Paul Davies in "The Mind of God" ...
In this book I shall take the optimistic view that human reasoning is generally reliable. It is a fact of that people hold beliefs, especially in the field of religion, which might be regarded as irrational. That they are held irrationally doesn't mean they are wrong. Perhaps there is a route of knowledge (such as through mysticism or revelation) that bypasses or transcends human reason? As a scientist I would rather try to take human reasoning as far as it will go.
I am not so optimisitc about either humankind or human reasoning.
Are you rational? Do you consider yourself rational? Do you boast about your rationality?
Unfortunately there are no uniform standards of rationality which a person might use to objectively determine their own rationality. I've spoken to lots of people throughout the spectrum of religious belief to lack of religion altogether and I haven't found a single rational person. I've read lots of books and listened to lots of people throughout the entire spectrum of nonreligion to religious to fundamentalist and there is an equal distruction of rationality and irrationality throughout the entire group.
In other words: Human rationality is a myth. It is a meaningless, worthless and entirely subjective claim which does not in any way convey any sort of actual information about the actual quality of a person's beliefs.
So if you think that you are rational, I must tell you: You are not. You never were rational. You will never become rational.
The quest for rationality is as futile as the quest for Truth. Humans are stressing each other about unattainable things in either case.
Most self proclaimed rational people base their boast upon what they are not. They think, "I am better than so-and-so who believes all of these absurd things!" Religious and irreligious people both engage in the same game and it is so very popular because it is so easy to do.
Generally speaking, each and every person imagines that they are at the very pinnacle of human thought and pretty much better than everyone else. All such claims are pure bunk and amount to nothing much more than the mythology which atheists and agnostics mock so easily.
So where is rationality? What is truth?
There is no such thing as rationality. There is no such thing as truth.
Humans are just humans. We're a particularly pernicious animal that seeks to rationalize its behaviors using whatever means are possible. These rationalizations serve to justify our especially destructive, polluting and violent lifestyle as we trash the planet, destroy our home and ultimate drive the Homo sapiens extinct.
I'd say that the animals are more rational than the humans. They survived for millions of years for a reason. Humankind won't survive beyond 250,000 years (from the origin of the species to its extinction) for a reason.
The human manner of life is a dead-end. The human manner of life is a dead-end not just for humankind but also for thousands of species that we are presently driving extinct.
Intelligence, reasoning, science and technology haven't served either humankind or Nature well. When all is said and done, these attributes of humankind will bear ultimate responsibility for driving humankind extinct.
If humans were at all rational our species would stop but this is one thing which our species is incapable of doing under any circumstance, even the threat of self-extermination isn't a sufficiently powerful reason for humans to stop trashing and polluting the planet.
Where are the rational humans? There are none.
David Mathews
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