John Williams: =20
> And I'm inclined to believe with you on this issue; that the rational
> decision to act irrationally may improve one's life.
Making a rational decision to act irrationally could mean two things. To =
made
a conscious decision to act irrationally, or act (as in pretend) to =
behave
irrationally. from context I assume you meant the former. =20
Sounds like something McCoy said to Spock in an old Star Trek episode. =
You know the one where McCoy, Spock and a bunch of Red Shirts get =
stranded on a planet with a shuttle craft. Spock, makes one unpopular, =
coldly logical decision after another. None of which work out. Later =
Spock an crew, minus a few red shirts, find them selves orbiting the =
planet without having enough fuel to land, and they face a fiery death =
when they reenter the atmosphere. Spock, with no real hope of rescue =
burns the remaining fuel to create a flare. After the inevitable =
rescue. McCoy can't leave well enough alone and quizzes Spock on his =
apparent irrational act. McCoy then rephrases Spock's justification into =
something like what you said. (You made me remember this dog of an =
episode so it is fitting you should suffer the same. Apologies to the =
rest of the list.)
If your action or decision is based on facts and on what you believe to =
be sound logic then it is that decision or action is rational. If not, =
then it is not. At any time it is up to the individual wether to use a =
rational strategy or not. By saying make a "rational" decision to act =
"irrationally" you are stretching the definition of rational out of all =
recognizable shape. By saying: "make a rational decision to act =
irrationally" you are rationalizing an irrational act. So was Spock. =
The decision as well as the act are not logical nor rational. =20
John Williams: =20
> It does not, however, make belief in God "completely rational" or
> "completely logical." It just frees one from the logical =
thought-prison.
We are always free to make decisions regardless whether they are logical =
or not. I think it is better to admit (at least to myself) that I have =
make a decision that is not based on logic. Perhaps a nicer way to put =
it would be to call it an "intuitive decision". A decision that I =
believe to be correct but have no, or little, substantiating evidence, =
or logical reason for. If I make a decision that is completely the =
opposite of a what logic would dictate then I must admit to an =
irrational decision. If I make a decision that I found out later, was =
logically in error then I simply goofed. The problem is: "irrational" =
caries such a negative connotation that I would hate admitting to it.
-Alan Ferguson
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