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Single Idea 3969

[filed under theme 2. Reason / A. Nature of Reason / 5. Objectivity ]

Full Idea

It makes no sense to speak of comparing or agreeing on ultimate standards of rationality, since it is our own standards in each case to which we must turn in interpreting others. This is not a failure of objectivity, but where 'questions come to an end'.

Gist of Idea

There are no ultimate standards of rationality, since we only assess others by our own standard

Source

Donald Davidson (Davidson on himself [1994], p.232)

Book Ref

'A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind', ed/tr. Guttenplan,Samuel [Blackwell 1995], p.232

A Reaction

This seems wrong, given the commitment to truth and charity in interpretation. He could have said the same about perception, but I doubt if he would.

The 15 ideas from 'Davidson on himself'

3965 Mental entities do not add to the physical furniture of the world [Davidson]
3960 There are no such things as minds, but people have mental properties [Davidson]
3964 If the mind is an anomaly, this makes reduction of the mental to the physical impossible [Davidson]
3961 Obviously all mental events are causally related to physical events [Davidson]
3963 There are no strict psychophysical laws connecting mental and physical events [Davidson]
3966 The correct conclusion is ontological monism combined with conceptual dualism [Davidson]
3962 Cause and effect relations between events must follow strict laws [Davidson]
3969 There are no ultimate standards of rationality, since we only assess others by our own standard [Davidson]
3968 Propositions explain nothing without an explanation of how sentences manage to name them [Davidson]
3967 Absence of all rationality would be absence of thought [Davidson]
3970 Thought is only fully developed if we communicate with others [Davidson]
3971 There is simply no alternative to the 'principle of charity' in interpreting what others do [Davidson]
3972 Truth and objectivity depend on a community of speakers to interpret what they mean [Davidson]
3973 Without a teacher, the concept of 'getting things right or wrong' is meaningless [Davidson]
3974 Our meanings are partly fixed by events of which we may be ignorant [Davidson]