Maybe it’s because I’ve been more educated that most? Perhaps, and that isn’t egotistical to say if I have been more educated. It’s definitely arrogant, to think that I am more educated and thus smarter than the rest of people. I do find however that a lot of undergraduates think that they are smarter than everyone else. I also find that a lot of older, more experienced people think that the younger generation is full of themselves as well. Do you think that they are both right, is this a rational way of thinking?

Okay, let’s start by thinking of rationality. What does rationality mean?

Rationality is said to coincide with logic or reasoning. Rationality in mathematics is any number that contains quantities that can be expressed as a ratio or whole number.

So why did I include the mathematical definition?

To show you that just because someone can’t express it, doesn’t mean that it’s not rational, mathematics, a black and white world, can’t be an a rule book to life without including some non-mathematical intelligence.

Just watch, take the emotions out of rape. We want to stop rape, now rape is forced sex, one party doesn’t agree to having sex. So now we have a problem, there are two ways to inhibit rape from occuring. One end of the spectrum is to ban sex from ever happening, and on the other end is to always allow sex. That’s black and white thinking, completely logical. Is that reasonable though, you tell me.

Let’s break down the first definition now, Google writes the definition a little more eloquently than I; then further gives sub-examples. Rationality is described as;

1. the quality of being based on or in accordance with reason or logic.

“like any phobia, rationality plays only a small role”

• the quality of being able to think sensibly or logically.

“Scott wanted to play the character with a bit more dignity and rationality”

• the quality of being endowed with the capacity to reason.

“we call rationality the distinction of man, when compared with other animals”

The ability to think sensibly or logically, or the quality of being endowed with the capacity to reason. So now it is starting to make some sense, to me at least. A person who thinks sensibly and logically is thought of to be rational. Does that mean if because you can reason something, that makes it rational?

Reason, is the justification for some action of a series of actions (basically an event). Nazi Germany had “reasons” for their actions, but were they rational? The attack on The World Trade Centre on September 11, 2001, had reason, but were they rational either? It depends on who you ask, really.

Is everything you do completely rational, I bet you’ll find that most of your actions have conscious reasons, more than actions that are rational.

Let’ s have an amazingly productive week.