Rationality

Sind nur sprachfähige Wesen rational? - Über die Grenzen des "Raums der Gründe"

by Martin Lenz

Forthcoming in: Crossing Borders: Proceedings of the 9th Congress of the Austrian Society of Philosophy 2012

Kuhn and the Question of Pursuit Worthiness

by Christian Straßer

Co-authored with Dunja Seselja. Under review.

The aim of this paper is on the one hand, to critically investigate
Kuhn’s stance on the assessment of the... more The aim of this paper is on the one hand, to critically investigate
Kuhn’s stance on the assessment of the pursuit worthiness of scientific theories, and on the other hand, to show the actuality of some of Kuhn’s points on this issue, in view of their critical analysis. To this end we show that Kuhn presents certain tools, which may help scientists to overcome communication breakdowns when engaging in the process of rational deliberation regarding the question whether a theory is worthy of further pursuit. These tools are persuasion, translation and interpretation. However, we argue that the perspective of epistemic semantic monism present in Kuhn’s work obstructs the full applicability of these tools. We show that dropping this perspective makes the notions of persuasion and interpretation more fruitful, and moreover, allows for a pluralism of scientific theories and practices that complements the pluralism based on disagreement among scientists, emphasized by Kuhn.

Violence et rationalité

by Andrzej Leder

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Rational Manager: Organizational reason and its discontents

by Monika Kostera

Co-authored with Jerzy Kociatkiewicz
forthcoming (2012) in Scandinavian Journal of Management (early view available online)
DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2012.01.003

Rationality has since long been one of the central been issues in the discourse of management. Among the classics... more Rationality has since long been one of the central been issues in the discourse of management. Among the classics voices propagating a reductionist rationalism dominated and there are still many contexts where such a view is taken for granted. On the other hand, critics since the times of classics have been arguing for a less linear approach to management and management thinking. However, little attention has been paid to some of the different dimensions of management rationality, such as imagination. This paper sets out to address this gap in knowledge through presenting a narrative study focused on a literary character well known for his rationality, Sherlock Holmes, and revealing that this, to many, very epitome of rationality is actually an example of an extended type of rationality, including imagination. Following the fictional protagonist of our study, we consider some aspects of its relevance for management thought and practice.

Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Rational Manager: Organizational reason and its discontents

by Jerzy Kociatkiewicz

Co-authored with Monika Kostera
forthcoming (2012) in Scandinavian Journal of Management (early view available online)
DOI: 10.1016/j.scaman.2012.01.003
Unformatted copy

Rationality has since long been one of the central been issues in the discourse of management. Among the classics... more Rationality has since long been one of the central been issues in the discourse of management. Among the classics voices propagating a reductionist rationalism dominated and there are still many contexts where such a view is taken for granted. On the other hand, critics since the times of classics have been arguing for a less linear approach to management and management thinking. However, little attention has been paid to some of the different dimensions of management rationality, such as imagination. This paper sets out to address this gap in knowledge through presenting a narrative study focused on a literary character well known for his rationality, Sherlock Holmes, and revealing that this, to many, very epitome of rationality is actually an example of an extended type of rationality, including imagination. Following the fictional protagonist of our study, we consider some aspects of its relevance for management thought and practice.

O Estado da Arte dos Estudos de Corrupção

by Luiz Fernando Vasconcellos de Miranda

A revisão que nos propomos a fazer tem como foco principal a literatura produzida mais recentemente. O objetivo desta... more A revisão que nos propomos a fazer tem como foco principal a literatura produzida mais recentemente. O objetivo desta revisão tem como objetivos, além de mostrar o estado da arte, também o de mostrar outros trabalhos sobre o assunto para que possamos compreender como os pesquisadores abordam o tema.

O trabalho se divide em sete partes: introdução; como a corrupção tem sido medida; modelos de estudo de corrupção; possíveis soluções para o problema da corrupção; a aplicação da Teoria da Agência ao problema da corrupção; possibilidades de comportamento oportunista e controles internos. Não oferecemos uma conclusão pois o artigo se baseia em um estudo mais amplo, onde há argumentos finais. Em todo caso o artigo se propõe a discutir e refletir sobre seus tópicos.

The “rationality wars” in psychology: Where they are and where they could go.

by Thomas Sturm

Published in:  Inquiry, 55 (2012), 66-81.

