Questions tagged [rationality]
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.
126
questions
3
votes
6
answers
191
views
What is the basis of the sunk cost fallacy?
Is the so called sunk cost fallacy truly a total fallacy, or does it have some kernel of truth? Certainly it is a widespread instinctive/impulsive form of reasoning. Presumably it must then have had ...
2
votes
7
answers
159
views
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 ...
- 1,731
-3
votes
5
answers
375
views
Can the sexual double standard be justified according to this logic/reasoning? [closed]
The sexual double standard is a social phenomenon where the sexual value of males and females are evaluated differently, based on their sexual history with sexual partners of the opposite sex.
Given ...
- 1,731
14
votes
8
answers
5k
views
When and why do we say that two things are the same?
In a preceeding question I have asked about the foundations of rational reasonning. It seems the concept of identity plays a key role. However "identity" is not observed in the real world: our mind ...
- 1,731
3
votes
1
answer
185
views
Can you help me understand Derek Parfit's thought experiment?
This is an excerpt from Parfit's Reasons and Persons. I can't totally wrap my head around it. Of course, I get the basic idea: Kate is a writer who works too hard. Her work makes her happy. But she ...
- 91
8
votes
5
answers
3k
views
Are there any differences between the Eastern and Western philosophical traditions on what constitutes rationality?
I am aware of the way Western philosophers define rationality but I do not know whether Eastern philosophers define it.
Are there any differences between the Eastern and Western philosophical ...
- 24.1k
0
votes
3
answers
208
views
Is symbolic regression Popperian or inductivist?
This has been on my mind for a few days. I'd love a criticism of my arguments outlined here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/fallible-ideas/9bcC5WN6bLs. I'll re-issue them here:
While ...
CommunityBot
- 1
1
vote
0
answers
44
views
Who wrote this uncited quote?
The following uncited quotation appears in The Early Modern European Catachism by Joshua Gibbs. He includes many quotes from philosophy and literature but does not cite any of his sources. Would ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
68
views
Using 'love' to make sense of knowledge
I love my spouse, but I suspect (I think I believe the are) they are cheating on me, and I've even heard my friends gossip about my spouse's affairs etc.. But I love my spouse, so do not think I know -...
CommunityBot
- 1
3
votes
2
answers
527
views
Why would philosophical agnosticism and pragmatic atheism be considered more rational than philosophical agnosticism and pragmatic theism?
I'm referring to the accepted answer on this post. The answerer states that
If one is both attentive to empirical scientific studies and to philosophical investigations of the limits of knowledge, ...
- 634
0
votes
0
answers
20
views
Is the reasonableness of a belief or moral claim relative?
Is the reasonableness of a belief or moral claim relative? I found some articles on the ethical word "reasonable", but lack access. Apparently it is key to "liberal" political ...
CommunityBot
- 1
7
votes
2
answers
882
views
Is it ever rational to stumble onto the conjunction fallacy in probability?
The conjunction fallacy is the phenomenon where many people believe that the probability of the event (A AND B) is strictly greater than the probability of the event A. It is usually thought of as an ...
- 7,464
1
vote
4
answers
159
views
How does one test their credences of belief?
Suppose I feel that event A is more plausible than event B. How can I test, verify, or falsify this?
For example, suppose I have a belief that my partner is cheating on me. Suppose I have another ...
- 2,465
7
votes
9
answers
2k
views
Is desire closed under logical equivalence?
Suppose some person P desires a statement S to hold. Also, S is logically equivalent to S'. Does this mean that P desires S' also? Basically, is desire closed under logical equivalence?
- 121
2
votes
3
answers
163
views
How to rationally decide between two events A and B having happened
If someone listed you an event A and an event B, told you that only one of those events happened today, and then asked you which one would you bet on, how should one make this bet?
Initially, I was ...
- 6,110
5
votes
2
answers
579
views
Which philosophers have considered irrational conviction
It seems a characteristic of humans to be convinced about a matter in the absence of overwhelming evidence, even where logic suggests that are other valid alternative positions to take. We see this in ...
- 2,402
1
vote
6
answers
2k
views
Does philosophy rely on intuitions? If so, does this mean all of philosophy is nothing more than hunches?
