How the Mind Works

HOW THE MIND WORKS

by Steven Pinker

How do we see, think, feel, make decisions, form relationships, and shape our environment? In this book, Steven Pinker explains how the mind works as a collection of specialized systems, each shaped by natural selection to solve problems our ancestors faced.

In this summary, you’ll learn:

• How exactly the human mind works and why you perceive, reason, feel, relate the way you do.
• How your daily tasks (e.g. seeing, walking, thinking) are made using complex computations, each handled automatically by a sub-system in your mind.  You’ll understand how the brain processes information, why your reasoning is biased in predictable ways, why you evolved emotions, and how your mental tools shape modern behavior.
• How your mental functions were formed through centuries of evolution and natural selection, and why some of them might be misaligned with modern life.

Who should read this:

• Professionals (e.g. psychologists, educators, marketers, designers, managers) who want a scientific explanation about why people think, feel, and act the way they do.
• Students and lifelong learners curious about psychology, behavioral science, free will, neuroscience, or philosophy.