What is rational thinking and how to develop it in yourself

The concept of rationality

Before we talk about rational thinking, let's first find out what rationality means in general. The word “rationality” comes from the Latin term ratio, which translates as “reason.”

It is generally accepted that a person endowed with this quality has intelligence, prudence, logic, and practicality. He solves problems effectively and meaningfully, without giving in to emotions and feelings. A rational person can explain any situation from a logical point of view. He is only confident in what he can test and prove in practice.

Based on this knowledge, let's try to define rational thinking.

Rational thinking is a constructive thought process that is built on logical conclusions and is aimed at making decisions and achieving goals.

In simple words, we can say that this is a form of thinking based on logic. It is not subject to emotions. He is guided only by reason.

As a rule, this type of thought process is more typical for men. Although in the modern world there are many women who hold responsible positions, run their own businesses and often have excellent rational thinking.

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But if men rarely deviate from this type of thinking, then women can turn to their other sides: intuition, daydreaming. It is worth noting that it is this ability of the female mind that sometimes shows effectiveness in solving certain issues, since not everything can be solved with logic alone.

The structure of logical intellectual activity, as well as thinking in general, consists of such forms of rational knowledge as:

1. Concept.
2. Judgment.
3. Conclusion.

I explain these and other terms in detail in the article on types of thinking.

What do rationalists think they are?

Often these are people whose activities are directly related to the thought process. The characteristics of a rational person are an open mind, an inquisitive mind, a willingness to learn new things, and a passionate desire to gain knowledge. They are skeptical about the truisms imposed by society and question any fact that has not been proven, for example, by a mathematical theorem, that is, in a way that can be repeated.

Often rationalism awakens in perfectionists, since both of them are not satisfied with a certain object, or rather its nature, in the existing picture of the world. In an attempt to restore their balance, they strive at any cost to characterize the object, which sometimes causes misunderstanding among more creative people who perceive the environment as it is, without asking questions.

Principles of rational thinking

Can you call yourself a rational person? Below I will give signs that will help you draw conclusions about your thinking.

So, thinking rationally is:

1. Think about the future more than the past. Rational thinkers care about progress and focus on their goals and objectives, rather than on events of long ago.
2. Note the pros and cons before making decisions. When you think about the consequences, you have to feel less worried.
3. Always ask the reasons first. A rational person will not just do things. He will first ask himself why he needs it.
4. Don't let your emotions take over your reason. Emotions can cloud your view of obvious things. When making important decisions, a rationalist will be guided by a sober assessment.
5. Make plans and follow them step by step. Every task, even the simplest one, requires a clear action plan. A rational person carefully outlines the chain of achieving his goals, defines methods, and sets deadlines. With this approach, solving problems and making progress becomes easier.
6. Be able to quickly find and learn new things. Rationality allows you to easily master any skill, just by devoting enough time, concentration and carefully understanding all the details. Such a person knows what methods can be used to obtain this or that information. He is not too lazy to delve into reference books and ask opinions from more experienced people.
7. Keep a diary. This helps you stay organized and prevents you from forgetting about things.
8. Adequately perceive and take into account other people's comments. There is no need to blindly trust the opinions of others. But in any opinion or criticism you can hear a healthy grain and use it for the benefit of your own goals.

4) It's about when and what you do

The hours in the day have never been equal. What did Timeful Dan find out about your most productive times? You have 2-2.5 hours of maximum activity per day, starting a couple of hours after waking up.

Dan:

...it turns out that most people are productive in the first two hours of the morning. Not immediately after getting out of bed, but for example, if you get up at 7, you will be most productive somewhere from 8:00 to 10:30.

During these two hours, you should work on the most difficult tasks to comprehend.
Big projects. Tasks that really move things forward. But what does Dan find out that most people do during this period of time?

Email and Facebook.

You need to save this period for important matters. Designate this part of your day as “untouchable time.” Dan's findings are consistent with another study, which also found that 2.5 to 4 hours after waking up is the time when your brain is at its smartest.

Research shows that concentration, memory, ability to think clearly and learn can vary between 15 and 30% throughout the day. Most of us are at our best within the first two and a half hours after waking up.

During our interview, willpower expert Roy Baumeister noted that early morning is also the time when you are most disciplined.

The later people wake up, the more problems with self-control arise. Many troubles happen in the evening. Diets are broken precisely during dinner, and not at breakfast or in the middle of the morning. Impulsive crimes occur after midnight.

When studying geniuses, it turned out that most of them created their best work in the first half of the day.

So, you must shape your environment and protect your peak activity hours. What should you avoid?

Historical example

In an everyday sense, rational thinking means the need to turn on a cool head, move away from emotional experiences and analyze what is happening calmly, looking at everything as if from the outside. This can be difficult to do. Especially in critical situations, when feelings go off scale and the brain refuses to think sensibly.

