Human Reasoning and Cognitive Science

First, I agree with the professional reviews listed above.What matters most to me about this book is that it presents experimental evidence of more precisely what humans do when we reason. In particular, subjects are analyzed as they engage problems in logic.The results presented explain how it is logic can be controversial. There is more to logic than is conventionally assumed. There are steps in logic which pivot on what the individual interprets the logical problem to be about. One's interpretation then determines the direction of logical thought.Experimental evidence available in such a critical human endeavor as logical reasoning is extremely important. It keeps one from getting side-tracked.This book complements nicely the understanding I have acquired in my recent reading. In Heil's book _From an Ontological Point of View_, I learned to take ontology seriously. Then in Jacquette's _Ontology_, I learned the crucial role of logic in escaping the anthropocentric imprisonment of experience. That led me to Hanna's _Rationality and Logic_, in which I learned about the biological basis in which logical analysis occurs. I found that Bermudez's _Thinking Without Words_ confirmed the biology of logic.And now, this book helps me to understand the role of interpretation in reasoning.And the crucial role of interpretation has led me back to Munz's _Critique of Impure Reason_, in which interpretation is presented as an obstacle that cognitive science has got to take seriously.These six books taken together have been immensely helpful in my own persistent attempt to understand what's really going on here. It is deeply gratifying to reflect on the breadth of analysis these authors have made available.