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Why people are not as gullible as we thinkNot Born Yesterday explains how we decide who we can trust and what we should believe—and argues that we're pretty good at making these decisions. In this lively and provocative book, Hugo Mercier demonstrates how virtually all attempts at mass persuasion—whether by religious leaders, politicians, or advertisers—fail miserably. Drawing on recent findings from political science and other fields ranging from history to anthropology, Mercier shows that the narrative of widespread gullibility, in which a credulous public is easily misled by demagogues and charlatans, is simply wrong.Why is mass persuasion so difficult? Mercier uses the latest findings from experimental psychology to show how each of us is endowed with sophisticated cognitive mechanisms of open vigilance. Computing a variety of cues, these mechanisms enable us to be on guard against harmful beliefs, while being open enough to change our minds when presented with the right evidence. Even failures—when we accept false confessions, spread wild rumors, or fall for quack medicine—are better explained as bugs in otherwise well-functioning cognitive mechanisms than as symptoms of general gullibility.Not Born Yesterday shows how we filter the flow of information that surrounds us, argues that we do it well, and explains how we can do it better still.

Persuasion (Psychology) --- Influence (Psychology) --- Trust. --- Belief and doubt. --- Decision making. --- Deciding --- Decision (Psychology) --- Decision analysis --- Decision processes --- Making decisions --- Management --- Management decisions --- Choice (Psychology) --- Problem solving --- Conviction --- Doubt --- Consciousness --- Credulity --- Emotions --- Knowledge, Theory of --- Philosophy --- Psychology --- Religion --- Will --- Agnosticism --- Rationalism --- Skepticism --- Trust (Psychology) --- Attitude (Psychology) --- Conformity --- Example --- Communication --- Psychology, Applied --- Propaganda --- Social aspects. --- Decision making

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Reason, we are told, is what makes us human, the source of our knowledge and wisdom. If reason is so useful, why didn't it also evolve in other animals? If reason is that reliable, why do we produce so much thoroughly reasoned nonsense? In their groundbreaking account of the evolution and workings of reason, Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber set out to solve this double enigma. Reason, they argue with a compelling mix of real-life and experimental evidence, is not geared to solitary use, to arriving at better beliefs and decisions on our own. What reason does, rather, is help us justify our beliefs and actions to others, convince them through argumentation, and evaluate the justifications and arguments that others address to us. In other words, reason helps humans better exploit their uniquely rich social environment. This interactionist interpretation explains why reason may have evolved and how it fits with other cognitive mechanisms. It makes sense of strengths and weaknesses that have long puzzled philosophers and psychologists--why reason is biased in favor of what we already believe, why it may lead to terrible ideas and yet is indispensable to spreading good ones.

Cognitive psychology --- Social psychology --- Reason --- Social aspects --- Reason. --- Social aspects. --- Human behavior --- Evolution. --- Reason - Social aspects

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Reason, we are told, is what makes us human, the source of our knowledge and wisdom. If reason is so useful, why didn't it also evolve in other animals? If reason is that reliable, why do we produce so much thoroughly reasoned nonsense? In their groundbreaking account of the evolution and workings of reason, Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber set out to solve this double enigma. Reason, they argue with a compelling mix of real-life and experimental evidence, is not geared to solitary use, to arriving at better beliefs and decisions on our own. What reason does, rather, is help us justify our beliefs and actions to others, convince them through argumentation, and evaluate the justifications and arguments that others address to us. In other words, reason helps humans better exploit their uniquely rich social environment. This interactionist interpretation explains why reason may have evolved and how it fits with other cognitive mechanisms. It makes sense of strengths and weaknesses that have long puzzled philosophers and psychologists--why reason is biased in favor of what we already believe, why it may lead to terrible ideas and yet is indispensable to spreading good ones.--

Reason. --- Reason --- Social aspects.

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Pure sciences. Natural sciences (general)

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Comment l’esprit a-t-il évolué ? Quelles fonctions biologiques remplissent les mécanismes psychologiques ? Pourquoi certaines de nos pensées se diffusent-elles plus facilement que d’autres ? Il aura fallu attendre une époque toute récente pour envisager ces questions sous l’angle de la théorie darwinienne de l’évolution. Cette perspective connaît désormais une véritable explosion dans les milieux scientifiques. La théorie de la sélection naturelle éclaire d’une manière inédite l’apparition de la moralité, le rôle du langage, les relations sociales, les maladies mentales, ou encore l’évolution culturelle. Dans cet ouvrage, psychologues, philosophes, linguistes, archéologues, éthologues, informaticiens, chercheurs en sciences sociales et en neurosciences présentent divers scénarios sur la façon dont les mécanismes mentaux ont pu émerger. Il s’agit là de la première synthèse interdisciplinaire sur l’évolution de l’esprit qui en fait un ouvrage universel et ambitieux.

Darwinisme. --- Sciences cognitives. --- Neurosciences cognitives. --- Psychologie cognitive.