This problem has been recognized since ancient times. Let us recall, for example, Stoicism, an ancient philosophy that arose in Athens. Many people associate the word “stoic” with steadfastness and rock-like solidity. This teaching perfectly describes the saying from the book of thoughts of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca: “A Stoic is one who stands, even if everything around him collapses, and one who fulfills his duty to the end.”

But this quality of a Stoic is not some unique feature of personality or character. The ability not to lose your mind in the most difficult life situations can be cultivated and developed in yourself. I will give one more reflection of the great Roman emperor.

Independence and calmness before the game of chance. So that for a moment you don’t look at anything except your mind, and always be the same: in acute pain, or having lost a child, or in a long illness.

Marcus Aurelius.

The game of chance in this context is a philosophical attitude towards life. After all, everything that happens around us is nothing more than a chain of events, fate. And if we can’t control something, then why worry? If we can take control of ourselves and our attitude towards what is happening, wouldn’t the best solution be to maintain rational thinking and not give in to excessive emotions?

Of the many philosophical teachings, it is Stoicism that is closest to real everyday life. It helps you learn to make informed decisions even in difficult situations, which is the basis for rational thinking.

Principles of rationalism

The movement is largely formed thanks to certain cornerstones laid by its researchers and founders. In the case of rationalism, such a foundation is its principles:

• Knowledge is obtained by reason. Any information or skill must be comprehended by the human mind. In fact, knowledge is a product of the study of a particular object by the thought of an individual. It's priceless. It is knowledge that is the main value of supporters of rationalism.
• The world is material. Rationalists believe that the entire world around us is material and suitable for knowledge. Objects distant from humanity are only things hidden from thought, but they can be recognized by using new knowledge. Thus the cycle of knowledge is closed. Therefore, some people call rationalism an endless race for knowledge for the sake of information itself, and not for a higher goal.
• Science comes first. Everything in this world can be identified and studied using scientific instruments. Rationalists put science as the only possible way to understand ourselves and the world.
• The “spiritual” does not exist without the material. In this case, spirituality means, for example, a sense of beauty or good taste. They are a product of human mental perception, which, in turn, is based on the thought process, the mind, which is material in nature.
• Morality is a product of the material, since it is designed to prohibit and prevent damage to an object capable of generating thought.

Rational people are often disciplined and rely heavily on their reason. You should not expect support from them in spiritualism or occultism; a supporter of this movement simply will not understand the speaker. However, as mentioned earlier, rationalists are open to new knowledge.

Thinking Errors

Before we get to the mistakes, as a preface, I would like to mention the fan fiction “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality”. Fanfiction is amateur writing based on famous literary works. Since 2010 and for 5 years, American artificial intelligence specialist Eliezer Yudkowsky published fan fiction based on the Harry Potter series of novels on his blog.

But what does the book wizard and the topic of our article today have to do with it? Of interest to us is how the hero of Potter's alternate reality work identifies errors in thinking using his truly canonical rational thought process.

So, now about the errors. Let's find out what factors prevent us from thinking logically:

1. Attribution error. This is when a person explains the actions and behavior of other people by their personal characteristics (character), and their personal actions by external circumstances. If we behave badly, we see the reason in fatigue, the chain of unpleasant events that preceded it, etc. Why don’t we make such concessions to other people? The thing is that we do not see what events provoked this or that behavior of another person, and it is much easier for our brain to label and act according to a stereotype. The brain always chooses the thought that requires the least amount of energy.
2. Planning error. It says that a person most often underestimates the time it will take to solve a problem. For example, when you are asked how long a project will be ready, you are more likely to give less time than it actually takes. There are several reasons. First, a person tends to focus on the positive scenario rather than thinking about potential obstacles. Secondly, he is prone to wishful thinking. And third, people may forget about the time they have already spent on a task in the past.
3. Egocentric distortion. It is expressed in the fact that a person overestimates his point of view when looking at the events of his life or trying to put himself in the place of other people. Let me explain with an example. You did something that embarrassed you and you think that those around you will remember it for many years to come. In fact, only you will think about it, suffering and feeling shame, and other people only care about themselves, because everyone is the center of their world for themselves.
4. Bystander effect. It occurs during any emergency. Studies have shown that you are more likely to receive outside help in an accident if there is one witness nearby than with three, five, or even a whole crowd. When a person becomes not the only witness, he always hopes that someone else will help the victim. And a single eyewitness understands that only he can take on this role.
5. Self-deception. This is an attempt to get rid of cognitive dissonance, when a person adjusts reality to his vision of the world, i.e., to personal beliefs and ideas. Or, for example, he completely denies what he does not like or does not correspond to his opinion, refusing to test it in practice.

This is a relatively short list. We covered the topic of thinking errors in more detail in our other article.

