Or you come off as an arrogant snob. That’s why I don’t think I would ever say to someone “I’m a rationalist”, it kind of sounds like “I only think correct thoughts.”
I think “aspiring rationalist” has basically the same problems, because the word (as Lumifer mentioned) doesn’t carry a lot of meaning, and in this case “aspiring” doesn’t specify what kind of rationalism we’re talking about.
In my brain I still think of LW-type rationalists as “Bayesian rationalists”, and I’ll probably continue to use that label at least mentally for the time being. It’s not that much better, but it at least conveys that we’re not simply claiming that we think correctly or that we’re particularly sane people. Bayesian rationalists make a pretty hefty claim, at least relative to what is commonly believed even by philosophers (who often claim there is no well-defined concept of rationality). That claim is basically that it is possible to define rationality, and we have proof! Like, real, mathematical proof! So, whatever label you use should at least convey that there is a specific claim to be made, and that it’s not an intuitively obvious claim that all “sane” people would know. Most of rationality is in fact going against how most people think.
Or you come off as an arrogant snob. That’s why I don’t think I would ever say to someone “I’m a rationalist”, it kind of sounds like “I only think correct thoughts.”
Good point—“aspiring rationalist”, perhaps?
I think “aspiring rationalist” has basically the same problems, because the word (as Lumifer mentioned) doesn’t carry a lot of meaning, and in this case “aspiring” doesn’t specify what kind of rationalism we’re talking about.
In my brain I still think of LW-type rationalists as “Bayesian rationalists”, and I’ll probably continue to use that label at least mentally for the time being. It’s not that much better, but it at least conveys that we’re not simply claiming that we think correctly or that we’re particularly sane people. Bayesian rationalists make a pretty hefty claim, at least relative to what is commonly believed even by philosophers (who often claim there is no well-defined concept of rationality). That claim is basically that it is possible to define rationality, and we have proof! Like, real, mathematical proof! So, whatever label you use should at least convey that there is a specific claim to be made, and that it’s not an intuitively obvious claim that all “sane” people would know. Most of rationality is in fact going against how most people think.