One doesn’t have to use irrational arguments to push rationality, but one of the lessons we draw from how people make decisions is that people simply do not make decisions about how to view and understand the world, even a decision to do so rationally, in an entirely rational way. The emotional connection matters as well.
Rational ideas proferred without an emotional counterpart wither. The political landscape is full of people who advanced good, rational programs or policy ideas or views about science that crashed and burned for long periods of time because the audience didn’t respond.
Look at the argument of SarahC’s original post itself. It isn’t a philosophical proof with Boolean logic, it is a testimonial about the emotional benefits of this kind of outlook. This is prefectly valid evidence, even if it is not obtained by a “reasoning process” of deduction. In the same way, I took particular pride when my non-superstitutiously raised daughter won the highest good character award in her elementary school, because it showed that rational thinking isn’t inconsistent with good moral character.
While one doesn’t want to undermine one’s own credibility with the approach one uses to make an argument, it is also important to defuse false inferences in arguments to oppose rationality. One of the false inferences is that rational is synonomous with ammoral. Another is that rational is synonomous with emotionally vacant and unfulfilling. A third is the sense that rationality implies that one use individual reason alone without the benefiit of a social network and context, because that is the character of a lot of activities (e.g. math homework or tax return preparation or logic problems) that are commonly characterized as “rational.” Simple anecdote can show that these stereotypes aren’t always present. Evidence from a variety of sources can show that these stereotypes are usually inapt.
When one looks at the worldview one chooses for oneself, it isn’t enough to argue that rationality gives correct answers, one must establish that if gives answers in a way that allows you to feel good about how your are living your life. Without testimonials and other emotional evidence, you don’t establish that there are not hidden costs which you are withholding from the audience for your statement.
Moreover, marketing, in the sense I am using the word is not about “exploiting irrational responses.” It is about something much more basic—using words that will convey to the intended audience the message that you actually intend to convey. Care in one’s use of words so as to avoid confusion in one’s audience is quintessentially consistent with good practice of someone seeking to apply a rational method in philosophy.
One doesn’t have to use irrational arguments to push rationality, but one of the lessons we draw from how people make decisions is that people simply do not make decisions about how to view and understand the world, even a decision to do so rationally, in an entirely rational way. The emotional connection matters as well.
Rational ideas proferred without an emotional counterpart wither. The political landscape is full of people who advanced good, rational programs or policy ideas or views about science that crashed and burned for long periods of time because the audience didn’t respond.
Look at the argument of SarahC’s original post itself. It isn’t a philosophical proof with Boolean logic, it is a testimonial about the emotional benefits of this kind of outlook. This is prefectly valid evidence, even if it is not obtained by a “reasoning process” of deduction. In the same way, I took particular pride when my non-superstitutiously raised daughter won the highest good character award in her elementary school, because it showed that rational thinking isn’t inconsistent with good moral character.
While one doesn’t want to undermine one’s own credibility with the approach one uses to make an argument, it is also important to defuse false inferences in arguments to oppose rationality. One of the false inferences is that rational is synonomous with ammoral. Another is that rational is synonomous with emotionally vacant and unfulfilling. A third is the sense that rationality implies that one use individual reason alone without the benefiit of a social network and context, because that is the character of a lot of activities (e.g. math homework or tax return preparation or logic problems) that are commonly characterized as “rational.” Simple anecdote can show that these stereotypes aren’t always present. Evidence from a variety of sources can show that these stereotypes are usually inapt.
When one looks at the worldview one chooses for oneself, it isn’t enough to argue that rationality gives correct answers, one must establish that if gives answers in a way that allows you to feel good about how your are living your life. Without testimonials and other emotional evidence, you don’t establish that there are not hidden costs which you are withholding from the audience for your statement.
Moreover, marketing, in the sense I am using the word is not about “exploiting irrational responses.” It is about something much more basic—using words that will convey to the intended audience the message that you actually intend to convey. Care in one’s use of words so as to avoid confusion in one’s audience is quintessentially consistent with good practice of someone seeking to apply a rational method in philosophy.