How it works?

There are a significant number of people who have spent a fair amount of time trying to figure out how to develop such skills. I will name just a few (you may want to add to this list):

Pierre-Simon Laplace, Edwin Jaynes, Daniel Kahnnemann, Daniel Dennett, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Scott Alexander

What useful things did these people manage to find out about “cartography”?

The cards predict the picture that we should see in the territory. In this case, the cards only affect the forecast of the picture, but not the territory. Every time a card's predictions come true, we call it evidence for the card. Every time a prediction doesn't come true, we call it evidence against the card. Probability theory tells us how the balance of evidence for and against should influence our confidence in cards. Decision theory tells us how to choose routes that are close to optimal based on available maps.

That's all? So you need to take these formulas and take over the world today! Well, or at least start building accurate maps and making optimal decisions. This idea explodes into two things:

• The complexity of calculations is unsuitable for practical implementation (or Chaos for short).
• Not the most successful architecture of our main computing tool, which systematically produces the same errors. Evolution “designed” our brain for completely different tasks (but more on that another time).

So it doesn't work like that? It works almost like this. And in the nuances that make it almost, all the work lies. Methods of rational thinking allow us to dispel part of the Chaos in our heads, despite the imperfections of our brain. Which is actually quite good.

It is about such methods and their practical application that I plan to write here. But first we need to dispel a little of the Chaos around rationality itself.

What is irrational thinking

Irrationalism comes from the Latin irrationalis and is translated as “unconscious, unreasonable.” Irrational thinking is the exact opposite of rational thinking.

In the broadest sense of the word, irrationalism means denial or limitation of the role of reason in understanding the world. If rational thinking is based on logic, then its antipode is based on feelings, intuition, emotions, faith, instincts.

To demonstrate examples of irrational thinking, I will give three main categories:

1. Exaggeration. This is when we think something like: “They definitely didn’t like me,” “He noticed that I have low self-esteem,” etc.
2. Overgeneralization. For example: “They didn’t pass this exam, which means I won’t be able to cope,” “Last time I forgot the words of the report, which means it will be the same this time,” etc.
3. Mind reading. For example: “I know what you think about me” or “She thinks I’m rude,” etc.

All these thoughts are not based on any facts. This is purely human perception or, if you like, intuition.

What is rationalism in its classical sense?

There is a question and an answer to it. A problem and its solution, which can be found with the help of reason. There is nothing immaterial or not created for understanding in this world, since the entire Universe is material. This is roughly how rationalism can be described. This is a kind of installation for a follower who evaluates the surrounding space solely as questions and answers. He tries to comprehend what is happening, guided by his mental consciousness.

Also, rationalism is the predominance of the arguments of reason over naked conviction. In fact, this idea is at the origins of philosophy, designed to explain to a reasonable person how the world works. Rationalism often manifested itself in the nature and behavior of great mathematicians and physicists, who are precisely engaged in dividing and systematizing the surrounding space, making it possible to understand and accept it.

How to learn to think rationally

The formation of the foundations of rational thinking in a child is completed around the age of 12. Further, constant targeted training is required.

There are several ways to develop a logical form of thinking:

1. Solve as many intellectual problems and puzzles as possible.
2. Evaluate everything you read from a critical point of view. There are a lot of irrational posts and articles on the Internet with a bunch of blunders and errors. Study what you read carefully. Over time, you will be able to figure out various counter-intuitive things easily and quickly.
3. Practice writing essays. You can choose a literary work or news event as a topic. Express your thoughts in detail, provide facts, justify your conclusions and express your position.
4. Study materials on logic. Both simple university textbooks and more complex works may be suitable.
5. Chat on different topics. It’s good if among your friends or acquaintances there are those who can support any discussion, discuss what they’ve read, understand current world news, etc.
6. If you are faced with any task, write down in detail on paper point by point all the nuances, possible solutions, ideas, snags, notes and everything that comes to mind. This kind of brainstorming will help you study the situation in detail and come up with new solutions.
7. Always find answers to your questions. Did you remember something and became interested in learning about it? Google it and satisfy your curiosity.
8. Before making any decision, ask yourself why you think this way and whether this is really your thought and not imposed by someone else.
9. Write down all your strange or negative thoughts and try to analyze them from a critical point of view.

If you are interested, I recommend reading our article about what analytical thinking is and how to develop it.

