Uploaded June 2022 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Although reason and rationality are our friends in almost all contexts, in some cases people are better off putting reason aside. In a number of very important situations, we benefit by not seeing the world as it is, and by not behaving like logic-driven machines. Sometimes we know we aren’t making sense, and yet we are compelled to act against reason; in other cases, our delusions are so much a part of normal human experience that we are unaware of them. As intelligent as we are, much of what has helped humans succeed as a species is not our prodigious brain power but something much more basic.
In behavioral scientist Stuart Vyse’s new book, "THE USES OF DELUSION: Why It’s Not Always Rational to be Rational" he looks at the aspects of human nature that are not altogether rational but, nonetheless, help us achieve our social and personal goals.
Stuart Vyse, PhD, is a behavioral scientist, teacher, and writer. He taught at Providence College, the University of Rhode Island, and Connecticut College. Vyse’s book "Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition" won the 1999 William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is a contributing editor of "Skeptical Inquirer" magazine, where he writes the “Behavior & Belief” column, and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Views expressed in this talk are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics.
Although reason and rationality are our friends in almost all contexts, in some cases people are better off putting reason aside. In a number of very important situations, we benefit by not seeing the world as it is, and by not behaving like logic-driven machines. Sometimes we know we aren’t making sense, and yet we are compelled to act against reason; in other cases, our delusions are so much a part of normal human experience that we are unaware of them. As intelligent as we are, much of what has helped humans succeed as a species is not our prodigious brain power but something much more basic.
In behavioral scientist Stuart Vyse’s new book, "THE USES OF DELUSION: Why It’s Not Always Rational to be Rational" he looks at the aspects of human nature that are not altogether rational but, nonetheless, help us achieve our social and personal goals.
Stuart Vyse, PhD, is a behavioral scientist, teacher, and writer. He taught at Providence College, the University of Rhode Island, and Connecticut College. Vyse’s book "Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition" won the 1999 William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is a contributing editor of "Skeptical Inquirer" magazine, where he writes the “Behavior & Belief” column, and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science and of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Views expressed in this talk are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Capital Area Skeptics.
