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Single Idea 4629

[filed under theme 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 5. Rationality / a. Rationality ]

Full Idea

Consistency is the cornerstone of rationality.

Gist of Idea

Consistency is the cornerstone of rationality

Source

J Baggini / PS Fosl (The Philosopher's Toolkit [2003], §1.06)

Book Ref

Baggini,J and Fosl,P.S.: 'The Philosopher's Toolkit' [Blackwells 2003], p.17


A Reaction

This is right, and is a cornerstone of Kant's approach to ethics. Rational beings must follow principles - in order to be consistent in their behaviour. 'Consistent' now requires a definition….


The 18 ideas from J Baggini / PS Fosl

Basic beliefs are self-evident, or sensual, or intuitive, or revealed, or guaranteed [Baggini /Fosl]
The problem of induction is how to justify our belief in the uniformity of nature [Baggini /Fosl]
How can an argument be good induction, but poor deduction? [Baggini /Fosl]
Consistency is the cornerstone of rationality [Baggini /Fosl]
'Natural' systems of deduction are based on normal rational practice, rather than on axioms [Baggini /Fosl]
In ideal circumstances, an axiom should be such that no rational agent could possibly object to its use [Baggini /Fosl]
You cannot rationally deny the principle of non-contradiction, because all reasoning requires it [Baggini /Fosl]
Abduction aims at simplicity, testability, coherence and comprehensiveness [Baggini /Fosl]
Dialectic aims at unified truth, unlike analysis, which divides into parts [Baggini /Fosl]
To see if an explanation is the best, it is necessary to investigate the alternative explanations [Baggini /Fosl]
The principle of bivalence distorts reality, as when claiming that a person is or is not 'thin' [Baggini /Fosl]
Leibniz's Law is about the properties of objects; the Identity of Indiscernibles is about perception of objects [Baggini /Fosl]
If identity is based on 'true of X' instead of 'property of X' we get the Masked Man fallacy ('I know X but not Y') [Baggini /Fosl, by PG]
The Principle of Sufficient Reason does not presuppose that all explanations will be causal explanations [Baggini /Fosl]
A proposition such as 'some swans are purple' cannot be falsified, only verified [Baggini /Fosl]
Is 'events have causes' analytic a priori, synthetic a posteriori, or synthetic a priori? [Baggini /Fosl]
'A priori' does not concern how you learn a proposition, but how you show whether it is true or false [Baggini /Fosl]
'I have the same car as you' is fine; 'I have the same fiancée as you' is not so good [Baggini /Fosl]