Topic
Rationality
About: Rationality is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 20459 publications have been published within this topic receiving 617787 citations.
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TL;DR: The historical association between planning and rationality is unquestioned, but postmodernist critiques have raised doubts about the future of rational planning as discussed by the authors, and the question of what kinds of planning and rational particular cases, situations, or contexts demand.
Abstract: The historical association between planning and rationality is unquestioned, but postmodernist critiques have raised doubts about the future of rational planning. This review defines and arrays different types of rationality to reveal that rationality is broader and more diverse than the instrumental rationality which has been associated with planning. An integrative framework associates complementary (contingent) planning paradigms with various forms of rationality, to suggest that the association between planning and rationality continues unabated. Discussion should shift from questioning the link between rationality and planning to asking what kinds of planning and rationality particular cases, situations, or contexts demand.
157 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: Alston as mentioned in this paper examined the main arguments that have been advanced for the reliability of sense perception, including arguments from the various kinds of success we achieve by relying on the sense experience, arguments that some features of our sense experience are best explained by supposing that it is an accurate guide, and arguments that there is something conceptually incoherent about the idea that sense perception is not reliable.
Abstract: Why suppose that sense perception is an accurate source of information about the physical environment? More generally, is it possible to demonstrate that our basic ways of forming beliefs are reliable? In this book, a leading analytic philosopher confronts this classic problem through detailed investigation of sense perception, the source of beliefs in which we place the most confidence. Carefully assessing the available arguments, William P. Alston concludes that it is not possible to show in any noncircular way that sense perception is a reliable source of beliefs. Alston thoroughly examines the main arguments that have been advanced for the reliability of sense perception, including arguments from the various kinds of success we achieve by relying on the sense perception, arguments that some features of our sense experience are best explained by supposing that it is an accurate guide, and arguments that there is something conceptually incoherent about the idea that sense perception is not reliable. He concludes that all of these arguments that are not disqualified in other ways are epistemically circular, for they use premises based upon the very source in question. Alston then suggest that the most appropriate response to the impossibility of showing that our basic sources of beliefs are reliable is an appeal to the practical rationality of engaging in certain socially established belief-forming practices. The Reliability of Sense Perception will be welcome by epistemologists, cognitive scientists, and philosophers of science.
156 citations
TL;DR: The authors make a distinction between the non-refutable, purely heuristic rationality principle and refutable rationality hypotheses, and present an alternative evolutionary outlook at purposeful human behavior that captures much of what makes the rationality postulate attractive to economists but avoids the ambiguities that have made it the subject of enduring controversy.
Abstract: Though the rationality postulate is generally considered the paradigmatic core of economics, there is little agreement about its specific content and methodological status. This paper seeks to clarify some of the ambiguity surrounding the postulate by drawing a distinction between the non‐refutable, purely heuristic rationality principle and refutable rationality hypotheses. An alternative, evolutionary outlook at purposeful human behavior is outlined that captures much of what makes the rationality postulate attractive to economists but avoids the ambiguities that have made it the subject of enduring controversy.
156 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors give a treatment on rationality problems of general k-involutions and generalize most of the earlier results, sharpen some, and add new ones.
156 citations