Re: virus: Rationality

jonesr@gatwick.geco-prakla.slb.com
Tue, 25 Feb 97 09:18:56 GMT


> From: "David McFadzean" <morpheus@lucifer.com>
>
> So, "rationality" and "logic" are indeed memes that happen to be about
> rationality and logic respectively (which aren't memes).

I think this makes sense to me. Do you mean that the idea of Logic
existing is a meme, but the actual process of such is not?

> Many humans are rational as well, in that they can behave rationally by
> consciously following logical rules.

So logic feeds the rational side of behaviour?

> A few humans are "post-rational" in that they recognize that "logic" and
> "rationality" are memes, and as such are imperfect descriptions of logic
> and rationality. And that "logic" as a formal system is not and cannot
> be justified logically, but is rather a complex and beautiful set of
> mutually supporting beliefs (a meme-complex) supervenient on our
> pre-rational brain. (Which isn't to say that hypothetical aliens wouldn't
> arrive at the same system of logic given that their pre-rational brains
> evolved in the same physical reality.)

Hang on, does this mean that If I take logic and rationality to be
memes, and realise how to bypass their effect, I would be post-rational?
Is that good or bad? :)

Drakir