User:SingularityUtopia

Rationality, Reality and Subjectivity.

What is human rationality?

LessWrong defines rationality from the Epistemic viewpoint as: "The art of obtaining beliefs that correspond to reality as closely as possible."

The next question is this: What is reality?

Reality is processed within the brain of each individual. Reality (for individuals) does not exist if there are no individuals to make it real. If there were no humans alive then reality would not exist. Reality is a human invention; it is a word utterly dependent upon the existence of humans for it to be real. We can speculate about the reality of animals but because animals cannot understand the concept of "reality in humans terms" then we cannot be sure "reality" exists for animals. Reality is therefore a subjective experience.

Rationality is therefore about obtaining beliefs corresponding as closely as possible to the subjective experience of the individual.

Views corresponding to reality are defined as truth (accuracy). Humans possess emotions. The human possession of emotions is an important truth from my viewpoint. Emotions are integral for high-level-cognition. Emotions motivate intellectual (analytical) endeavours. Pain, pleasure, happiness, sorrow, despair are powerful motivating factors. Without such emotional motivations cognition would lobotomized. What therefore is the truth or accuracy of emotions (reality)? In our modern-repressive-world there is a tendency to shun emotion. Objectivity is the great falsehood of modern thinking because objectivity is impossible. Objectivity is a delusion akin to believing you can pull yourself up by your own boot-strings. Reality-fascism (emotion-fascism) demeans the value of subjectivity.

The Instrumental viewpoint is a truer representation of reality because it adheres to subjectivity. LessWrong describes it as: achieving your values. Not necessarily "your values" in the sense of being selfish values or unshared values: "your values" means anything you care about. The art of choosing actions that steer the future toward outcomes ranked higher in your preferences. On LW we sometimes refer to this as "winning".