Anatole France is probably better known for saying, “La majestueuse égalité des lois, qui interdit au riche comme au pauvre de coucher sous les ponts, de mendier dans les rues et de voler du pain”—or, in English, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”
I agree, especially with French. (I’ve seen people translate “dialogue” from French using the cognate, and it sounds like middle-manager-speak.) Didn’t mean to criticize your choice, just something I’ve found neat.
I can’t see how this is a rationality quote.
This would imply that humans have a hard time controlling their actions. How else could someone who thinks wisely act in an absurd fashion? Isn’t rationality about how to overcome that humans don’t think wisely?
I read the quote as remarking on the problem of implementation—people often can enunciate the optimal course of action for themselves in their present situation (e.g. I should be working on my paper right now) without this enunciation having the slightest effect on their behavior. Therefore, since the benefits of rationality only accrue to those whose behavior is rational, no art of rationality is complete that does not deal with implementation.
Anatole France, Le livre de mon ami (1885)
Anatole France is probably better known for saying, “La majestueuse égalité des lois, qui interdit au riche comme au pauvre de coucher sous les ponts, de mendier dans les rues et de voler du pain”—or, in English, “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.”
I love how English/French translations have so many cognates! (You could even up that one a little more by using “sagely” instead of “wisely”.)
I actually have a mild distrust of cognates—I don’t think the connotations are necessarily preserved.
Also true of translated terms in general...
I agree, especially with French. (I’ve seen people translate “dialogue” from French using the cognate, and it sounds like middle-manager-speak.) Didn’t mean to criticize your choice, just something I’ve found neat.
I can’t see how this is a rationality quote. This would imply that humans have a hard time controlling their actions. How else could someone who thinks wisely act in an absurd fashion? Isn’t rationality about how to overcome that humans don’t think wisely?
I read the quote as remarking on the problem of implementation—people often can enunciate the optimal course of action for themselves in their present situation (e.g. I should be working on my paper right now) without this enunciation having the slightest effect on their behavior. Therefore, since the benefits of rationality only accrue to those whose behavior is rational, no art of rationality is complete that does not deal with implementation.