Quotes About Rationality

Action is the activity of the rational soul, which abhors irrationality and must combat it or be corrupted by it. When it sees the irrationality of others, it must seek to correct it, and can do this either by teaching or engaging in public affairs itself, correcting through its practice. And the purpose of action is to enable philosophy to continue, for if men are reduced to the material alone, they become no more than beasts.

There are two basic ways to criticize an argument: â–  Challenge the premises-show that at least one is false. â–  Challenge the reasoning-show that the premises are not a good reason for the conclusion.

Conviction, far from being based upon reason, is the enemy of reason; because rationality does not change, while convictions do, all the time.

Emotions and irrational thoughts tend to cloud our mind. They make our mind foggy so we can't think in the ways we should when situations arise. When our minds become cloudy, we don't always think before we act or speak. Instead, we act irrationally and sometimes quickly, which could easily make the situation worse.

Fisher just stood there lost in thought, without saying anything. There is always a rational explanation for everything in this world - whether it's the true one or not. Maybe it is better so. ("I'm Dangerous Tonight")

the smooth, steady movement of my actions raised a sliver of panic in the rational man who was abandoning me.

It is difficult to confront madness, because insanity is a stranger to reason and any reasonable response would be insane.

You can't reason with fear

the apt conclusion may be not that the universe is meaningless but that we have identified meaning with rational explanation. "Might it not be the case that the reason for existence has no explanation in the usual sense?" he asks-and then answers himself with a remarkable observation: "This does not mean that the universe is absurd or meaningless. Only that an understanding of its existence and properties lies outside the usual categories of rational human thought"5

A life based on reason will always require to be balanced by an occasional bout of violent and irrational emotion, for the instinctual drives must be satisfied.

Science is the most durable and nondivisive way of thinking about the human circumstance. It transcends cultural, national, and political boundaries. You don't have American science versus Canadian science versus Japanese science.

I was the type of person that would show a PowerPoint presentation about why I should do something versus crying and screaming over it.

We don't classify all doctors as incompetent because of the infrequent instances of medical malpractice. We don't use the example of one bad teacher in our children's school to draw a negative conclusion of the entire teaching profession. We should apply that same rational standard when it comes to how we view law enforcement.

I would say that all traditional philosophies up to and including Marxism have tried to derive the 'ought' from the 'is.' My point of view is that this is impossible; this is a farce.

The First Aphorism of Religion Cases: Only the religious convictions of other people are weird. Yours are perfectly rational.

Religion, which should most distinguish us from the beasts, and ought most particularly elevate us, as rational creatures, above brutes, is that wherein men often appear most irrational, and more senseless than beasts.

And thanks to Christina McMullen, who has taught me that common sense and intelligence need not have any correlation whatsoever.

Let us talk about oxymoron, common sense, for instance.

Mental or spiritual health, which is rationality, makes for progress, and the future demands greater and greater mental or spiritual health, greater and greater rationality. The brain must dominate and direct both the individual and society in the time to come, not the belly and the heart.

Common sense (which, in truth, is very uncommon) is the best sense I know of: abide by it; it will counsel you best.

Immanuel Kant, autor subversivo en tiempos de sinrazón

I hate it when the real world ignores a perfectly logical, rational assumption.

For business reasons, I must preserve the outward signs of sanity.

My kingdom is as wide as the universe and my wants have no limits. I go forward always, freeing spirits and weighing worlds, without fear, without compassion, without love, without God. I am called Science.