| > When she made the decision to stop, she didn't have a rational basis to make that decision, rational means you can connect a decision to logic. She explained the rational basis in her write-up, which you quoted. The rational basis at the time of the decision was that her actions appeared to her as bordering on those of an abusive parent, which was not her intent, and consequently that stopping her son from licking his hands wasn't worth the cost. Based on these facts she made the rational decision to stop. > Whatever you choose is going to have consequences. Choices do have consequences, but there is no need to choose between "multiple truths"—only between multiple actions. If two or more "truths" are equally consistent with the facts, equally valid, then there is no reason why you can't defer judgement pending additional information. The fact that you chose to act in a way consistent with one version of the "truth" and not the other in a particular situation does not imply that you believe the first version to be true and the other false. You could turn around and choose the opposite action the next time without the slightest hint of hypocrisy. The key point I'm trying to make here is that, having chosen to act in a way consistent with one particular version of the "truth", one should not then lie to oneself and pretend that this version is true, excluding all other possibilities, in the absence of evidence. It's OK (and rational) to admit that your action was chosen arbitrarily, and that you still don't know which version of the "truth" is real. > What if you don't even know what you're ignorant of or that you are in fact ignorant? Then the first step is to admit that you have a problem. Recognizing "unknown unknowns" is a hard problem, but it's an important skill to learn. > If you are comfortable with irrational ways of gathering information, like listening to your gut... If it has a history of providing useful information, it isn't irrational to pay attention even if you don't know how that information was obtained. > So is your next argument going to be that "going by your gut" is a rational approach? Just "going by your gut" without considering other factors isn't any more rational than acting purely on instinct or emotion. It is, however, one component you can use as input to make a rational decision. Acting rationally does not mean you disregard instincts or emotions or "gut feelings" or any of the other hard-to-quantify aspects of our existence. These things are important and exist for a reason. They aren't always right, however, and that's where rational thought comes in. Giving full reign to one's impulses and emotions, without filtering them through the lens of reason, is harmful both to oneself and to others. |