[extropy-chat] examples of rational irrationalism

[Lee Corbin]

Stuart writes
From: "The Avantguardian" <avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com>

>> Why do you think that eliminating
>> mankind is necessarily irrational?
>> Don't you concur with the (generally
>> accepted [WELL AT THE TIME OF 
>> WRITING I THOUGHT WE HAD
>> AGREED TO THIS! MAYBY NOT!]
>> here) version of what it means to be
>> rational? Namely, as Rafal put it,
>> "rationality (to use the dictionary
>> meaning) is optimizing behavior to
>> achieve goals".   So if your goal
>> is a pristine Earth free of unnatural
>> (i.e. human) effects, then what's
>> irrational about trying to get rid of
>> everyone, including yourself?
> 
> Rational means to an irrational goal is in itself
> irrational by the simple virtue of GIGO.

Good grief, Stuart!   How can a *goal* be
innately irrational??  That is, irrational on its
own terms? If I'm a Viking and my goal is
to slay everyone I can find, and then it
gradually morphs into wanting to even kill
all my own people,  just exactly on what
objective basis do you deem this "irrational"?

Lee

P.S.  Please check the line break settings
on your email.  You seem to be wrapping
messages at about column 55 or so, which
means a lot of the text you quote from 
others looks pretty ugly.