There is no force in the Universe called progress. But there are plenty of natural forces that seem to only make it harder for us to make progress as a species, such as disease, the laws of entropy, and the dark sides of human nature.
So, what pushes humanity forward in the face of all these obstacles? To the psychologist Steven Pinker, the answer is rationality: When people use their reasoning skills and other cognitive abilities to help improve the lives of others, the result is progress.
From pseudoscience to religious extremism, irrational beliefs can cause real harm. That’s why Pinker argues that society would be better off if more people learned to be more rational.
Read the video transcript: https://bigthink.com/series/the-big-think-interview/rationality/
0:00 The bad news: reality
0:39 The good news: rationality
1:26 How rational are we?
3:04 Even Americans, though? (Rationality inequality)
4:45 The pinnacle of human rationality
5:45 How can you teach critical thinking? How?
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