Re: virus: Coy? Coy?!

B. Lane Robertson (metaphy@hotmail.com)
Thu, 18 Feb 1999 18:20:47 PST

Isn't being reasonable acting in a manner that is logically consistent with one's goals?

David

All,

I would call "acting in a manner that is logically consistent with ONE'S goals" being *rational*.

Though "logical" suggests that one is able to trace historically an effect to an objective cause (and so show the logic by which that effect operates); we might assume that being logically consistent with regards to historical necessity wouldn't necessarily be the same as being logically consistent with ones OWN goals (such that one's personal goals might not be consistent with one's developmental history... as in the case where one chooses to be other than who their background suggests that they be).

I use *reasoning* to mean (in a forward-looking manner)
"appearing to aspire toward reason"-- such that *reason*
is "logical effect". On the other hand, if one becomes involved in social "reasoning", symbolic "reasoning", or self-justified "reasoning"; then, tracing these to a cause suggests (a) voluntarism (such that desire might pre-exist objects), (b) systems theology (in the beginning were the two "non-objects" whose combined action produced a unified meaning) or (c) self-will (such that a person could will themself to have will, or create themself so as to create themself). The first is comprehension. The second is rationality (or rationalization). The third is (maybe) *justification*.

I only now thought of justification (which might apply to the original example). But, rationality still seems the better term for what is both self-justified and also
"logical" (assuming that the logic of the
self-justification is traceable to a source, one's self, though is not truly logical... as this COULD also be established through circular reasoning by showing that the end justified the means according to "historical revisitation"-- or by postponing the assignment of
"cause" to the prior event until such meaning was
established by the later event).

B. Lane Robertson
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