Current psychology of human reasoning is divided into several different approaches. For instance, there is a major... more Current psychology of human reasoning is divided into several different approaches. For instance, there is a major dispute over the question whether human beings are able to apply norms of the formal models of rationality such as rules of logic, or probability and decision theory, correctly. While researchers following the “heuristics and biases” approach argue that we deviate systematically from these norms, and so are perhaps deeply irrational, defenders of the “bounded rationality” approach think not only that the evidence for this conclusion is problematic but also that we should not, at least not very often, use formal norms in reasoning. I argue that while the evidence for heuristics and biases is indeed questionable, the bounded rationality approach has its limits too. Most especially, we should not infer that formal norms play no role in a comprehensive theory of rationality. Instead, formal and bounded rules of reasoning might even be connected in a more comprehensive theory of rationality.

Fallibilism and Realism

by John Shand

Explorations in Knowledge, Vol.VI, No.2. (1989) pp.22-36.

Popper, Rationality and the Possibility of Social Science

by Danny Frederick

Forthcoming, THEORIA

Social science employs teleological explanations which depend upon the rationality principle, according to which... more Social science employs teleological explanations which depend upon the rationality principle, according to which people exhibit instrumental rationality. Popper points out that people also exhibit critical rationality, the tendency to stand back from, and to question or criticise, their views. I explain how our critical rationality impugns the explanatory value of the rationality principle and thereby threatens the very possibility of social science. I discuss the relationship between instrumental and critical rationality and show how we can reconcile our critical rationality with the possibility of social science if we invoke Popper’s conception of limited rationality and his indeterminism.

The Rationality Principle Idealized

by Boaz Miller

Forthcoming in Social Epistemology

According to Popper’s rationality principle, agents act in the most adequate way according to the objective situation.... more According to Popper’s rationality principle, agents act in the most adequate way according to the objective situation. I propose a new interpretation of the rationality principle as consisting of an idealization and two abstractions. Based on this new interpretation, I critically discuss the privileged status that Popper ascribes to it as an integral part of all social scientific models. I argue that as an idealization, the rationality principle may play an important role in the social sciences, but it also has inherent limitations that inhibit it from having the privileged status that Popper ascribes to it in all cases.

Rationality as a Social Construction: What Does Individual Behavior have to say About Development in an Amazon Community?

by Andres Marroquin

Andrés Marroquín. Published in JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ISSUES Vol. XLII No. 1 March 2008.

This article argues that two different manifestations of rational behavior coexist and collide in the Ticuna community... more This article argues that two different manifestations of rational behavior coexist and collide in the Ticuna community of Arara in the Colombian Amazon.

Comment on Raimo Tuomela. Joint action: How Rational? How irreducible?

by Cédric Paternotte

Analyse & Kritik (2011) 33(1):87-92.

In his 'Cooperation as joint action', Tuomela presents a we-mode account of cooperation, which he argues has several... more In his 'Cooperation as joint action', Tuomela presents a we-mode account of cooperation, which he argues has several advantages over an individual account. This commentary examines to what extent this is true. In particular, I assess three related characteristics of we-mode joint action: its possible rationality, its greater efficiency, and its alleged irreducibility to purely individual properties, which are recurring points of the article.

Rationality in/through/for AI

by Tarek Richard Besold

In: J. Romportl, P. Ircing, E. Zackova, R. Schuster, M. Polak (eds.): Proceedings of Extended Abstracts Presented at the International Conference Beyond AI 2011

An argument for an analogical perspective on rationality and decision-making

by Tarek Richard Besold

Co-authored with Gust, H. and Krumnack, U. and Abdel-Fattah, A. and Schmidt, M and Kühnberger, K.-U.
Proceedings of Workshop "Reasoning about other minds: Logical and cognitive perspectives", co-located with TARK XIII (Groningen, 2011). CEUR-WS.org, Vol. 751.

LE CORBUSIER, J. JACOBS AND THEIR RATIONALITIES (Le Corbusier, J. Jacobsova a ich racionalita)

by Andrej Gogora

GOGORA, A. 2010. Le Corbusier, J. Jacobsová a ich racionalita. In Filozofia. ISSN 0046-385 X, 2009, roč. 65, č. 4, s. 361-365.

The paper gives an analysis of the conceptions of rationality of two influential representatives of the 20th century... more The paper gives an analysis of the conceptions of rationality of two influential representatives of the 20th century theory of urbanism, and their philosophical grounds. It also outlines the problem of modern rationality, questions its character and points out, that for the time being the transition to a new way of thinking is problematic.

