Faith and rationality

In the article, Beyond the rationality of economic man, toward the true rationality of human man, by John Tomer, we once again see the argument of what rationality truly is come to light. In this particular article Tomer stands on the side that mainstream economics and the idea of economic rationality is not a complete rationality. He goes on to explain that true rationality will be a combination of bother instrumental rationality and rationality of ends (Tomer 1704). The combination of the two…

1) A $100 bill is lying on the ground in the middle of campus. No one is close to it and there are few people outside. Is the money taken? - I chose rational choice theory because the money is lying on the ground, and no one is out asking if they have found a specific amount of money. He is making a conscious decision as to whether pick up the money or not. He is not stealing the money from anyone, and no one is questioning him about finding any money. The money is just lying on the ground. No,…

The repressed, irrational characteristics does return in modernity and is characterized by a return that simultaneously serves to benefit instrumental rationality through culture. The subject remains fundamentally passive; there remains nothing for the consumer to classify, since all classification is passed through the culture industry.26 Hit songs, stars, and soap operas recur cyclically and invariably, while even the particular or specific content is generated from these types.27 Implicit in…

Ever wonder why criminals commit the inhuman acts of violence that they do, or why large quantities of people are involved in drug usage despite knowing the negative consequences to themselves? Well sociology is a field where professionals consider why people do things rather than focusing on the who, what and when questions when gathering information. Max Weber was a German theorist in sociologist who also produced works in economic, law, philosophy and history fields. He lived from 1864 to…

Dandan Zhang PHI 3633 Case A Response Paper In the case of the 19-year-old patient X seeks to get a vasectomy, strong paternalism is evident in the urologist’s refusal to perform the surgery. Paternalism is defined as overriding someone’s actions and decision-making for his own benefit (71). In patient X’s case, his autonomy and ability to make his own rational decision were undermined by the urologist, who stated he was too young to make such a decision. The benefits of this paternalistic act,…

What are the key elements of Rational Choice Theory? • Beeson and Firth (1998) ‘Neoliberalism as a political rationality: Australian public policy since the 1980’s’, Journal of Sociology, Vol 34. Pp 215-231 In Beeson and Firth’s article, I gain a further insight into the conception of liberalism and the implementation of rational choice theory, specifically focusing on economic gain and wealth. The authors thoroughly researched the introduction of liberalism in the 1900’s and the resurgence…

Many researchers have developed theories to seek out and explain why individuals continue to commit crime, where as, others completely desist from crime altogether. One of the most prominent and relevant theories to explain criminal behavior is known as the rational choice theory, which was first introduce by Cesare Beccaria in the late eighteenth century. Gabor et al., (1987) claimed that rational choice theory is, “…Found on the assumption that offenders are more or less rational in their…

During the many years of carefully analyzing the theories of crime, questionings have challenged whether or not sociology can illustrate and help understand the causation of crimes. The theories of crime and delinquency are used to explain the principle of the crime committed and provides a supportive argument into the motive and compensation of the individual’s actions. Sociological theories of crime focus’ on a macro level around three of its leading theories: strain theory, social learning…

It is often said that faith, or religion, and reason are complementary sources of knowledge. However, this warrants critical appraisal, and I refute this claim using two premises. For the purpose of this argument, it must be made clear that it is faith that makes religion unreasonable. I propose that, reason and religion are fundamentally in conflict. Secondly, that because of this fundamental difference, it is unreasonable to believe something that is based on faith alone. Therefore, religious…

different types; simple fideism is most often believed among the common people because they believe that faith is enough, and sophisticated fideism is when critical thinkers contact other philosophers and theologists and try to persuade them that faith takes precedence over philosophy and reason. No matter the stance that is taken, this position has many…