Does philosophy rely on intuitions? If so, and all of philosophy comes down to intuition, how can one person be deemed to be more rational than other? In this world, most would agree that you cannot ...
- 51
0
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How do ethicists tackle the question "Is it immoral to have sex in public places?" Is it possible to use rational and empirical ideas to answer?
Is it immoral to have sex in public places? If so, what are the rational and empirical reasons?
Most people believe it’s immoral to have sex in public places. Have ethicists come up with any good ...
- 4,489
7
votes
5
answers
365
views
Philosophical framework for avoiding short-term strategies
In business and politics, often decision-makers make decisions that cause short-term gain, but long-term loss. So economically, this might be an unreasonable (lossy) and thus irrational process.
Is ...
CommunityBot
- 1
2
votes
1
answer
243
views
Lumen naturale, Lumen gratiae, Lumen fidei, what are they?
Unfortunately, I'm unable to locate a good source to cite on these terms you see in the question title.
Below is a short abstract based on Google.
Natural light (lumen naturale), equivalent to lumen ...
- 12.3k
1
vote
5
answers
151
views
Can you lose something that you don't care about?
I'm new to philosophy and as of now, I don't have any knowledge related to what he said in order to properly redirect him to a source that mentions something similar. His philosophy goes like this:
If ...
- 1
3
votes
1
answer
87
views
Is it irrational to care more about the last candy in the bag than the others, and if so, does the fallacy have a name?
I have a bag of candies. Someone else asks if they can have one. If the bag is still full, I have no issues, and tell them they are welcome to take one. If there is only one left in the bag, I am much ...
- 20.5k
4
votes
2
answers
257
views
What is the point of prayer for theological rationalists?
Of course, there are psychological aspects, you can unify a community or concentrate on your life goals. I feel like Christians try to do something like that when they say that prayer should be a ...
- 79
3
votes
2
answers
114
views
Given a positive ontological claim X, is not-X the default position?
Given a positive ontological claim X, I see at least four different subjective positions one could adopt regarding X:
I believe that the evidence provides persuasive reason to believe that X is true (...
- 35.4k
3
votes
4
answers
853
views
What defines "lack of evidence" and is it irrational to believe in something without evidence?
It is commonly accepted that the lack of evidence for a particular proposition makes belief in said proposition irrational.
However, imagine the following proposition,
P: An object exists for ...
- 4,107
2
votes
4
answers
210
views
Isn't it rationality circular reasoning?
Rationalists say that reason is the source of ultimate truth or logic. Reason is absolute but if reason is absolute then won't defending it through reason be a circular reasoning? Like you can't ...
- 83
3
votes
4
answers
706
views
Are aesthetic judgments rational?
I was reading this article: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aesthetic-judgment/#1.4
I was thinking that aesthetic judgments are responses that derive from our emotions. So they can be considered ...
- 18.5k
0
votes
1
answer
79
views
Argument for a social conception of objective morality
What might some objections to this argument be?
By definition a rational agent is, when exercising their agency, evaluating different courses of action before deciding among them. The actions they ...
0
votes
2
answers
215
views
Graham Priest's "escape from Hell" puzzle
The gist of the puzzle is that every day, the Devil offers to flip a coin to see if you escape; one loss and you're guaranteed to be stuck forever, but each day the probability of a winning toss ...
- 6,110
0
votes
0
answers
63
views
Is a decision made before the rationalization?
Well, I was listening to a podcast in Spanish and a great scientist was saying that there are studies that are seeing that decision making is not as rational as we think it is. He says that the moment ...
- 83
-1
votes
6
answers
160
views
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.
- 3,463
3
votes
9
answers
583
views
How can we decide which view to accept concerning our ultimate justification of our knowledge (Münchhausen trilemma)?
I recently came across the Münchhausen trilemma, which I think helps to explain my question. Basically, according to the trilemma, we have three options for explaining the ultimate justification of ...
- 415
0
votes
0
answers
51
views
Does Aumann's agreement theorem extend to moral propositions?
Aumann's agreement theorem says:
two perfectly rational agents with the same prior estimate of an event's probability and common knowledge of one another's posterior estimates cannot come to ...