Rational vs. heuristic motives. What matters when redeeming the pledge?

by Kristiano Raccanello

Pawnbroking activity belongs to the secured loan market and in Mexico almost 90% of items pledged are personal or... more Pawnbroking activity belongs to the secured loan market and in Mexico almost 90% of items pledged are personal or family jewels. The valuation of the collateral may differ between the parties involved in the pawn contract because the borrower, besides the economic value, may feel some attachment to the pledge entailing an affective value, but the loan is a function of only the economic value of the pledge. In this paper we test the hypothesis that if the emotions evoked by the pledge guide individual behavior, then the heuristic aspect, but not the rational motive, should be associated with higher likelihood of redeeming it. Besides showing that economic variables are related to the outcome of the pawning process, our model estimations confirm the hypothesis that the individual’s behavior is guided by heuristic but not rational motive.

The Normativity of Rationality

by Jonathan Way

Published in Philosophy Compass 5 (12), December 2010: 1057-1068.

This article is an introduction to the recent debate about whether rationality is normative – that is, very roughly,... more This article is an introduction to the recent debate about whether rationality is normative – that is, very roughly, about whether we should have attitudes which fit together in a coherent way. I begin by explaining an initial problem – the “detaching problem” – that arises on the assumption that we should have coherent attitudes. I then explain the prominent “wide-scope” solution to this problem, and some of the central objections to it. I end by considering the options that arise if we reject the wide-scope solution.

Two Accounts of the Normativity of Rationality

by Jonathan Way

Published in Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy, December 2009.

Recent views of reasons and rationality make it plausible that it can sometimes be rational to do what you have no... more Recent views of reasons and rationality make it plausible that it can sometimes be rational to do what you have no reason to do. A number of writers have concluded that if this is so, rationality is not normative. But this is a mistake. Even if we assume a tight connection between reasons and normativity, the normativity of rationality does not require that there is always reason to be rational. The first half of this paper illustrates this point with reference to the subjective reasons account of rationality. The second half suggest that this point may have been missed because of certain similarities between the subjective reasons account and the importantly different transparency account. On the transparency account, rationality seems not to be normative. I think it is often assumed that what goes for the transparency account goes for the subjective reasons account as well. But I argue that this is a mistake. A corollary is that the subjective reasons account has an important advantage over the transparency account, given how plausible it is that rationality is normative.

How (Far) Can Rationality Be Naturalized?

by Thomas Sturm

Co-authored with Gerd Gigerenzer. Published in: Synthese, 2011 (Online first version).

The paper shows how an empirical study of fast and frugal heuristics can provide norms of good reasoning, and so how... more The paper shows how an empirical study of fast and frugal heuristics can provide norms of good reasoning, and so how (and how far) rationality can be naturalized. We explain the heuristics humans often rely on in solving problems, such as choosing investment strategies or apartments, placing bets in sports, or making library searches. After that, we show that heuristics can lead to judgments that are as accurate as or even more accurate than strategies that use more information and computation, including optimization methods. A standard way to defend the use of heuristics is by reference to accuracy-effort trade-offs. We take a different route: One can take into account the relation between a reasoner’s heuristics and his environment and argue that, in uncertain environments, more information and computation are not always better (the “less-can-be-more” doctrine). The resulting naturalism about rationality is thus normative because it is ecological. While we desist from claiming that it is unlimited, we think it is of wide practical use.

Does Science Provide Us with the Methodological Key to Wisdom?

by Nicholas Maxwell

Science provides us with the methodological key to wisdom.  This idea goes back to the 18th century French... more Science provides us with the methodological key to wisdom.  This idea goes back to the 18th century French Enlightenment.  Unfortunately, in developing the idea, the philosophes of the Enlightenment made three fundamental blunders: they failed to characterize the progress-achieving methods of science properly, they failed to generalize these methods properly, and they failed to develop social inquiry as social methodology having, as its basic task, to get progress-achieving methods, generalized from science, into social life so that humanity might make progress towards an enlightened world.  Instead, the philosophes developed social inquiry as social science.  This botched version of the Enlightenment idea was further developed throughout the 19th century, and built into academia in the early 20th century with the creation of university departments of social science.  As a result, academia today seeks knowledge but does not devote reason to the task of helping humanity make progress towards a better, wiser world.  Our current and impending global crises are the outcome.  We urgently need to bring about a revolution in universities throughout the world so that the blunders of the Enlightenment are corrected, and universities take up their proper task of helping humanity make progress towards a wiser world.