Towards Rational Education explores how education can become rational by serving character building, rational thinking and the common good. It uses evidence-based psychology, philosophy, sociology and political science to support transforming education and provides a brand-new framework for effective universal education. This book endorses Rational-Emotive Behavior Theory (REBT) and rational education philosophy theories as main vehicles paving a viable set of rational education values and practices. Collective wisdom, rational living, freedom, mental health, altruism, solidarity, equality and fraternity are seen as the foundational values for shaping already existing schools of the world become more rational and in establishing Rational Education Communities (REC) and Rational Schools (RS). Calling for a philosophical and socio-political shift in education values and practices, the book cites principles, tools and practices that rational educators, philosophers, psychologists, other related scientists-practitioners and people have offered us as a legacy for building a more rational and positive education for all people universally, without sacrificing cultural sensitivity and expressivity. This book will be of great interest for the general audience and a special interest for academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of the philosophy of education, positive psychology, educational psychology and educational policy.

Towards Rational Education explores how education can become rational by serving character building, rational thinking and the common good. It uses evidence-based psychology, philosophy, sociology and political science to support transforming education and provides a brand-new framework for effective universal education. This book endorses Rational-Emotive Behavior Theory (REBT) and rational education philosophy theories as main vehicles paving a viable set of rational education values and practices. Collective wisdom, rational living, freedom, mental health, altruism, solidarity, equality and fraternity are seen as the foundational values for shaping already existing schools of the world become more rational and in establishing Rational Education Communities (REC) and Rational Schools (RS). Calling for a philosophical and socio-political shift in education values and practices, the book cites principles, tools and practices that rational educators, philosophers, psychologists, other related scientists-practitioners and people have offered us as a legacy for building a more rational and positive education for all people universally, without sacrificing cultural sensitivity and expressivity. This book will be of great interest for the general audience and a special interest for academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of the philosophy of education, positive psychology, educational psychology and educational policy.

Rational Rules argues that moral learning can be understood in terms of general-purpose rational learning procedures. Nichols provides statistical learning accounts of some fundamental aspects of moral development, combining aspects of traditional empiricist and rationalist approaches.

How to assess critical aspects of cognitive functioning that are not measured by IQ tests: rational thinking skills. Why are we surprised when smart people act foolishly? Smart people do foolish things all the time. Misjudgments and bad decisions by highly educated bankers and money managers, for example, brought us the financial crisis of 2008. Smart people do foolish things because intelligence is not the same as the capacity for rational thinking. The Rationality Quotient explains that these two traits, often (and incorrectly) thought of as one, refer to different cognitive functions. The standard IQ test, the authors argue, doesn't measure any of the broad components of rationality—adaptive responding, good judgment, and good decision making. The authors show that rational thinking, like intelligence, is a measurable cognitive competence. Drawing on theoretical work and empirical research from the last two decades, they present the first prototype for an assessment of rational thinking analogous to the IQ test: the CART (Comprehensive Assessment of Rational Thinking). The authors describe the theoretical underpinnings of the CART, distinguishing the algorithmic mind from the reflective mind. They discuss the logic of the tasks used to measure cognitive biases, and they develop a unique typology of thinking errors. The Rationality Quotient explains the components of rational thought assessed by the CART, including probabilistic and scientific reasoning; the avoidance of “miserly” information processing; and the knowledge structures needed for rational thinking. Finally, the authors discuss studies of the CART and the social and practical implications of such a test. An appendix offers sample items from the test.

Children must be taught morality. They must be taught to recognise the authority of moral standards and to understand what makes them authoritative. But there’s a problem: the content and justification of morality are matters of reasonable disagreement among reasonable people. This makes it hard to see how educators can secure children’s commitment to moral standards without indoctrinating them. In A Theory of Moral Education, Michael Hand tackles this problem head on. He sets out to show that moral education can and should be fully rational. It is true that many moral standards and justificatory theories are controversial, and educators have an obligation to teach these nondirectively, with the aim of enabling children to form their own considered views. But reasonable moral disagreement does not go all the way down: some basic moral standards are robustly justified, and these should be taught directively, with the aim of bringing children to recognise and understand their authority. This is an original and important contribution to the philosophy of moral education, which lays a new theoretical foundation for the urgent practical task of teaching right from wrong.

Knowledge, communication, action – These are the concepts central to all of Habermas's thought. As a philosopher, he is concerned with the rational connections of these concepts. As a sociologist, he is prepared to analyze with care the distortions of human interactions caused by existing social and political institutions. In a series of connected essays, the author assesses the function of the contemporary university, and sharply analyzes contemporary students and their political efforts. He then brilliantly analyzes as a communications model the relationships between research institutes and the political agencies which employ them. The book concludes with a complex discussion of technology and science as an "ideology," dedicated to Herbert Marcuse. Critical parts of Marcuse's thought, Habermas dissects contemporary democratic dialogue and offers an important preliminary sketch of a general theory of social evolution. He analyzes the difference between the technological sphere of control and the practical sphere of communication and interaction as the basic feature of human social life, and explains how and why the predominance of the technological sphere is the distinguishing and alienating characteristic of advanced industrial society. The concepts of depoliticization and the freeing of communication emerge as the crux of today's political situation.

A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021 'Punchy, funny and invigorating ... Pinker is the high priest of rationalism' Sunday Times 'If you've ever considered taking drugs to make yourself smarter, read Rationality instead. It's cheaper, more entertaining, and more effective' Jonathan Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind In the twenty-first century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding - and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that discovered vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, quack cures and conspiracy theorizing? In Rationality, Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply an irrational species - cavemen out of time fatally cursed with biases, fallacies and illusions. After all, we discovered the laws of nature, lengthened and enriched our lives and set the benchmarks for rationality itself. Instead, he explains, we think in ways that suit the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning we have built up over millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, causal inference, and decision-making under uncertainty. These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula, and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book - until now. Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with insight and humour, Rationality will enlighten, inspire and empower. 'A terrific book, much-needed for our time' Peter Singer

Eco-Rational Education proposes an educational response to climate change, environmental degradation, and desctructive human relations to ecology through the delivery of critical land-responsive environmental education. The book argues that education is a powerful vehicle for both social change and cultural reproduction. It proposes that the prioritisation and integration of environmental education across the curriculum is essential to the development of ecologically rational citizens capable of responding to the environmental crisis and an increasingly changing world. Using philosophical analysis, particularly environmental philosophy, pragmatism, and ecofeminism, the book develops an understanding of contemporary issues in education, especially inquiry-based learning as pedagogy, diversifying knowledge, environmental and epistemic justice, climate change education, and citizenship education. Eco-Rational Education will be of interest to researchers and post-graduate students of social and political philosophy, educational philosophy, as well as environmental philosophy, ethics, and teacher education.

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What is the relationship between fractions and rational numbers? Can you explain why the product of two fractions between 0 and 1 is less than either factor? How are rational numbers related to irrational numbers, which your students will study in later grades? How much do you know… and how much do you need to know? Helping your upper elementary school students develop a robust understanding of rational numbers requires that you understand this mathematics deeply. But what does that mean? This book focuses on essential knowledge for teachers about rational numbers. It is organised around four big ideas, supported by multiple smaller, interconnected ideas-essential understandings. Taking you beyond a simple introduction to rational numbers, the book will broaden and deepen your mathematical understanding of one of the most challenging topics for students and teachers. It will help you engage your students, anticipate their perplexities, avoid pitfalls and dispel misconceptions. You will also learn to develop appropriate tasks, techniques and tools for assessing students’ understanding of the topic. Focus on the ideas that you need to understand thoroughly to teach confidently.