Quotes About Rationality

Some philosophers have made a virtue of talking to themselves; perhaps because they felt that there was nobody else worth talking to. I fear that the practice of philosophizing on this somewhat exalted plane may be a symptom of the decline of rational discussion. No doubt God talks mainly to Himself because He has no one worth talking to. But a philosopher should know that he is no more godlike that any other man. (pp xx)

A rationalist, as I use the word, is a man who attempts to reach decisions by argument and perhaps, in certain cases, by compromise, rather than by violence. He is a man who would rather be unsuccessful in convincing another man by argument than successful in crushing him by force, by intimidation and threats, or even by persuasive propaganda.

Science must begin with myths, and with the criticism of myths.

The Vienna Circle was empiricist and phenomenalist, Popper was a critical rationalist.

You cannot have a rational discussion with a man who prefers shooting you to being convinced by you.

intelligences. If we subscribe to the false idea that being emotional is the opposite of being rational, we'll set up

never let your emotions override your intellect!

Reason is the measure of all things.

Nudge policies, in essence, can be used to encourage us to mimic the way that we would behave if we were as rational as economic man.

Given the value of fast and frugal heuristics such as this one, perhaps we should think of ourselves not as rational man but as heuristic man and be proud of it too: what first appears to be a failure of rationality might be better thought of as a triumph of evolution.

I do not feel obliged to believe that that same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forego their use.

I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.

There are those who reason well, but they are greatly outnumbered by those who reason badly.

At the end of all rationality there is simply the need to decide and the faith to live through, to endure.

Put simply, hyper-rational executives produce hyper-boring products.

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. —Albert Einstein

In many ways, prevailing ways of thinking about animals should make us skeptical of our claim that it is our rationality that distinguishes "us" from "them.

Some athletes resist fear, or some try to deny fear. Others attempt to conquer it. Athletes should accept fear and recognize it as the body's way of telling them to become energized. Unmask your fears and face them down. Examine them. "Many times when fear starts to hit me, my best chance of overcoming it lies in facing it squarely and examining it rationally,

On the basis of these definitions, hymns cannot do theology, even when the meaning of "reasoned enquiry" is broadened and qualified. 6 Their brevity and form are ill suited to systematic reasoning, and, though not lacking in rationality, a hymn invites us, not to step back from faith and examine it, but to step into faith and worship God.

Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.

there is an inherent rationality to life that makes it intelligible at a much deeper level than functional utility …

Just repeating a statement often and with great vehemence does not make it a fact, and no amount of repetition can make a rational person believe it.

Science is based not on faith but in skeptism

Es obvio que los seres humanos poseen una gran capacidad para aferrarse a las falsas creencias con fanatismo y tenacidad, y los científicos racionalistas no son ninguna excepción.