At the conference “Actualities: Philosophy and our Present” I delivered the The Intrusion of Real Life Into Philosophy based on the essay “Some Facts of Life-OR-How to Read Like a Humble Rationalist“.
Category: Essays
Rational Ignorance: Opening the Door to Humble Rationalism
In this essay, I respond to Jonathan Haidt‘s critique of moral rationalism, by showing how a humble rationalism can make sense of the phenomena of moral dumbfounding.
Some Facts of Life-OR-How to Read Like a Humble Rationalist
In this essay, I try to develop a method for new students just starting out in a discipline (in this case political philosophy) to evaluate the various methods on offer and choose one suitable for them or even leave the discipline altogether.
Although it’s framed simply as a pedagogical tool, I believe this essay is the closest I’ve come to articulating what it means to be a humble rationalist, i.e. how we can practice reason within our limits.