Rationality: Constraints and Contexts

Rationality: Contexts and Constraints is an interdisciplinary reappraisal of the nature of rationality. In method, it is pluralistic, drawing upon the analytic approaches of philosophy, linguistics, neuroscience, and more. These methods guide exploration of the intersection between traditional scholarship and cutting-edge philosophical or scientific research. In this way, the book contributes to development of a suitably revised, comprehensive understanding of rationality, one that befits the 21st century, one that is adequately informed by recent investigations of science, pathology, non-human thought, emotion, and even enigmatic Chinese texts that might previously have seemed to be expressions of irrationalism.

Addresses recent challenges and Identifies a direction for future research on rationalityInvestigates the relationship between rationality and mental disorders, such as delusion and depressionAssesses reasoning in artificial intelligence and nonhuman animalsReflects on ancient Chinese Philosophy and possible cultural differences in human psychology Employs philosophical reflection, along with linguistic, probabilistic, and logical techniques

Part I: Introduction 1. Rationality and its Contexts Timothy Joseph Lane

Part II: Science 2. Bayesian Psychology and Human Rationality Shaun Nichols & Richard Samuels 3. Scientific Rationality: Phlogiston as a Case Study Jonathon Hricko 4. Cross-cultural Differences in Thinking: Some Thoughts on Psychological Paradigms Ngar Yin Louis Lee

Part III: Pathology 5. Delusion and the Norms of Rationality Tim Bayne 6. Outline of a Theory of Delusion: Irrationality and Pathological Belief Ian Gold 7. Is Depressive Rumination Rational? Timothy Joseph Lane & Georg Northoff

Part IV: Irrationality 8. Reason and Unreason in Chinese Philosophy Yiu-ming Fung 9. Irrationally Intelligible or Rationally Unintelligible? Wai Chun Leong 10. Does Classical Chinese Philosophy Reveal Alternative Rationalities? Ting-mien Lee

Part V: Non-Human  11. Bridging the Logic-Based and Probability-Based Approaches to Artificial Intelligence Hanti Lin 12. Rationality and Escherichia coli Tzu-Wei Hung

Part VI: Communication and Emotion 13. Rational Belief and Evidence-Based Update Eric McCready 14. Reason and Emotion in Xunzi’s Moral Psychology Ellie Hua Wang