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Practical Reason
In philosophy, practical reason is the use of reason to decide how to act. It contrasts with theoretical reason, often called speculative reason, the use of reason to decide what to follow. For example, agents use practical reason to decide whether to build a telescope, but theoretical reason to decide which of two theories of light and optics is the best. Overview Practical reason is understood by most philosophers as determining a plan of action. Thomistic ethics defines the first principle of practical reason as "good is to be done and pursued, and evil is to be avoided." For Kant, practical reason has a law-abiding quality because the categorical imperative is understood to be binding one to one's duty rather than subjective preferences. Utilitarians tend to see reason as an instrument for the satisfactions of wants and needs. In classical philosophical terms, it is very important to distinguish three domains of human activity: theoretical reason, which investigates the truth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some sources claim the term was coined by Pythagoras ( BCE), although this theory is disputed by some. Philosophical methods include questioning, critical discussion, rational argument, and systematic presentation. in . Historically, ''philosophy'' encompassed all bodies of knowledge and a practitioner was known as a ''philosopher''."The English word "philosophy" is first attested to , meaning "knowledge, body of knowledge." "natural philosophy," which began as a discipline in ancient India and Ancient Greece, encompasses astronomy, medicine, and physics. For example, Newton's 1687 ''Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy'' later became classified as a book of physics. In the 19th century, the growth of modern research universiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. Most are nonprofit organizations and an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by schola ... in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Press is a department of the University of Cambridge and is both an academic and educational publisher. It became part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, following a merger with Cambridge Assessment in 2021. With a global sales presence, publishing hubs, and offices in more than 40 Country, countries, it publishes over 50,000 titles by authors from over 100 countries. Its publishing includes more than 380 academic journals, monographs, reference works, school and uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tacit Knowledge
Tacit knowledge or implicit knowledge—as opposed to formal, codified or explicit knowledge—is knowledge that is difficult to express or extract, and thus more difficult to transfer to others by means of writing it down or verbalizing it. This can include personal wisdom, experience, insight, and intuition. For example, knowing that London is in the United Kingdom is a piece of ''explicit'' knowledge; it can be written down, transmitted, and understood by a recipient. In contrast, the ability to speak a language, ride a bicycle, knead dough, play a musical instrument, or design and use complex equipment requires all sorts of knowledge which is not always known ''explicitly'', even by expert practitioners, and which is difficult or impossible to explicitly transfer to other people. Overview Origin The term tacit knowing is attributed to Michael Polanyi's ''Personal Knowledge'' (1958). In his later work, ''The Tacit Dimension'' (1966), Polanyi made the assertion that "we can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhetorical Reason
Rhetorical reason is the faculty of discovering the crux of the matter. It is a characteristic of rhetorical invention ('' inventio'') and it precedes argumentation. Aristotle's definition Aristotle's definition of rhetoric, "the faculty of observing, in any given case, the available means of persuasion", presupposes a distinction between an art (τέχνη, ''techne'') of speech–making and a cognitively prior faculty of discovery. That is so because, before one argues a case, one must discover what is at issue. How, for example, does one discover available means of persuasion? One does not simply frolic through fertile fields of τόποι (''topoi''), randomly gathering materials with which to build lines of argument. There is a method endemic to rhetoric which guides the search for those lines of argument that speak most directly to the issue at stake. George A. Kennedy explains the distinction when he writes that the work of rhetoric, in Aristotle's view, is '' Inventio'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rationality And Power
''Rationality and Power: Democracy in Practice'' is a 1998 book by Bent Flyvbjerg, published by the University of Chicago Press. The book focuses on "the application of critical theory to urban and community development". Flyvbjerg here deploys the methodology for doing social science, which he developed in ''Making Social Science Matter'' (2001). Upon publication, the ''International Journal of Urban and Regional Research'' called ''Rationality and Power'', "a notable addition to the literature," the reviewer adding, "I cannot think of a better account of how power relations are embodied in local governance." Synopsis Flyvbjerg focuses on the study of how Power (sociology), power influences rationality and democracy. Theoretically and methodologically, he stands on the shoulders of thinkers like Thucydides, Machiavelli, Nietzsche, and Max Weber. He specifically highlights Machiavelli's power studies in Florence as a source of influence for the choice of in-depth case studies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rationality
Rationality is the quality of being guided by or based on reasons. In this regard, a person acts rationally if they have a good reason for what they do or a belief is rational if it is based on strong evidence. This quality can apply to an ability, as in rational animal, to a psychological process, like reasoning, to mental states, such as beliefs and intentions, or to persons who possess these other forms of rationality. A thing that lacks rationality is either ''arational'', if it is outside the domain of rational evaluation, or ''irrational'', if it belongs to this domain but does not fulfill its standards. There are many discussions about the essential features shared by all forms of rationality. According to reason-responsiveness accounts, to be rational is to be responsive to reasons. For example, dark clouds are a reason for taking an umbrella, which is why it is rational for an agent to do so in response. An important rival to this approach are coherence-based accoun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pure Practical Reason
