Reasons and Causes: We are not as rational as we think we are

Shand, John (2024). Reasons and Causes: We are not as rational as we think we are. Daily Philosophy

URL: https://daily-philosophy.com/john-shand-reasons-an...

Abstract

This essay suggests that we are not as rational as we think we are. We think our beliefs and attitudes, and even our feelings and moods – our ‘mental stances’ – are more determined by a reasoning process that brings us to them than they are. This claim may however be used to our advantage for it enables us to be on our guard so we may counter those factors that prevent us from reasoning at all and reasoning well when we should. It is perfectly proper, however, that we come to some mental stances by non-rational processes. We can harness built-up non-rational habits to make it more likely that we reason when we should or have the mental stances that we should.

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