- September 15, 2018
- Psychology of thinking
- Sergey Severny
A rational person is a person who strives to be guided exclusively by reason in his actions. Such an individual is inclined to knowledge, but differs from the empiricist, who is ready to take action and draw a conclusion based on experience. Rationalists are accustomed to contemplating and thinking, so this type of worldview often manifests itself among scientists. This kind of attitude allows one to open one’s mentality to new knowledge, which, in turn, helps to define one or another critical issue of the owner of an inquisitive mind. Rational thinking creates a multifaceted corridor of possibilities, allows you to look at the world and events in it differently, and also get rid of preconceived attitudes towards anything.
What is rationalism in its classical sense?
There is a question and an answer to it. A problem and its solution, which can be found with the help of reason. There is nothing immaterial or not created for understanding in this world, since the entire Universe is material. This is roughly how rationalism can be described. This is a kind of installation for a follower who evaluates the surrounding space solely as questions and answers. He tries to comprehend what is happening, guided by his mental consciousness.
Also, rationalism is the predominance of the arguments of reason over naked conviction. In fact, this idea is at the origins of philosophy, designed to explain to a reasonable person how the world works. Rationalism often manifested itself in the nature and behavior of great mathematicians and physicists, who are precisely engaged in dividing and systematizing the surrounding space, making it possible to understand and accept it.
The essence of rationalism
A rational person is not a fanatic or a follower of a cult. The movement itself does not have the characteristic features of an idea suitable for forming a circle of followers. It can be said that rationalism is a course that a person can choose consciously. True, one who is convinced of the reign of reason over the irrational desire to give this or that thing an intangible and inexplicable nature is able to do this.
You should not attribute negativism to rational thinking, because this is not the case. A supporter of this worldview does not deny the fact, but tries to find an explanation for it using reason. Rational and irrational people are avid opponents in debate. Some supporters of the second camp even point to Kant, mistakenly believing him to be a rationalist who accepted the fact that the inexplicable exists. However, irrationalists should not be confused with ordinary fanatics.
Rationalization as a psychological defense mechanism
Rationalization is a psychological defense mechanism that allows a person to reconcile his expectations and reality, as well as justify his own feelings or actions. We can find the most convenient explanation for what happened. For example, if we cannot afford to buy a large apartment in a good area, we will quickly come up with not always adequate rational arguments in favor of another, more modest one. The main thing is not to lose self-respect because your financial capabilities do not match your ambitions.
Rationalization in psychology, like other defense mechanisms, eases anxiety and reduces the level of tension. This is an unconscious attempt to escape from internal conflict and not lose self-respect.
Rationalization
Accordingly, this method of protection is often associated with depreciation. It is easier for a person to say that a particular thing has no value for him than to admit that he could not get it. Our psyche strives for certainty. And with the help of rationalization, we logically explain one or another of our own actions.
What do rationalists think they are?
Often these are people whose activities are directly related to the thought process. The characteristics of a rational person are an open mind, an inquisitive mind, a willingness to learn new things, and a passionate desire to gain knowledge. They are skeptical about the truisms imposed by society and question any fact that has not been proven, for example, by a mathematical theorem, that is, in a way that can be repeated.
Often rationalism awakens in perfectionists, since both of them are not satisfied with a certain object, or rather its nature, in the existing picture of the world. In an attempt to restore their balance, they strive at any cost to characterize the object, which sometimes causes misunderstanding among more creative people who perceive the environment as it is, without asking questions.
Benefits of rationalization
Of course, rationalization has certain advantages. The world and people around begin to seem simple and understandable. We can somehow explain any fact or event to ourselves. If we suddenly acted unworthily, with the help of such a mechanism we will be able to “get away with it”, maintain self-respect and self-worth. In addition, all the things that we subconsciously want, but cannot get, become unnecessary. And we can rationally justify everything that does not suit us. For example, reluctance to leave a job you don’t like, citing proximity to home and habit.
This type of interpretation of situations helps a person remain unchanged. He simply selects suitable arguments every time. As if it’s not he who regularly cannot solve similar problems, but something wrong with the world and those around him.
What defines rationalism?
There are several key factors that determine whether an individual belongs to a given idea of viewing the world. A rational person is a researcher, he is open to new ideas and considers any knowledge to be a key goal of human development. In his understanding, skills and information cannot be good or bad; they exist to concretize and clarify the world. Those who are constantly thoughtful tend to be rational. From the point of view of this idea, thought determines consciousness and the material environment, and therefore is dominant. A rational person is a person with a huge horizon, who is ready to comprehend new things, regardless of circumstances and his own age.
