If the world functioned with the true definition of "rational" then no one would dare call another human, "irrational".
Economic theory is founded (at least partially) by the idea of rationality, or a degree of irrationality, or an aspect of rationality as a variable in the marketplace.
Adam Smith's great contribution, was to point out that the essence of the free market economy is that it is organized, not centrally, rather, by the forces of pure economics. which is to say that no one need tell anyone what to do in a free market economy. the actions of the participants will be dictated, by their knowledge, their skills, their products and their ability to move capital, goods, services and payment through the economy. All of which will be controlled by (simply)supply, demand, tastes & preferences.
What is something worth? exactly what you are willing to pay for it. Or, if it is essential, then the price will move according to other, more complex variables. Opportunities will be created by others who are able to move additional goods into the market place.
In the event of a glut, then the sellers suffer. In a condition of scarcity, the sellers profit handsomely.
which brings us back to rationality.
I'm not speaking of rationality, in terms of economics. I'm speaking of the higher binary.
Years ago, i had a vision for how to produce a working, functioning, thinking artificial brain. construct an object with multiple points, linked through multiple ports. the input, would consist of a certain number of senses. cameras for eyes. sensors for temperature, sharpness, humidity, pressure, etc. microphones for ears, sensors for smell, taste, etc. new sensors for other discernible, identifiable forms of information.
What would make the brain work, is the ability of the brain to record sequences of actions and the subsequent ability over time, to respond to said information. certain combinations of sensory data, would precede other patterns of information, in this way (when it occurred) the artificial "brain" would be able to respond meaningfully (for it) to it's environment.
is this not what the human brain does? the simplest of programs exist. the pain of hunger, the discomfort of skin, pressure, sharpness, causes the baby to react. interaction by caretakers, the rhythm of day, sleep, stimulation, "care taking" impress a discernible pattern which can be anticipated and responded to.
it's no wonder that the neonate is unable to begin to construct retrievable, describable, described "memory" for several years. it takes that long to make sense of the mumbo-jumbo of experience.
In this scenario, a "brain" is simply something that not only reacts to situations to the extent of it's physical constitution and physics, rather, the ability to record, anticipate, and react to this information.
Which brings us back to rationality.
rationality is nothing more than the human name for the process by which we make meaning of our environment and act upon it.
do humans live? and some perish, and others thrive? do humans produce? interact? the development of language to record and externalize understanding. the ability to "teach"... all of this impresses the idea of rationality, which is nothing more than that which is more "right" more "pleasurable" more life sustaining.. a better description...
but to make sense of the word "rationality" and extend/attribute to it, the notion of meaning beyond humans to "truth" is an error. rationality, the terms makes no claim to have meaning beyond a description of a seeming intellectual process.
from wikipedia, rationality is described as, "...explanation, understanding or justification, particularly if it provides a ground or a motive. 'Irrational', therefore, is defined as that which is not endowed with reason or understanding."
It's a major point, which can be seen as subtle, or even as a fact, but it is often forgotten. the inter subjectivity of experience, the ironclad pattern of some aspects of reality, the seeming supposition that everything can, in some way, at some time, be explained, is only an account of the limits of the human mind... and so on and so forth to the limits of abstraction.
Interesting link: the twelve virtues of rationality: http://yudkowsky.net/rational/virtues
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