Reasoning: Studies of Human Inference and Its Foundations

by Jonathan E. Adler (Editor), Lance J. Rips (Editor)

This interdisciplinary work is a collection of major essays on reasoning: deductive, inductive, abductive, belief revision, defeasible (non-monotonic), cross cultural, conversational, and argumentative. They are each oriented toward contemporary empirical studies. The book focuses on foundational issues, including paradoxes, fallacies, and debates about the nature of rationality, the traditional modes of reasoning, as well as counterfactual and causal reasoning. It also includes chapters on the interface between reasoning and other forms of thought. In general, this last set of essays represents growth points in reasoning research, drawing connections to pragmatics, cross-cultural studies, emotion and evolution.

Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

Jonathan Eric Adler (D.Phil, Oxford University, 1978; Ph.D., Brandeis University, 1974; Brooklyn College, 1970) was Professor of Philosophy at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center. He specialized in epistemological topics, including skepticism, induction, testimony, the argument from ignorance, and fanatical reasoning; he also wrote on philosophy of language, ethics and the philosophy of education.

Professor Adler served for four years as the president of the Association for the Philosophy of Education, and for nearly 20 years on the Executive Committee of the Society for Philosophy and Public Affairs. He also worked to make philosophy available to a wider public by serving on the U.S. board of editors of the popular magazine Philosophy Now.