Principles of rationalism
The movement is largely formed thanks to certain cornerstones laid by its researchers and founders. In the case of rationalism, such a foundation is its principles:
- Knowledge is obtained by reason. Any information or skill must be comprehended by the human mind. In fact, knowledge is a product of the study of a particular object by the thought of an individual. It's priceless. It is knowledge that is the main value of supporters of rationalism.
- The world is material. Rationalists believe that the entire world around us is material and suitable for knowledge. Objects distant from humanity are only things hidden from thought, but they can be recognized by using new knowledge. Thus the cycle of knowledge is closed. Therefore, some people call rationalism an endless race for knowledge for the sake of information itself, and not for a higher goal.
- Science comes first. Everything in this world can be identified and studied using scientific instruments. Rationalists put science as the only possible way to understand ourselves and the world.
- The “spiritual” does not exist without the material. In this case, spirituality means, for example, a sense of beauty or good taste. They are a product of human mental perception, which, in turn, is based on the thought process, the mind, which is material in nature.
- Morality is a product of the material, since it is designed to prohibit and prevent damage to an object capable of generating thought.
Rational people are often disciplined and rely heavily on their reason. You should not expect support from them in spiritualism or occultism; a supporter of this movement simply will not understand the speaker. However, as mentioned earlier, rationalists are open to new knowledge.
Reasons for rationality
“Clarify the meaning of words, and you will rid humanity of half the errors” Rene Descartes
To define rationality in the “space of things,” I will begin with an analogy. I introduced this analogy a little higher in the cycle. So if something looks weird, it probably should be.
Before this we talked about maps and territories. Now we will finally talk about travelers. And also about the two main properties of any of them: curiosity and pragmatism.
curiosity manifests itself in the desire to have as much information as possible about the territory. This information is stored in the form of cards. At the same time, curiosity means interest in EXACT maps (and not just any maps).
pragmatism is manifested in the desire to REACH very specific points on the route. It is in the desire to achieve, and not in the desire to go towards them. Here the emphasis is on the end of the path, not on the path itself.
Let's see what travelers are like in relation to these qualities.
- There is curiosity, but no pragmatism. These travelers collect the maximum number of cards. Their lives are dedicated to constant optimization and drawing up a super-accurate map. It seems as if they know everything about every piece of territory. But there is one “but”. They never left their tent. They could have become great explorers, but abandoned this in favor of studying the details of the territory.
- There is no curiosity, but there is pragmatism. These travelers know their destination exactly. Any deviations from the route are a waste of time for them. They never study anything other than a map to their destination. But in this narrow area, they achieve truly impressive detail and accuracy. Every bump is important for them if they can be used to get to the goal. If you give such a traveler a stack of accurate maps of other territories, he will most likely light a fire with them. After all, this will save time searching for kindling, and will allow you to achieve your goal a little faster. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult for such travelers to change their goals. After all, it’s difficult to come up with a new point when ALL knowledge is only about one part of the territory. And why would they want to change the goal? After all, they have no information about what else exists on the territory. By the way, the route that they constantly refine and refine does not always turn out to be optimal. After all, if you need to climb the ski slope, sometimes it is better to go back to the ski lift. And you still need to find out about it somehow.
- There is neither curiosity nor pragmatism. These travelers deny the value of accurate maps. And they do not strive for any specific point on the route. Most of all, their activity resembles a walk. Today I wanted to go there, tomorrow here. The world of such travelers is full of wonder. Every day, something new - complete unpredictability. We saw a beautiful forest edge, stopped and admired it. We got caught in an avalanche and got upset. They don't control their own journey. Some of them get a good excursion, others survive on the brink. But neither one nor the other chooses their route.
- There is curiosity and pragmatism. These travelers understand the value of accurate maps and are constantly updating information about the area. More detailed information about the immediate surroundings, and at least superficial information about the rest of the world. These travelers set goals for themselves. But their information about where and how they can get is constantly increasing. This opens up great opportunities for optimizing routes or even choosing new goals. The payback for their curiosity is that sometimes they collect maps of territories that are very far from them. Well, at least they have something to discuss with other travelers.
