It occurs to me that another good example of a case where it is inappropriate to employ reason is while asleep. We have good grounds for thinking that sleep is necessary for physical health, and that the apparently random, non-linear and non-rational (or even irrational) psychological processing of dreams (whether remembered or not) is indispensable -- perhaps we wouldn't even be capable of reason without it.
None of this suggests that critical thinking is less important as a core educational goal than Siegel says it is, but it helps put it in perspective, and underscores the strength of his definition.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Your example, as technically correct as it may be, doesn't actually prove much, considering it's impossible to employ rationale while sub-conscious.
On the contrary, lucid dreaming is marked precisely by the dreamer's capacity to be consciously aware of, and at times redirect, his or her own dreams.
I had in mind moralistic efforts by any number of people through the centuries to bring the wild, dreaming mind under rational control (rid it of uncontrolled sexual or political content, for example). That they may largely have failed is beside the point, since it is, on my hypothesis, inappropriate for them to try. It remains, as it should, a largely reason-free space for good reason.
Post a Comment