Full Idea
Mackie (1983) dismisses the Principle of Sufficient Reason quickly, arguing that it is self-refuting: there is no sufficient reason to accept it. However, a principle is not invalidated by not applying to itself; it can be a powerful heuristic tool.
Gist of Idea
Is Sufficient Reason self-refuting (no reason to accept it!), or is it a legitimate explanatory tool?
Source
Craig Bourne (A Future for Presentism [2006], 6.VI)
Book Reference
Bourne,Craig: 'A Future for Presentism' [OUP 2006], p.180
A Reaction
If God was entirely rational, and created everything, that would be a sufficient reason to accept the principle. You would never, though, get to the reason why God was entirely rational. Something will always elude the principle.