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The argumentative theory of reasoning

Epistemic vigilance

How reasoning works

Reasoning and decision making

Development of reasoning and argumentation

Cross-cultural psychology

Argumentation and deliberative democracy

Moral reasoning

Reasoning and argumentation in science

Reasoning and the history of technology

Evolutionary psychology

The architecture of the mind

At least since Descartes, reasoning is generally seen as a tool of individual cognition. It should lead to new beliefs, improve the epistemic status of existing beliefs or help us make better decisions. The argumentative theory of reasoning opposes this classical view and suggests that the real function of reasoning is to argue. More precisely, reasoning is designed to find and evaluate reasons so that we can try to convince others and evaluate the arguments that aim at convincing us...

Communication is a powerful but a dangerous tool. While it allows humans to acquire an unprecedented amount of information, it can also lead to lies, manipulation and deceit. In order for communication to remain evolutionarily stable, individuals have to ensure that most of the communicated information they acquire is true or beneficial. In humans, the solution adopted is to filter incoming communicated information: we calibrate our trust, evaluate arguments, gauge the plausibility of claims, etc. Dan Sperber has dubbed the term epistemic vigilance to refer to this suite of mechanisms...

Using the framework of the argumentative theory of reasoning, it is possible to shed a new light on the workings of reasoning...

Reasoning is often seen as a panacea in decision making. By following rules, lengthily comparing the pros and cons, we are supposed to reach the best solutions. While these techniques can certainly be efficient, a flurry of recent work shows that they sometimes drive us towards bad outcomes...

As parents know all too well, most children learn how to argue all too quickly. What may look like a drawback is in fact an incredible strength...

Some psychologists have claimed to have uncovered important differences in the way people from different cultures reason. At first, the differences were between literate and illiterate peoples. Now, the most studied difference is that between 'Easterners' and 'Westerners'...

Ever since the ancient Greeks, debate has been seen as a centerpiece of the democratic political process. Partisans of deliberative democracy have pushed for a greater integration of citizens into the debates surrounding policy making...

The field of moral psychology has long been dominated by a cognitive tradition that put moral reasoning at the center stage of our moral lives. More recently, a group of moral psychologists led by Jon Haidt has pushed for a more Humean view of morality, with intuitions dictating most of our moral judgments and decisions.

Science is often, and rightly enough, seen as the epitome of what reasoning can achieve. The common view sees the individual genius rather than more communal as being responsible for these achievements. Historians and sociologists of science, on the contrary, put forward the importance of laboratories, meetings and the process of conviction and argumentation...

It is generally thought that scientific understanding played the most important role in recent technological changes. Such a view tends to focus on 'success stories' such as man on the moon or the computer...

Evolutionary psychology is a cross between cognitive psychology and evolutionary biology. More precisely, evolutionary psychologists use evolutionary biology to make educated guesses regarding the function of cognitive mechanisms...

The concept of modularity is central in cognitive psychology. It is now being overhauled by new ideas imported from biology...

Here are the other things I have worked / am working / wish to work on. How did mathematical abilities evolved? When do we listen to advice? Do chimps understand pointing?...

(c) Jean-Yves Trémois (found here)

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