Nobody is rational
Nobody is rational,” said Miro.
We all act because we are sure of what we want, and we believe that the actions we take will lead us to what we want, but we are never sure of anything, and then we invent all our reasoning to justify what we were going to do anyway before we came up with any reason…”
- Orson Scott Card
A few days ago, I came across this wonderful quote in a book. I believe that what it says is very true… what the heck is being rational? What is that crazy idea? We, not so simple monkeys, have managed to make ourselves believe that we are much better than other types of monkeys… or living things on this earth. Because when someone asks, “What makes us humans so different from animals?” the most common answer is, “Because we have our reason, we are rational, we think” (I actually don’t think that’s what makes us human… but that’s another story).
But it’s fun, because being rational is so rare that it’s not defined anywhere, at least not in an easy-to-understand way. How do you explain to a child what being rational is? You say, “consistent with or based on the use of reason.” Okay… then what the heck is reason? Well… “a basis or motive for a belief or action.” Huh??? The magic word again… rational… so… rational uses reason in its definition, and reason uses rational in its… so I have to ask again, WHAT THE HECK???!!!
Okay, okay, so you say… damn dictionary!… what’s wrong with it!… you give it a second chance and look for a new definition: “intellectual: of or associated with, or requiring the use of the mind”… if that’s the case, one might think… the people who start wars, who kill, who are obsessed with power, who only want money, who jump off a bridge, who hit their partner or their children, who abuse other people… are they using their minds or not??? (I bet they can generally give a good “reason” for why they do it) so according to the dictionary, they are being rational???!!!!???!!???!!!???!?? And I’m just getting more confused every day. I simply don’t understand us rational beings.
I have only one conclusion: what Orson says is true, very true. Nobody on this planet is rational, we simply try to justify our madness (because in one way or another, we are all crazy), we justify what we do, what we think, what we eat, who we are with, where we go, when we go, where we work. In the end, most of the things we do, we do because we think it’s the right thing to do, that’s what we’re supposed to do, and since we’re pack animals, if we do what we’re supposed to do, our group will accept us and that’s what we want (most of the time).
I agree with him… one is rational when one manages to justify, when one convinces other people that one is right (so you can’t be rational by yourself, alone), you need the approval of other people to be sure… I bet Osama Bin Laden thought he was being rational on September 11th, but mmmm many in the rest of the world believe it was irrational.
Yes, it’s a cruel example, but generally that’s how things are… we convince ourselves that we’re being rational, we add up facts, answer questions, and if the person we’re accountable to for our actions or thoughts (sometimes we’re our own judges) smiles and says, “Yes, you’re right,” that’s it! You get 5 seconds of glory and congratulations for being RATIONAL!!!!!