Rationality is the use of reason to find the truth based on facts and to decide how to act to achieve desired goals. Also use this tag for questions regarding any view or intellectual movement which holds rationality in high regard and accepts it as the only legitimate way to get to the truth.
Questions tagged [rationality]
135 questions
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Is there any prospect for a unified account of rationality?
It is a commonplace that philosophers, psychologists and economists often talk about rational belief or rational behavior, but they seem to mean different things by it. Is this because
(a) there is no single thing called rationality, it is…
Bumble
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Is it wrong to say something is X if it cannot not be X?
I'm having a discussion with someone who thinks that it's a non-sequitur to describe something as X if it's not possible for it to not be X.
Here's an example:
It's wrong to say a chair is amoral, because a chair cannot be moral.
I don't agree,…
CiscoIPPhone
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Is there a philosophy ideology that "whatever is beneficial to me, is the reasonable thing"?
I have run into such people more frequently, and it is: whatever that is beneficial to them, that's the correct thing. (or the reasonable thing).
Is there a philosophy explanation or term for this kind of behavior?
Details: I can give an example…
Stefanie Gauss
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Two Solutions to the Problem of Death
Many people have long been plagued with the fear of their eventual demise. But suppose in the future two possible solutions to the problem may be developed.
The first solution is a pill that if taken, would render one immortal.
The second solution…
Kenshin
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Are we obliged (have responsibility) to think/act rationaly?
A person who leads a very organized daily life from morning to night might not be much happier from a person who has no routine at all and do whatever he likes, whenever he wants. Similarly it can be argued in numerous spheres of life that, our…
Ather Cheema
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Is rationality the same as instrumentality?
Is there a difference between rationality and instrumentality?
I heard somewhere, that instrumentality asks, how we should attain our goals, while rationality asks, why we should attain them. But, if we have a goal, say, going home as fast as…
Metaphysiker
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Does Parfit's self-interest theory imply that you should be never self-denying?
In "Reasons and Persons", Derek Parfit introduces a "self-interest" theory of rationality, which says you should ensure that your life goes as well as possible. In §3 (p. 9 in my edition), he claims that:
The self-interest theory says that the only…
Josh Hunt
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Is human civilization doomed to repeat cycles of cataclysms?
The full question is:
Is human civilization doomed to repeat cycles of cataclysms because, on average, humans cannot make rational decisions regarding complex subjects for which they have incomplete understanding?
What I'm getting at is there is a…
DukeZhou
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Are we that different from (irrational) animals?
Well, up to now I'm pretty sure I didn't find anyone who can ignore feelings. I do try my best since I do think that they are the irrational thing we have, but of course, I still have them. Fear, anxiety, attraction, all of these things i see as…
EnderEgg
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What is "rational"?
Rational = x
x = ?
I've been defining words for myself for a while and one that I haven't defined rational yet. Anyone have a good definition for one, on a basis of utilitarianism.
Swift360
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Is the rationality an instinct for the man?
I read a post in facebook few minutes ago and the titular says something about a boy banging a dog, and then the boy broke the dog's leg because the dog bit her little sister and also the boy stabbed the dog many times. The boy was like 6 years and…
LordCommanDev
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