As I see it, “rationalist” already refers to a person who thinks rationality is particularly important, not necessarily a person who is rational, like how “libertarian” refers to a person who thinks freedom is particularly important, not necessarily a person who is free. Then literally speaking “aspiring rationalist” refers to a person who aspires to think rationality is particularly important, not to a person who aspires to be rational. Using “aspiring rationalist” to refer to people who aspire to attain rationality encourages people to misinterpret self-identified rationalists as claiming to have attained rationality. Saying something like “person who aspires to rationality” instead of “aspiring rationalist” is a little more awkward, but it respects the literal meaning of words, and I think that’s important.
I agree that it was not the usage in the Sequences, and that it was therefore not (or at least not always) the usage within the community that coalesced around EY’s blogging. But if “otherwise at the time the Sequences were written” is meant to say more than that—if you’re saying that there was a tendency for “rationalist” to mean something like “person skilled in the art of reason” apart from EY’s preference for using it that way—then I would like to see some evidence. I don’t think I have ever seen the word used in that way in a way that wasn’t clearly causally descended from EY’s usage.
As I see it, “rationalist” already refers to a person who thinks rationality is particularly important, not necessarily a person who is rational, like how “libertarian” refers to a person who thinks freedom is particularly important, not necessarily a person who is free. Then literally speaking “aspiring rationalist” refers to a person who aspires to think rationality is particularly important, not to a person who aspires to be rational. Using “aspiring rationalist” to refer to people who aspire to attain rationality encourages people to misinterpret self-identified rationalists as claiming to have attained rationality. Saying something like “person who aspires to rationality” instead of “aspiring rationalist” is a little more awkward, but it respects the literal meaning of words, and I think that’s important.
This was not the usage in the Sequences, however, and otherwise at the time the Sequences were written.
I agree that it was not the usage in the Sequences, and that it was therefore not (or at least not always) the usage within the community that coalesced around EY’s blogging. But if “otherwise at the time the Sequences were written” is meant to say more than that—if you’re saying that there was a tendency for “rationalist” to mean something like “person skilled in the art of reason” apart from EY’s preference for using it that way—then I would like to see some evidence. I don’t think I have ever seen the word used in that way in a way that wasn’t clearly causally descended from EY’s usage.
I was referring to usage here on Less Wrong (and in adjacent/related communities). In other words—
—nope, it is not meant to say more than that.