Pure practical reason (german: reine praktische Vernunft) is the opposite of impure (or sensibly-determined) practical reason and appears in Immanuel Kant's ''Critique of Practical Reason'' and ''Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals''. It is the reason that drives actions without any sense dependent incentives. Human reasoning chooses such actions simply because those actions are good in themselves; this is the nature of good will, which Kant argues is the only concept that is good without any justification, it is good in itself and is a derivative of a transcendental law which affects the way humans practically reason (see practical philosophy The modern division of philosophy into theoretical philosophy and practical philosophyImmanuel Kant, ''Lectures on Ethics'', Cambridge University Press, 2001, p. 41 ("On Universal Practical Philosophy"). Original text: Immanuel Kant, ''Kant’s Gesa ...). References * Immanuel Kant, ''Kritik der praktischen Vernunft'', Stuttgart 1961, "Vor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phronesis
''Phronesis'' ( grc, φρόνησῐς, phrónēsis), translated into English by terms such as prudence, practical virtue and practical wisdom, or, colloquially, sense (as in "good sense", "horse sense") is an ancient Greek word for a type of wisdom or intelligence relevant to practical action. It implies both good judgment and excellence of character and habits, and was a common topic of discussion in ancient Greek philosophy, in ways that are still influential today. In Aristotelian ethics, for example in the ''Nicomachean Ethics'', the concept is distinguished from other words for wisdom and intellectual virtues – such as ''episteme'' and ''techne'' – because of its practical character. The traditional Latin translation was , the source of the English word "prudence". Among other proposals, Thomas McEvilley has proposed that the best translation is "mindfulness". Ancient Greek philosophy Plato In some of Plato's dialogues, Socrates proposes that ''phronēsis'' is a nec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philosophy Of Action
Action theory (or theory of action) is an area in philosophy concerned with theories about the processes causing willful human bodily movements of a more or less complex kind. This area of thought involves epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, jurisprudence, and philosophy of mind, and has attracted the strong interest of philosophers ever since Aristotle's ''Nicomachean Ethics'' (Third Book). With the advent of psychology and later neuroscience, many theories of action are now subject to empirical testing. Philosophical action theory, or the philosophy of action, should not be confused with sociological theories of social action, such as the action theory established by Talcott Parsons. Nor should it be confused with activity theory. Overview Basic action theory typically describes action as intentional behavior caused by an ''agent'' in a particular ''situation''. The agent's ''desires'' and ''beliefs'' (e.g. my wanting a glass of water and believing that the clear liqui ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Decisional Balance
A decisional balance sheet or decision balance sheet is a tabular method for representing the pros and cons of different choices and for helping someone decide what to do in a certain circumstance. It is often used in working with ambivalence in people who are engaged in behaviours that are harmful to their health (for example, problematic substance use or excessive eating), as part of psychological approaches such as those based on the transtheoretical model of change,; ; and in certain circumstances in motivational interviewing. Use and history The decisional balance sheet records the advantages and disadvantages of different options. It can be used both for individual and organisational decisions. The balance sheet recognises that both gains and losses can be consequences of a single decision. It might, for example, be introduced in a session with someone who is experiencing problems with their alcohol consumption with a question such as: "Could you tell me what you get out of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Critique Of Practical Reason
The ''Critique of Practical Reason'' (german: Kritik der praktischen Vernunft) is the second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques, published in 1788. It follows on from Kant's first critique, the '' Critique of Pure Reason'' and deals with his moral philosophy. While Kant had already published one significant work in moral philosophy, the ''Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals'' (1785), the ''Critique of Practical Reason'' was intended to both cover a wider scope and place his ethical views within the larger framework of his system of critical philosophy. The second ''Critique'' exercised a decisive influence over the subsequent development of the field of ethics and moral philosophy, beginning with Johann Gottlieb Fichte's '' Doctrine of Science'' and becoming, during the 20th century, the principal reference point for deontological moral philosophy. Preface and introduction Kant sketches out here what is to follow. Most of these two chapters focus on comparing the situation o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Action Theory (philosophy)
Action theory (or theory of action) is an area in philosophy concerned with theories about the processes causing willful human bodily movements of a more or less complex kind. This area of thought involves epistemology, ethics, metaphysics, jurisprudence, and philosophy of mind, and has attracted the strong interest of philosophers ever since Aristotle's '' Nicomachean Ethics'' (Third Book). With the advent of psychology and later neuroscience, many theories of action are now subject to empirical testing. Philosophical action theory, or the philosophy of action, should not be confused with sociological theories of social action, such as the action theory established by Talcott Parsons. Nor should it be confused with activity theory. Overview Basic action theory typically describes action as intentional behavior caused by an ''agent'' in a particular ''situation''. The agent's ''desires'' and ''beliefs'' (e.g. my wanting a glass of water and believing that the clear liq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
