The Fragmentation of Reason: Preface to a Pragmatic Theory of Cognitive Evaluation

by Stephen P. Stich

From Descartes to Popper, philosophers have criticized and tried to improve the strategies of reasoning invoked in science and in everyday life. In recent years leading cognitive psychologists have painted a detailed, controversial, and highly critical portrait of common sense reasoning. Stephen Stich begins with a spirited defense of this work and a critique of those writers who argue that widespread irrationality is a biological or conceptual impossibility.

Stich then explores the nature of rationality and irrationality: What is it that distinguishes good reasoning from bad? He rejects the most widely accepted approaches to this question approaches which unpack rationality by appeal to truth, to reflective equilibrium or conceptual analysis. The alternative he defends grows out of the pragmatic tradition in which reasoning is viewed as a cognitive tool. Stich's version of pragmatism leads to a radical epistemic relativism and he argues that the widespread abhorrence of relativism is ill founded.

Genres: Philosophy, Science, Psychology

191 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1990

About the author

Stephen P. Stich is an American academic who is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Cognitive Science at Rutgers University, as well as an Honorary Professor in Philosophy at the University of Sheffield. Stich's main philosophical interests are in the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and moral psychology.

Reviews

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 stars for the ideas, 4 for the fun

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Stich and me have a mind meld going. This book was great!

[Steffi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely debunking of the value of truth and logical reasoning. Great support for relativist philosophies.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Changed my outlook on rationality in a very rational way.

[Lulu]

Level 5: epistemology