Main content

Rationality and Tradition

What should we value? Steven Pinker makes the case for rationality as a necessary quality, and Tim Stanley explores tradition and its place in shaping our contemporary world.

Do we value the right ideas? Two concepts come in for close scrutiny in this edition of Free Thinking: Rationality and Tradition. So, what are they, how has our understanding of them changed over time and why do we seem to place such little emphasis on each in our contemporary world? Presenter Anne McElvoy will listening to the arguments as Steven Pinker makes the case for rationality and Tim Stanley for tradition.

Steven Pinker is Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and author or Rationality: What it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters
Tim Stanley is a writer, broadcaster and journalist, his latest book is Whatever Happened to Tradition? History, Belonging and the Future of the West

Steven Pinker presents Think With Pinker, a 12 part series on Radio 4 and 大象传媒 Sounds available from from Thursday 18 November

Producer: Ruth Watts

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Wed 20 Oct 2021 22:00

Broadcast

  • Wed 20 Oct 2021 22:00

Featured in...

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

The Arts & Ideas Podcast

You can download all the past episodes of Radio 3's Free Thinking

Discussions and talks from the Free Thinking Festival 2019

Discussions and talks from the Free Thinking Festival 2019

Angry politics, what we can鈥檛 say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV

Click to listen to discussions, talks and music as the Free Thinking Festival 2019 Gets Emotional

Click to listen to discussions, talks and music as the Free Thinking Festival 2019 Gets Emotional

Angry politics, what we can鈥檛 say, being diplomatic, weeping, emotion in music, film & TV

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE programmes from the Free Thinking Festival 2018: The One & the Many

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE programmes from the Free Thinking Festival 2018: The One & the Many

We examine the fast-changing relationship between the individual & the crowd

CLICK to LISTEN & SEE all programmes, images, clips & features from 2017's festival

Free Thinking Festival 2017: The Speed of Life