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I don’t want to open another box, but how exactly do people distinguish between rational vs irrational behavior? You might define it as quick system 1 vs thoug
by baxtr 2y ago
I don’t want to open another box, but how exactly do people distinguish between rational vs irrational behavior?
You might define it as quick system 1 vs thoughtful system 2 reaction.
But I’m pretty sure Einstein had thought this through and had good, rational reasons at that time to “resist” the idea of black holes.
- lucianbr 2y agoThere may be exceptions, but most of the time I find people call "irrational" any reasoning they disagree with.
- lukan 2y agoRationality is apparently relative.
- circuit10 2y agoIt’s still possible to have biases when thinking something through deeply
- baxtr 2y agoAbsolutely. But then what exactly is being rational
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- treflop 2y agoI think pretty much everyone is rational. However, our access to facts and information is vastly different between two different people. That's because we grow in different spaces, meet different people, and have vastly different experiences. Then you fall into this trap where you think you are right. You ARE right, but only in the context of your experience. Since it's rarely possible to ever know if you are universally right, you have to keep an open mind, which can be difficult.
- MacsHeadroom 2y agoAn irrational belief is one you did not come to through reason. Irrational doesn't mean bad or wrong. It just means it did not come from a rationale. Many beliefs we have are presuppositions which we demand strong rationale for changing, despite not needing similar rationale to arrive at the presupposed belief. Believing the earth is flat because it looks flat is an example of an irrational belief practically everyone holds until taught otherwise. Some people hold onto the belief even after being given good reason to abandon it. We call that irrational behavior.
- baxtr 2y agoI like the flat earth example. However, it seems to me that your definition is circular. You define irrational as the opposite of being rational. I’m pretty sure that flat earthers have their own “rationale” why the earth must be flat and we are the irrational ones to them. The circular definition is not good enough.
- MacsHeadroom 2y agoHaving rationale to support your belief is inconsequential to whether it is rational or not. The important distinction is whether you arrived at the belief through rationale or not. Everyone believes the earth is flat by default because it appears flat. That's what makes it irrational. If you later revert to believing in the globe because of reason and then convert back for reasons none of that matters. The initial belief was always irrational.
- baxtr 2y agoSo basically you’re saying that being irrational means ignoring facts that the majority has established to be true?
- mbivert 2y agoLogically inconsistent? I would expect a BBC title to be designed to appeal to emotion way more than to carry any sensible truth though.