Why We Ask Why

Tania Lombrozo has for a very long time been one of my absolute favourite cognitive scientists. Now she’s written one of my absolute favourite books! Winningly personal, beautifully written and exquisitely crafted, Why We Ask Why is a whirlwind tour of the science of explanation, led by a guide who knows it as well as anyone. * Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of GRIT *Why We Ask Why is an engrossing tour of our species’ cognitive superpower: the need to seek explanations. Lombrozo elegantly turns human curiosity back on itself, giving us a glimpse into how explanation drives everything from learning to meaning making. A delightful tour of how the mind works for anyone who’s ever wondered about their own desire to wonder. * Laurie Santos, Chandrika and Ranjan Tandon Professor of Psychology at Yale University and host of The Happiness Lab podcast *Fascinating, insightful, and always engaging, Why We Ask Why explores the deeply human urge to understand what makes things happen, what makes things tick, and what makes things matter. * Daniel Gilbert, Edgar Pierce Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and New York Times bestselling author of STUMBLING ON HAPPINESS *Why are pandas so fat? Why were women in a Vienna maternity clinic dying in childbirth? And why are humans so obsessed with asking why? In this fascinating and original book, Tania Lombrozo explores this defining feature of our species with wit, elegance, and deep insight. Her discussion is wide-ranging and provocative, engaging with debates in the philosophy of science, making the case that a good explanation is a lot like an orgasm, and warning of a world in which increasingly powerful A.I. systems work in ways that nobody can fully explain. Smart, funny, and full of surprises, Why We Ask Why is a gem. * Paul Bloom, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, and Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University, and author of PSYCH *Tania Lombrozo is one of the most eloquent and creative of cognitive scientists as well as one of the best writers. Her splendid new book takes on one of the most profound questions about the human mind - why do we ask why? What lies behind our restless quest for explanations? Lombrozo combines lucid analyses of science and philosophy with engaging examples from everyday life to figure out why we ask why and to say why it matters. * Alison Gopnik, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, UC Berkeley *

Tania Lombrozo is a Professor of Psychology at Princeton University. She is also an Associate of the Department of Philosophy and the University Center for Human Values. She directs the Program in Cognitive Science and co-directs the Natural Artificial Minds (NAM) research initiative within the Princeton Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence.

Tania Lombrozo received a B.S. in Symbolic Systems and a B.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University in 2002, followed by a Ph.D. in Psychology from Harvard University in 2006. She was a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, from 2006-2018, before joining the faculty at Princeton.

Professor Lombrozo’s research aims to address foundational questions about cognition using the empirical tools of cognitive psychology and the conceptual tools of analytic philosophy.

She lives in Princeton, New Jersey with her husband and two daughters.

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