Co-authored by Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber, this book challenges traditional views of human reasoning, proposing that its primary function is not to improve individual knowledge or decision-making, but rather to facilitate social interaction, persuasion, and argumentation. It suggests that reasoning evolved as a tool for communication and cooperation within groups.
An increasingly prominent view pioneered by the psychologist Huga Mercier is that reasoning is actually a social tool.
""The book is mentioned in the context of the psychologist Hugo Mercier, whose work is cited to support the idea that reasoning is primarily a social tool for winning debates and rationalizing actions, rather than for solitary rationality. This directly aligns with the book's central thesis."