Logic and Uncertainty in the Human Mind: A Tribute to David E. Over

David E. Over is a leading cognitive scientist and, with his firm grounding in philosophical logic, he also exerts a powerful influence on the psychology of reasoning. He is responsible for not only a large body of empirical work and accompanying theory, but for advancing a major shift in thinking about reasoning, commonly known as the ‘new paradigm’ in the psychology of human reasoning.

Over’s signature mix of philosophical logic and experimental psychology has inspired generations of researchers, psychologists, and philosophers alike over more than a quarter of a century. The chapters in this volume, written by a leading group of contributors including a number who helped shape the psychology of reasoning as we know it today, each take their starting point from the key themes of Over’s ground-breaking work. The essays in this collection explore a wide range of central topics―such as rationality, bias, dual processes, and dual systems―as well as contemporary psychological and philosophical theories of conditionals. It concludes with an engaging new chapter, authored by David E. Over himself, which details and analyses the new paradigm psychology of reasoning.

This book is therefore important reading for scholars, researchers, and advanced students in psychology, philosophy, and the cognitive sciences, including those who are not familiar with Over’s thought already.

Shira Elqayam is Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Science at De Montfort University. Her research interests are in reasoning and rationality, with emphasis on normative thinking and rationality in context. Her work is interdisciplinary with many insights inspired by language and philosophy.

Igor Douven is a philosopher and cognitive scientist. He is currently Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (INSHS). His main research interests are in concepts, conditionals, and rationality.

Jonathan St. B. T. Evans is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Plymouth. He is best known for his work on conditionals and dual process theories of reasoning. He has conducted many studies of thinking, reasoning, and decision making since the 1970s, publishing numerous journal articles and several books on these topics.

Nicole Cruz is a cognitive scientist at the University of New South Wales. In 2018, she received her PhD in Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London in conjunction with the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EPHE) in Paris. Her main areas of research are reasoning and decision making under uncertainty, using tools from philosophical logic, experimental psychology, and computational modelling.