RE: Is sanity rational?
October 4, 2014 at 4:14 pm
(This post was last modified: October 4, 2014 at 4:26 pm by genkaus.)
(October 3, 2014 at 6:04 pm)Exian Wrote:(October 3, 2014 at 6:02 pm)genkaus Wrote: Regard for someone else's well-being is not a criteria for sanity,
Go on...
That was supposed to be a period, but OK. The basic principle behind sanity is determining the normal functioning of brain. If your brain function within a set of parameters and at a basic level, then you are judged sane. That function doesn't need to be perfect - which is why a few deviations from understanding of reality - like religion - are acceptable.
"Altruism" isn't a necessary characteristic of normal function. While being altruistic doesn't normally deviate much from normal function, not being altruistic doesn't detract from it either. Therefore, it is a non-issue where sanity is concerned.
(October 3, 2014 at 7:31 pm)bennyboy Wrote: Okay, so what's the congruity between "I am extremely important, and must be protected, respected and valued" and "The universe consists of trillions of stars and billions of galaxies. One of the stars has a little watery rock orbiting it, and on this rock are trillions of living things, of which I am one."
Is feeling that one is important sane?
The concept of importance is both relative and relational - that is, it encompasses both "compared to what" and "to whom". So, the feeling of self-importance could be described as "I am extremely important (to myself, my family or my community as compared to others) and must be protected, respected and valued". And the importance here is not diminished by "The universe consists of trillions of stars and billions of galaxies. One of the stars has a little watery rock orbiting it, and on this rock are trillions of living things, of which I am one."
(October 3, 2014 at 11:47 pm)Deidre32 Wrote:(October 3, 2014 at 6:02 pm)genkaus Wrote: Regard for someone else's well-being is not a criteria for sanity,
why?
Because the absence of such a regard doesn't detract from normal functioning of the brain.
(October 4, 2014 at 1:57 am)bennyboy Wrote: Certainly it's sane. But is it rational? Can arbitrary value judgments ever really be rational?
If those "arbitrary value judgments" become a matter of fact, then yes, it is rational.
For example, suppose you consider the desire to live to be arbitrary (whether or not it is arbitrary, we'll leave for later). Given its near-universal status, it becomes a matter of fact that most people want to live. Now, if I have a vaccine-formula to eliminate most diseases known only to me, then that would make me extremely important.
