Human rationality is a myth

Let's start with by stating: The human is not a rational being.

Someone will argue otherwise. I will concede that human can be rational momentarily, but only in small fleeting moments. Where the myth of rationality then comes from is anybody's guess, I don't know of any exhaustive answer.

If we are to play a guessing game, the first thing I would guess is that the myth comes from human`s self-consciousness. We are aware of our own existence, and partly of the movements and decisions we make. Self-awareness alone is possibly the reason for our perception of our own rationality or prudence in making decisions.

I'm sure there are other theories, but I'll leave my guesses to one. My next question is: Is there any harm in the myth? Firstly, let us say that human beings have countless erroneous and false ideas about everything in the world.

Sometimes these are harmful, often only a little. It is not possible to know everything or to be up to date all the time, there are so many things in the world that it is impossible for a human or any creature to be aware of everything all the time.

Rationality, then, means conscious thought and deliberation. However, conscious thinking is not something we do all the time, not even most of the time. Mere awareness of one's own actions does not constitute rational thought. Rationality requires controlled decision-making, weighing and calculating alternatives, and weighing up their pros and cons.

Rationality is useful in making important decisions, at least to some extent avoiding hasty choices, and guiding decisions towards one's own preferences. But human rationality is not perfect, of course; too much faith in one's own rationality can show off in the form of arrogance.

Awareness of one's own shortcomings in thinking and ability to make considered decisions can save one from much harm. Awareness of one's shortcomings helps one to be cautious and not to trust oneself too much, although self-confidence is important; without self-confidence, no one would dare to make any decision.

Rationality is opposed by the human subconscious, which makes about 99% of all decisions that we do not think twice about. It is also perfectly possible to make so-called bad or weak decisions using rationality or deliberation. Thinking and weighing up do not guarantee a good outcome, if you have bad initial data, it is difficult to turn them into quality data by thinking.

Our thinking is guided by many things of which we are unaware, or at least poorly aware. Rational thinking is also stressful because the brain has to struggle and strain during it. It can be said that rational thinking is not the brain's primary way of making decisions, and it is not, the reason is clear: to save energy.

Moreover, rationality is laborious and time-consuming, and rational thinking does not necessarily lead to a better outcome than unconscious thinking.

Rational thinking tries to push through our subconscious, occasionally succeeding. Sometimes it is difficult to notice or distinguish when we are in the rational zone and when we are not. The reason is pretty obvious; the rational part of our brain works seamlessly with our subconscious.

The conscious part of the brain and the subconscious are like two molecules that cannot be separated into their own molecules without breaking their existence. Humans have been endowed by evolution with the capacity for reasoning, but we use it less than we think, and the result of reasoning is often not as rosy as we thought it would be.

Are we fooling ourselves with rational thinking? Perhaps. In the sense that we may judge it to solve all the world's problems and bring wisdom. But this is not the case, because most of the time we fall into various traps of thinking, such as cognitive biases and beliefs.

The good thing about rational thinking is that we can stop at something and improve the odds in our favour. So rational thinking can at best increase the probability of getting what we want, however there is no guarantee.

Let me ask you one more question: Does rational thinking make life better? Yes and no. The answer depends on your point of view. If you look at it from a survival point of view, it is straightforward to say that it is of little importance because we already rely heavily on instinct and automatic decisions.

On the other hand, logical thinking can invent technology to facilitate existence, and in the case of humans, the role of technology is particularly pronounced the further we get from the human gestalt. Why is this? Today's humans have little ability to survive in the wild without aids; it is possible, of course, but far less safe than with modern technology.

Let it be said that not every invention is based on rational or logical thinking; in fact, many inventions have been made by accident. Moreover, rational thinking can lead to something quite different from what was intended, because the human capacity to perceive and process information is limited, and misinterpretations are common.

It can be said that rational thinking is useful in the short term and on a small scale, as things get more complex we are no longer able to perceive everything and predict the consequences.

To sum up, rational thinking provides the necessary quality for modern human to develop the technology he needs to protect and feed himself. On the other hand, rational thinking is present only momentarily and does not really guide our lives, nor is it essential for human survival.