X-Message-Number: 10277 From: "Timur Rozenfeld" <> Subject: Rationality Date: Wed, 19 Aug 1998 10:35:31 -0600 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_000A_01BDCB5D.173CCEA0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable > I'd suggest, contrariwise, it's in you interests to harmonize with the > folk around you. If they're irrational, it will pay you to be irrational, > or at least make a show of it. Being rational among the irrational can get > you burned at the stake. In the example above, I do agree that making a show of being irrational keeps you off the stake. But you can still be rational internally as you = say. > But there's more to this. Many delightful activities - eating, sex, skiing > naked - have no rational basis. If you decline such activities on the basis > that they have no reason, you miss most of life's savour. Reason is, to me, > no more than a tool; to be taken in hand when it's useful, and put carefully > away when it's not. Excuse me, but the activities are above are *very* rational as they add value to your life. What would be irrational is to neglect your human = needs, desires and requirements for happiness. I think that you are viewing rationality as strictly deductive from the old rationalistic = philosophy perspective, which I don't subscribe to. Timur Rozenfeld ------=_NextPart_000_000A_01BDCB5D.173CCEA0 Content-Type: text/html; [ AUTOMATICALLY SKIPPING HTML ENCODING! ] Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=10277