Philosophy Miscellany

I think of myself as rational. This means (as I conceive rationality) that if the facts tell me that the way to achieve what I desire is to do x , then I am thereby motivated to do x. (Note well: Reason is not inherently egoistic; I could just as well be reasoning about how to fulfill my desire to help others. Also, “what I desire” refers to all things considered , and I am motivated to do x other things equal .) For example, if I read at a reputable blog that dimming the lights is a way to induce sleep, then if I want to fall asleep, I dim the lights. But what if I’m in an environment where I can’t dim the lights but I want to fall asleep? I could of course close my eyes. But maybe I’m not sleepy yet and was hoping to read myself to sleep. Can reason always be relied on to provide a solution of some sort?              It would seem not. Reason may tell you to jump from a burning building, but has it anything to say once you ...

Aristotle defined humans as the rational animal. In recent times it has been argued that other animals are also rational. As always with any concept, it depends on how you analyze “rational.” But let us suppose for the moment that there is a sense of “rational” that only humans possess. There is still an ambiguity in meaning, I submit. I think there are at least two ways in which a human being might be considered rational … and hence also irrational … and this is often missed.             One way that we are rational, and perhaps the standard notion, is that we have the capacity to think logically. It seems pretty clear that we (and for that matter all organisms) must have a pretty intuitive grasp of what follows from what , since mere instinct or habit does not account for all of the countless adjustments an individual makes in the course of the day in order to accomplish mundane tasks, not to mention stay alive. Novel situations...