Lynch chap 1
our professors definition of Reason
ability or capacity to form our belfies in a certain way , according to certain norms, rules, or standards.
(its to think in a rational or reasonable way)
Lynch's goal is to defend what type of reason ?
Narrow reason
The Platonic picture two components
i.Emotion and reason are clearly separated — and frequently warring — sides of the human mind.
ii.By and large, reason wins — at least in successful, happy people. Humans thus either are, or ought to be, chiefly rational animals.
Lynch why Humean view is not plausible
Common flaw that the Humean picture shares with the Platonic picture: treat reason and emotion as more independent than they really are
lynch thinks we should appeal to reason , like we appeal to ?
ethics, would agree its important to think rationally
like morality in public discussions .
we feel its important for people to be moral or ethical, so its common to appeal to that in discussions.
we commonly object to policies or practices, arguing they are unethical
in the skeptical sense of reason is narrow better than broad reason ?
NO, its one way to form your beliefs but there is no reason to give it more value then other ways of forming beliefs
Problem Platonic picture
Platonic picture underestimates the value of emotion for good and rational life.
•It would be very bad for us if we were dispassionate reasoners.
•Antonio Damasio: emotion = essential for rational thinking
What is intuition?
When we intuit something, we find it believable without knowing why.
Lynch main strategy for defending reason is
to attack the rival view, which is skepticism about reason
Lynchs 1st of his 3 reasons why one might embrace skepticism of reason
all reasoning is ultimately " rationlization " retrospective work that's done after our emotions have already committed us.
Humean picture
Opposite of Platonic picture.
Hume: “Reason is, and ought to be, the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”
is intuition mysterious or irrational ?
No , Doesn’t mean intuition is mysterious or irrational
EXAMPLE FROM SLIDE:
•“Art experts have become experts because they’ve seen lots of art, and because they are good at detecting patterns, remembering details, and noting connections between art objects. But much of that information — like so much of the information any of us uses — gets stored far deeper in the shelves of the brain than is usually accessible to consciousness.”
so this knowledge could surface as intuition
If you're skeptical of reason
Reason doesn't have any special value
Not necessarily better than alternative ways of thinking
Lynchs 2nd of his 3 reasons why one might embrace skepticism of reason
Worry about circularity
Must use reason to defend reason , so ultimately trust in science is based on faith
•According to Hume, it is --------, not reasons, that cause us to act.
feelings
is emotion separate form independent reason ?
No, Like emotion, intuition is not separate from or independent of reason.
•Judgments that some people make intuitively can also be made through deliberation
•Like emotions, intuitions can be rational or irrational
•Reason also plays a role in reconciling competing intuitions
Lynch Reason Broad and narrow sense
Broad : giving explanations , justifications and reasons for our beliefs ( broad or loose sense when you say why you believe what you believe )
Narrow: form beliefs according to reliable methods, sources , procedures and practices
WILD CARD NAME ANYTHING NOT MENTIONED SO FAR ABOUT CHAP 1 LYNCH
WILD CARD NAME ANYTHING NOT MENTIONED SO FAR ABOUT CHAP 1 LYNCH
Lynch: emotions can be -------- or ----------
rational or irrational
Quine – Duhem hypothesis
our beliefs form an interconnected web.
•Some are at the edge easier to change rationally, because require fewer changes elsewhere in your web.
•But others are more central — more difficult to give up on those while staying coherent: changing them rationally requires changing many others.