New York Cowboy.org
nycowboy.org / fodder / theory

Human Reason v. Rationality rss

Thinking beyond the limits of rational scientific pursuit.

January 6, 2005

Defining Instrumentalism: Defining the meaning of an important term in critiquing social policy.

Dialetic of Irrationality Revisted: A simple explanation of my Dialetic of Irrationality.

Humanistic Alternative to Irrationality: Considering the best way to look at the world.

What is Dialectic?: Exploring the dialectic method of looking at conflicting forces.

Human Reason v. Rationality

There is a substantial difference between reason and rationality. Reason is what is created through careful consideration of a situation, after looking at all the facts and considering all the impacts of any one particular course of actions. Rationality is the result of looking only at specific scientific data and presenting a misleading viewpoint through the false citing of data. Rationality claims to tell the truth, but it fails to consider the most important part of decisions: the irrational, aesthetic, and psychological impacts on humans.

It is essential that irrational, aesthetics, and feelings do not guide policy choices on their own. All too often feelings crowd out science, or perverse science and rationality as a legitimizer of feelings. Scientific data should not stand on its own, but in the context of irrational aspects of life not accurately captured through science. We should always celebrate the aesthetics and feelings of our society. These things may be irrational, but they are essential to our existence.

Human reason exists when we engage ourselves through policy making using:

  1. Full Communication / Communicative Reason: We carefully analysize the problem from all directions by communicating with everybody fully.
  2. Artwork / Historical Perspective: We not only examine current science but look deeper at historical solutions and why history is relevant today.
  3. Respect for Absolute and Extreme Cultural Differences: We learn to embrace those different from ourselves, even those who hold much different beliefs.

Rationality gained from science and technology, in the context of our very human world of feelings and aesthetics ultimately provides reason. When we start to use reason to it's fullest in making decisions our society will become a much better place to live and grow up in. Celebrate our differences and criticize those who would like to enslave us through growing technological and scientific powers.

[Picture]