Philosophy
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Thoughtlets. LXXIII. On the moral connotations of rationality
[Excerpt from my writing archives followed by a footnote.] …‘Rational’ not only indicates the right, correct, approved, reasonable, or sensible way of thinking, but also the term invariably means the right thinking and goodness of the author or speaker. Hence ‘rational’ also has moral connotations.[1] [1] Morally reprehensible people, on some conceptions, include those who allow themselves to Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. LXXI. Dirty Thoughts.
(Will anyone know who Sarah Palin is anymore?) Sometimes someone standing on the outside of our social circle and of the peer review process can offer us criticism, but we’re often not willing to take it – at least not from just anybody on the outside. We’re apt to accept criticism from someone our tribes Continue reading
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Thoughlets. LXX. Trust me, I’m Rational.
…Maintaining an appearance of rationality is crucial to one’s reputation, i.e. the credibility one requires to be a trusted source of information among her peers, e.g. colleagues, co-workers, hiring committees.[1] [1] This charade is akin to inflating one’s resume to outperform equally qualified applicants for a job position, which, unless stretched beyond all plausibility, is not Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. LXIX. The Golden Mean Wobbles.
(Excerpt from my archives, here referring to the back and forthing in philosophical argumentation.) …As philosophers, our professional duties include calling each other out on the use of ad hominens, but in so doing we need be careful not to deploy them ourselves..1 [footnote1] This back and forthing process can get quite heated and lends Continue reading
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Thoughtlets. LXI.
This is why I think Hobbes is important: “And as in arithmetic, unpracticed men must, and professors themselves may often err and cast up false, so also in any other subject of reasoning, the ablest, most attentive, and most practised men may deceive themselves and infer false conclusions, not but that reason itself is always Continue reading
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