Logic and Rationality

[whYNOT]

Objectively speaking - of course :

There is, self-evidently, interfluence between logic and rationality.

Can they ever be interchangeable?

Is logic simply a means toward achieving rationality? (As I believe.)

What did Ayn Rand write about this?

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this.

[Rudmer]

Objectively speaking - of course :

There is, self-evidently, interfluence between logic and rationality.

Can they ever be interchangeable?

Is logic simply a means toward achieving rationality? (As I believe.)

What did Ayn Rand write about this?

I'd appreciate any thoughts on this.

As a computer science student, I am inclined to think of logic in very formal terms -- meaning as a system for evaluating the validity of formal arguments. "Does the conclusion necessarily follow from the premises?" is pretty much the only thing that logic is geared towards. I've heard it said that logic is a tool for ensuring correct conclusions when given true premises.

However, logic in that strictest sense does you no good when one or more of your premises are false ("garbage in, garbage out," as we CS people like to say). Also, it does not help when you have incomplete information -- which is almost always in everyday life. Which is where I think rationality comes in. Rationality, unlike logic, seems to have a goal in mind when arriving at conclusions. Whereas one would use strictly logic to determine the validity of a statement like "All A's are B's, and some B's are C's, therefore some A's are necessarily C's" (invalid, by the way), reason/rationality would be used for something more along the lines of "My goal is X, my information is {A, B, C}, I am Y percent confident in the truthfulness of my information, therefore the best thing for me to do is Z."

Logic is definitely a component of rationality, but I don't think they are interchangeable. However, it should be noted that most people don't have a very strict definition of logic and rationality, and so they often conflate the two.

Edited June 10, 2010 by Rudmer

[DavidOdden]

This is logic and this is rationality, for which you will want to understand reason.

[whYNOT]

Rudmer, thanks.

How about this: would you say that logic is the method, and rationality is the resultant system? (Simply)

You are right that the two are conflated by most of the populace, but we Objectivists ought to differentiate far clearer, and I notice often don't.

Which is why I brought up the discussion - as well to clear up some foggy patches in my understanding.

The Lexicon links that David Odden posted are a good starting place.