That is, curiosity inevitably requires good map refinement skill. And pragmatism requires skills in moving around the territory and optimizing routes. Travelers who have such skills in a reasonable balance, and strive to improve them, I call rational. Moreover, some could acquire these skills at will, while others acquired them as a result of prevailing circumstances. There is no point in separating them, because they have very similar firmware in their heads.
Flow Basics
Most researchers agree on where exactly rationalism appeared. Its founder was Socrates (approximately 469-399 BC, Ancient Greece), who called for knowing yourself before exploring the world. Although he was not a convinced supporter of the worldview, he nevertheless formed its foundations. Later, the idea of rationalism was brought to its logical conclusion by scientists Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, supporters of the exact sciences and who introduced a certain factor of orderliness into their fields. The Age of Enlightenment is considered the period when rationalism came to the fore. Man gained the ability to think about the sublime and engage in research, since he was no longer in a constant search for food or trying to survive. This paved the way for science.
Contrast with empiricism
Despite the fact that the ideas of rationalism and empiricism cannot be opposed in their primary form, supporters of these two worldview ideas often enter into confrontation regarding the methods of understanding the world. So, for example, rationalists advocate giving an object a qualitative characteristic based only on the thought process, while an empiricist must touch, try, experience it. The opposition of thought to experience is illogical, but it still occurs. Leibniz himself directly notes in his work “Monadology”:
“We are all three-quarters empiricists.”
This indicates that proponents of rationalism are often empiricists and vice versa.
Kant's contribution
Supporters of Kant's ideas are probably aware that this philosopher began as a rationalist. Later, he transformed the classical idea of knowing the world through thought and experience into something unified - transcendental idealism. In his understanding, determining the nature of an object using reason and experience are complementary concepts that serve a single purpose - the search for knowledge. He created the definition of “thing in itself,” which means an object that cannot be defined and characteristics cannot be assigned to it. Moreover, such a subject should not be studied. He believed that the work of the mind begins when thought reaches the threshold of the known.
Examples from life
Imagine a girl who lives in a small apartment in a residential area. She works in the center. Every day it takes 2 hours to get to work. This girl’s dream is to buy an apartment in the center. But for many years now she has not been able to save the required amount of money. And at some point she begins to look for excuses for the current circumstances. First, he convinces himself that the new apartment will probably have to be renovated, which will take a lot of effort, time and money. In addition, although the apartment will be in the center, it is far from the metro. Consequently, getting to work will be inconvenient.
With the help of rationalization and such justifications, the girl tries to protect her psyche from disappointment and the realization that, at least at the moment, she cannot fulfill her desire and buy an apartment. In this case, rationalization seems to push back reality. It protects the psyche, but the problem remains. The heroine needs to understand why she is not getting closer to her dream. The financial issue comes first. So, maybe instead of looking for excuses, it’s better to change your job to a better paying one? Or open a savings account in a bank? What do you think about it?
Another example of rationalization. Imagine a man who went shopping with his wife looking for a dress. She needs something beautiful and expensive, suitable for a quick meeting of her classmates. The woman tried on a dozen different models, but her husband did not approve of any of them. Everywhere he found some kind of flaw. Here the color doesn’t suit, and there it’s too short. Buttons are out of place on this dress. As a result, the spouse is left without a purchase.
Why is this happening? The fact is that a man cannot afford to pay for such an expensive thing. And he understands this perfectly. But to protect his psyche from this unpleasant realization, he looks for flaws in every thing his wife chooses. And he sincerely believes that the reasons for the refusal are more than objective.
Understanding the Worldview
Becoming a rational person is not so easy. You need to work hard for this. The result largely depends on the individual’s acceptance of the worldview of this category of people. The signs of a rational person are not height, weight or temperament type. It is also important to understand that this is not a cult - a rationalist, for example, can be a teacher, a miner, a businessman, or even a janitor who reads works on biology at night. These people do not seek recognition; their true Grail is the understanding of all things, infinite knowledge, the characteristics of all objects. It is extremely difficult to learn this; in addition, the process involves abandoning previously accepted truths. A rational person is one who questions everything, including his own knowledge.
What does rationalization lead to?
Even though rationalization may seem harmless at first glance, there is not much benefit. The main problem is that a person does not solve his problems, but defends himself from them. In the hope of “saving face,” we try to appear better than we are, and this only aggravates the difficulties that have arisen.
We label, simplify and use the same schemes over and over again. Life becomes gray, a person ceases to be surprised by anything and becomes less attentive to reality.
