Re: So You Think You're Rational?

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Mon Nov 26 2001 - 13:16:03 MST


This isn't exactly new - Antonio Damasio made a name for himself in
quite wide circles with his _Descarte's Error_ a few years back. The
emotional systems are essential for putting value into decisions (not to
mention motivation), and without them rational decisions tend not to
work. What mystifies me with the article is how you determine activity
in the brain with X-rays?! That sounds like a mistake, but the article
refers both to fmri and the radiological society, so maybe I'm missing
something here.

On Mon, Nov 26, 2001 at 02:57:15PM -0500, Spudboy100@aol.com wrote:
> I knew it! Adios Ayn Rand

While the concept of the mind as a purely logical and symbol based
decision system is being eroded at a fast pace, it doesn't mean that we
are irrational. Rather it shows the *parts* of rational thought, and
suggests how they might affect the whole system in less rational
directions when they do not work right or become unbalanced. By knowing
the limitations of our brains we can figure out ways of getting around
them.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
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