2008م - 1444هـ
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suspect that everyone who reads these words considers himself or herself to be rational. But all of us probably can think of people whom we

consider to be irrational, or at least to behave irrationally on occasion.

These surmises imply the existence of some concept of rationality in

terms of which such judgments are made, but that does not mean that

we would fi nd it easy to articulate that concept precisely, if asked.

What does it mean to be rational—to reason well and effectively?

How does rationality, broadly conceived, relate to the knowledge one

acquires, the beliefs one forms, the explanations one constructs or appropriates, the judgments and decisions one makes, the values one adopts?

If you fi nd the question of what it means to be rational diffi cult to answer

precisely, you are in good company. Philosophers, among others, have

debated it for many centuries.

A closely related question is: What is the character of human reasoning, and, in particular, does it tend to be rational? The second question presupposes an answer to the fi rst. If we cannot say what rationality

is, or what we intend to mean when we use the word, we cannot hope

to determine whether any particular instance of reasoning or behavior

is rational or not.