dissecting concepts of rationality.Sunday, April 29, 2007
"If one devalues rationality, the world tends to fall apart."
-Lars von Trier, Danish film director.
What is meant by rationality when Lars von Trier made this statement? In Max Weber words, rationality can be easily replaced by "efficiency" or "logical consistency" and "empirical proof" but it doesn't fit so well in this context. Hence, the need to rationally develop the concept of rationality.
After going through several literature, I find that the definition given by Kizima in his work,"The Historical Process of Culture and the Problem of Rationality", is the most comprehensive one, that encompass all the hallmarks of rationality:
Becoming aware of the objective problem situation and formulating the problem requiring solution;
Defining the field of possible or desired solutions and making decisions about the proper program for problem solving;
Implementing the program, and controlling and correcting its course;
Analysing and evaluating results.
With that said, let us explore the applications of the rationality concept. The first is that rationality provides the fundamental framework for a systematic analysis of a practical or theoretical problem and paving the way for evaluative applications. It is a significant key to explaining the current social system and our social actions. In dimensions without rationality, anything becomes possible (in the theoretical sense). In that dimension, we could even take black as white.
As of now, my rational mind screams that my blog readership is dropping as a result of being classified in the heavyweight category.
