If Paperback

Jonathan Evans

If' is one of the most important and interesting words in the English language. It is used to express hypothetical thought - an essential part of human reasoning and decision making. This type of thought occurs wherever there is uncertainty, and uncertainty is everywhere in our lives. The use of conditional terms such as 'if' also distinguishes human intelligence from that of all other animals, permitting a higher level of rationality in human reasoning and decision making. Until now, such conditionals have been the subject of independent study by psychologists and philosophers. In this volume, Jonathan Evans and David Over present a new theoretical approach to understanding hypothetical thought. The book draws on studies from the psychology of judgement and decision making, as well as philosophical logic.

0198525133

9780198525134

English

OUP Oxford

21-Oct-2004

200

Jonathan St B T Evans is Emeritus Professor of Cognitive Psychology at Plymouth University, UK. He has worked for many years on the psychology of thinking, reasoning and decision making writing many articles and a number of books on these topics. His earlier work focussed on cognitive biases and the implications for human rationality. More recently, he has written extensively about dual-process theory, the distinction between intuitive and reflective thinking. In a 2010 book he linked these to two minds within the human brain with distinct evolutionary origins.