question help: Do you think you are Rational? - Help.com

I am not sure rational and irrational are useful ways of dividing human thought and behaviour. definitions of rationality produce and depend on an opposition to some kind of “other”- madness, emotionality etc.

it is a characteristic of humans that we can reflexively monitor and give accounts of our behaviour. This issue is do we then accept those acounts as true. Or are such accounts just rationalisations or simply mistaken

(yes it is a slow help day so far: Will we ever be persuaded to go to India on holiday, what is a cug and has the dog died yet? LOL)

I cant be rational knowing that if I try to problem solve using the same methodology I have used countless times, why would I seemingly get the same results..Only an irrational mind would expect a different outcome..,

well…. the molasses cookies are in the oven! :)

I didn’t write that correctly, sorry, its 3 AM and I am half assleep..

SpinningPlates wrote:

Tymbus wrote:
I am not sure rational and irrational are useful ways of dividing human thought

is it not useful to get rid of the insane bits and keep what works.

Tymbus wrote:
I we can reflexively monitor and give accounts of our behaviour. This issue is do we then accept those acounts as true.

NO, do we study our reflectivity, how do we improve it, that is my question.

Well, it depends what you mean by improve? For instance, do you just mean become more self monitoring more often (how would we get anything done?) or do you mean which system or set of explainations is best to explain our behaviour when we stop to reflect on it?

aeolian mode wrote:
I didn’t write that correctly, sorry, its 3 AM and I am half assleep..

go to sleep NOW, that’s an order

That would be rational, however being addicted to help dot com, and writing responses in my rem sleep, could be construed as irrational, or maybe hmmmmm, I process that in the deep recesses of my subconscience as I go full rem..night

Tymbus wrote:

aeolian mode wrote:
I didn’t write that correctly, sorry, its 3 AM and I am half assleep..

go to sleep NOW, that’s an order

SpinningPlates wrote:

Tymbus wrote:

Well, it depends what you mean by improve?

to be able to use it more efficiently, make less mistakes, be less prone to bias, generally have a greater understanding of how it works.

If we don’t know what mistakes our brain is making, we cannot make it work to our advantage.

The goal is to WIN!

We need a system for self-improvement, we’ve had more than 5000 years of civilisation and we haven’t even dumped religion out of society! something is not going right.

Humanity face-palm!

Er… you have lost me on the goal is to win! Win what?

What is the end result or outcome you would expect from rational thinking? If all of society was to go totally insane, which is another post idea, what purpose would it serve you to be rational? I guess we have this genetic predisposition to move through our outside world in some kind of judgement, or order if you will , that only we can decide makes sense..Is it rational for somebody insane to have the same predisposition as a sane person.? I think if the voices that the schizoid person hears and believes as truth doesn’t adhere to his/her reality, then that in itself could be irrational..I am probably over simplifying your post,and maybe over thinking a little,but Its just a different angle of thought…Who decides what is rational?

Nice……

SpinningPlates wrote:

DPT wrote:
I think outside the box because that is where my world is?

That just means you’re thinking inside your own box :)

Psychologists have identified many of the ways we are biased when we come to explain our own an others behaviour (e.g. behaviour is often motivated by situations rather than personality-see Attribution theory). However, psychology is less useful in explaining how society works and is often blind to the way humans act on situations according to the meanings those situations for them

Psychologists e.g Richard Dawkins have sought to explain irrational belief as an evolutionary function. But evolutionary theory offers cold comfort for us as it suggests our behaviours are governed by situations in the distant past of humanity and are not always useful for us today. (e.g. the fight or flight response is not helpful when you need to go to the dentist)

Also Science does not provide or prescribe a morality. In the end, increased rationality will not provide the only or even helpful answers to the dilemmas we face today.

every one is rational @ sumppoint @ some corner of the mind or hrt…may be even for a sec… :)

wat kind of experience…??

hmm..so u man wanna get rid of it ,, right,.,., ??

ok..so make sure u let ppl know or educate ppl clearly wat exatly it is and make sure u urself have a through study of it and keep urself in a safe point..