates, who valued dreams and visions alongside reasoning, the author emphasizes that ethical and non-logical dimensions were integral to their understanding of rationality — aspects that Pinker largely overlooks.
Therefore, the correct answer is: Reveal gaps in Pinker's discussion of the importance of ethical considerations in rational behaviour.
The author mentions Kekules discovery of the structure of benzene and Mozart's symphonies to illustrate the point that:
- Pinker's conclusions on sequential reasoning are belied by European achievements which, in the past, were more rooted in unconscious bursts of genius.
- unlike the sciences, human achievements in other fields are a mix of logical reasoning and spontaneous epiphanies.
- it is not just the creative arts, but also scientific fields that have benefitted from flashes of creativity.
- great innovations across various fields can stem from flashes of intuition and are not always propelled by logical thinking.
The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
The passage discusses Steven Pinker's views on rationality, particularly emphasizing its importance in both personal and civic life. While Pinker highlights the value of conscious, sequential reasoning, the passage also presents a contrast by acknowledging that many major achievements arise through creative intuition or sudden insight.
Examples such as Kekulé's discovery of the benzene structure and Mozart's symphonies illustrate how breakthrough ideas often emerge from flashes of intuition rather than from strict logical processes.
Therefore, the correct answer is: Great innovations across various fields can stem from flashes of intuition and are not always propelled by logical thinking.
The author endorses Pinker's views on the importance of logical reasoning as it:
- provides a moral compass for resolving important ethical dilemmas.
- equips people with the ability to tackle challenging practical problems.
- focuses public attention on real issues like development rather than sensational events.
- helps people to gain expertise in statistics and other scientific disciplines.
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
The passage underscores Pinker's emphasis on sequential reasoning and the tools of rationality, suggesting that mastering these tools can enhance decision-making in various practical scenarios where individuals must navigate "uncertain and shifting information." The author's endorsement or support for Pinker's work revolves around the concept that logical reasoning "equips people with the ability to tackle challenging practical problems" [Option B].
Option A is inaccurate - although the author acknowledges Pinker's perspective on rationality as a moral virtue, they note that Pinker's exploration of the role of moral and ethical education is lacking.
Option C focuses on a specific application of Pinker's views and fails to capture the broader message.
Option D similarly confines the discussion to the broader utility of rationality in decision-making.
So, the correct option is (B): equips people with the ability to tackle challenging practical problems.
According to the author, for Pinker as well as the ancient Greek philosophers, rational thinking involves all of the following EXCEPT:
- arriving at independent conclusions irrespective of who is presenting the argument.
- the belief that the ability to reason logically encompasses an ethical and moral dimension.
- the primacy of conscious sequential reasoning as the basis for seminal human achievements.
- an awareness of underlying assumptions in an argument and gaps in one's own knowledge.
The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
According to the discussion, the option not aligned with Pinker's perspective on rational thinking (and that of the ancient Greek philosophers) is Option C. The passage suggests that while sequential reasoning has its merits, many human breakthroughs arise from moments of epiphany or insight, not solely from deliberate, step-by-step reasoning.
Rational thought, as emphasized by Pinker and prefigured by Plato's Socrates, involves recognizing the limits of one’s knowledge (Option D) and arriving at independent conclusions (Option A), rather than depending on the authority or charisma of speakers.
Additionally, the passage acknowledges an ethical and moral dimension to rationality (Option B), which Pinker touches upon, though not in great depth.
Thus, Option C is the correct answer, as it diverges from Pinker’s outlined approach to rational thinking.
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