[extropy-chat] Mature rationality

Jef Allbright jef at jefallbright.net
Tue Sep 14 23:32:03 UTC 2004


Eliezer said:

>Anyone who wishes to make a serious commitment to rationality, to learn it
>as an art the way that judo or fencing is an art, must commit to being
>rational all the time, every time, twenty four hours a day seven days a
>week, with not a single area of life reserved for relaxing with some
>comfortable nonsense, not one place left where that darned inconvenient
>rationality business can't stomp all over the things you want to believe.
>  
>
Eliezer -

I admire your dedication to this philosophy, and agree with its truth. I 
recognize the terrain, having lived there for a large part of my life. 
However, within a larger context, it is limiting to place so much 
emphasis on absolute rationality.

In the larger world of human relations (no, it's not a special case) of 
which we are each a part, we deal with others who (1) don't share our 
emphasis on rationality, and (2) don't share the same knowledge base.  
And, if we look carefully, we see that even the most devout Bayesian 
faces a constant struggle with those parts of self that are not under 
conscious analysis and control. 

An optimum strategy for living an effective life (especially involving 
other people), require the application of (bounded) rationality to those 
areas where it works, and use of a "toolbox" of heuristics and 
specialized skills, but essentially going with the flow, for dealing 
effectively with other areas.

A rational approach to life includes both "rational" in the mathematical 
sense, and "rational" in the pragmatic sense.  We INTJs have a hard time 
accepting this -- it's messy, but it works.  You'd be surprised.

And of course at an even higher level it's completely rational in the 
mathematical sense, but we don't get to see that in its wholeness and 
that's not where we live.

- Jef



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