Poll: Does Reason Reign Supreme?
3 comments
No. If it did, we would not have vague polls that are so devoid of context.
Why would the question need context? It is not asking of a specific instance, as in, was it reasonable that such a thing happened at such a time, but generally.
That is, do you think that reason reigns supreme from your practical experience of life.
That is, do you think that reason reigns supreme from your practical experience of life.
I think most people (myself included) feel that context here is important and deeply philosophical. If Reason indeed reigns supreme, who or what are Its subjects? Is it Love, Emotions, Experience, the Senses, etc.? But then what would reigning supreme mean? That Reason is (say) more aesthetically compelling than Love? But what would that mean? You get the idea... this kind of question is intrinsically rather vague, though not necessarily worthless (at least to me). It's a topic more amenable to long essays and treatises than to polls. (Still, see http://philpapers.org/surveys/results.pl .)
If your intention was, however, to restrict your question to mere humans, it should have read something like, "Are human beings eminently rational?" But I doubt that was your intention.
If your intention was, however, to restrict your question to mere humans, it should have read something like, "Are human beings eminently rational?" But I doubt that was your intention.