- 11.1k
3
votes
3
answers
496
views
What are the most rational basic beliefs?
I understand that this question might be difficult or even unresolved. But within a foundationalist view of knowledge, has anyone proposed a set of basic beliefs that seem to be the most rational for ...
- 24.1k
9
votes
6
answers
2k
views
Does determinism prevent rationality?
If hard determinism is true, and our thoughts are merely the results of a causal chain of atomic interactions, are reason and logic illusory?
This matter has likely been discussed in another thread, ...
- 450
1
vote
1
answer
141
views
How does Kant argue that all people have moral dignity
How does Kant argue that all people have moral dignity, the ability to conform to a moral law in which all people are ends only.
I have not substantially read Kant, but it occurred to me, suddenly / ...
CommunityBot
- 1
0
votes
0
answers
53
views
How do Rational Egoists Respond to Psychology?
Rational egoism is the position that humans always act rationally and to further the actor's self-interest. But ever since Carl Jung psychologists have pretty much been in agreement that humans do not ...
- 1,024
0
votes
0
answers
34
views
Would it be fallacious to assume rationality presumes pre-emptive knowledge?
In short, would it be a fallacy to presume that rational thinking (as opposed to empirical thinking) leads to the conclusion that all knowledge is innately contained a priori?
In that sense, all ...
- 69
4
votes
11
answers
4k
views
Is atheism or agnosticism more rational?
While there is still widespread disagreement regarding the existing definition of atheism, it is normally considered as the "Rejection of belief in the existence of deities".
One accepted definition ...
- 852
0
votes
0
answers
27
views
What is the distinguishing factor between conviction and threat?
What is the distinguishing factor between conviction and threat?
I want my friend to restrain from doing an action. I am showing him the bad consequences of the action thus, I am trying to convince ...
2
votes
3
answers
802
views
What's the difference between morality and rationality?
What's the difference between morality and rationality?
Some of my friends argue with me saying,
What is rational is what is moral
I do not believe so because, I believe there are absolute moral ...
- 291
1
vote
3
answers
266
views
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 ...
- 1,166
-2
votes
3
answers
119
views
Is rational to logical as rectangle is to square?
That is, if X is logical, is it necessarily rational? What's an example of something that is rational, but not logical. If logical does not necessarily imply rational, what's an example of something ...
- 285
6
votes
4
answers
337
views
Question about Cogito, ergo sum
As far as I know Decartes tried to prove that he existed from the fact that he was thinking.
And he thought this was only proof. My question is following:
-- why is the argument brought up above, ...
- 3,843
-2
votes
2
answers
289
views
Can "why-is" close the "is-ought" gap? [closed]
[UPDATE: Clarified that choosing what-ought-to-be from what-can-be is based on our knowledge of ourselves, not on our knowledge of good and evil]
“I know you won't believe me, but the highest form of ...
- 594
2
votes
3
answers
269
views
Why should we treat others as *always* rational when they are not?
In Kantian system, murdering is nonrational because it cannot become a universal law. Yet Kant insists that it's immoral to lie to murderers. This is the same with saying they are rational being, ...
- 735
0
votes
3
answers
67
views
According to game theory, are people trustworthy? [closed]
According to philosophical presumptions of game theory, are people trustworthy if there are incentives (profit and less loss) involved in lying? And if this question isn't entirely accurate as a ...
- 22.8k
17
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What impact has Douglas Hofstadter's superrationality had in terms of philosophy?
Superrational decision making is a type of rational decision making in which the players cooperate in a one-shot prisoner's dilemma without coordination, punishment, or magical thinking.
The idea is ...
- 103
0
votes
0
answers
47
views
According to Kant, which one is an autonomous being: me or my rationality?
If we consider a person's identity lies not in his rationality, but in, say, his body or his consciousness, then it seems not so obvious why we can regard a person as autonomous simply from the status ...
- 1
6
votes
1
answer
242
views
Can animals follow logical rules of inference?
I've been trying to recall a thought experiment, which I very vaguely remember to have come across either in Davidson or Dennett, that considers the following scenario: A hound is chasing its quarry ...
- 42.5k