Results

Dan's Tips: 1. The world is not in the mood to help you achieve your long-term goals.
Passivity will not lead to the desired result. 2. Be aware of your surroundings, or the environment will begin to control you. Optimize your workspace according to what needs to be done. 3. Write down what needs to be done in a diary. You are more likely to do what is on paper. 4. You have two hours of maximum productivity, usually in the early morning. Take care of this time and use it wisely. 5. Meetings, emails, multitasking and structured procrastination are major time killers. 6. No, you don't need a break to check your email. Changing activities reduces efficiency, as it requires a switch in thinking. The more often you do this, the lower your productivity will be (read about 7 bizarre historical ways to achieve amazing productivity here). You don't have to count every minute. You shouldn't worry about wasted seconds. This is unlikely to improve the situation. None of us are infallible. Here's what Dan says about work-life balance:

I fight for this every day. We are busy with this interview, but today is Saturday. So, no one is perfect. But Dan's advice can help us become more adept at managing our time.

PS We recommend another article on the topic - The formula for failure: how to stop sabotaging yourself.
The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult.

Advantages and disadvantages

Undoubtedly, rational thinking has a number of advantages. In particular:

• allows you to adequately respond to current events and not regret what you did or said in the heat of the moment;
• helps you make informed decisions without unnecessary emotions, which in certain situations simply get in the way;
• allows you to draw conclusions based on real facts, and not on personal speculation and intuition.

However, rationality also has its drawbacks. Mainly it is a low level of feeling. People with a predominant logical type of thinking may have difficulty expressing emotions and feelings, because they perceive the surrounding reality from the position of “not proven - does not exist.”

But with this approach, we must not forget that rationality is not the only way to understand the world. It is no coincidence that we are endowed with a wide range of different feelings and sensations that help solve life issues in which logic may be powerless. All artists, poets, composers have irrational thinking, which helps them create, fantasize, and reproduce images from their heads.

We can say that rational and irrational types of thinking are two sides of the same coin. For a harmonious perception of the world and full success, you need to have skills of both types.

Making decisions without logic or control

Irrational thinking is a choice that is made spontaneously without the use of logical conclusion, analysis or collection of information. Every person accepts similar options in his life. The mistakes from which everyone learns are irrational decisions.

A. Beck, the famous researcher of human psychology, divided thinking into three levels , which explain why in some cases people think irrationally.

1. The author refers to the first level as uncontrolled, superficial and unconscious thoughts by the person himself. This leads to making the wrong decision.
2. The second level is similar to the first, but here we are talking about automatic thoughts. That is, a person makes a decision in an apathetic or unconscious state.
3. An irrational decision is made in conditions of low level of thinking or one's own conviction. Principles can influence the adoption of the optimal option.
4. There are situations when all three levels influence a person’s consciousness, which is why he does not analyze his choice, but does everything automatically.

A. Beck called thoughts that lead to taking the wrong path cognitive errors . For example, situations can lead to such a choice when a person downplays or exaggerates a problem, does not have sufficient information, uses personal principles or emotions, or personalizes the problem. Minor failures that have occurred throughout life can also influence your choice. As a result, good choices simply fall away due to fear of repeat failure.

Books on the topic of rational thinking

If you want to develop rationality and logic, one article on the topic and a few exercises may not be enough. For greater understanding, I recommend a selection of books:

1. David Rock "Brain" Instructions for use. How to use your capabilities to the maximum and without overload” (electronic version on liters, paper version on Labyrinth).
2. Keith Stanovich “Rational Thinking. What aptitude tests don’t measure” (Labyrinth).
3. Eliezer Yudkowsky “Harry Potter and the Methods of Rational Thinking” (you can purchase a paper version of the book to order through the Reglet copy center website or through the official community on VKontakte).
4. Richard Nisbett “Brain Accelerators” (liters).
5. Joseph O'Connor, Ian McDermott “The Art of Systems Thinking. Necessary knowledge about systems and a creative approach to problem solving” (LitRes).
6. Ryuta Kawashima “Japanese system for the development of intelligence and memory” (Labyrinth).
7. Barbara Oakley “Think like a mathematician. How to solve any problems faster and more efficiently” (liters).

You can find even more books about thinking on the blog iklife.ru.

What defines rationalism?

There are several key factors that determine whether an individual belongs to a given idea of ​​​​viewing the world. A rational person is a researcher, he is open to new ideas and considers any knowledge to be a key goal of human development. In his understanding, skills and information cannot be good or bad; they exist to concretize and clarify the world. Those who are constantly thoughtful tend to be rational. From the point of view of this idea, thought determines consciousness and the material environment, and therefore is dominant. A rational person is a person with a huge horizon, who is ready to comprehend new things, regardless of circumstances and his own age.

Contrast with empiricism

Despite the fact that the ideas of rationalism and empiricism cannot be opposed in their primary form, supporters of these two worldview ideas often enter into confrontation regarding the methods of understanding the world. So, for example, rationalists advocate giving an object a qualitative characteristic based only on the thought process, while an empiricist must touch, try, experience it. The opposition of thought to experience is illogical, but it still occurs. Leibniz himself directly notes in his work “Monadology”:

“We are all three-quarters empiricists.”

This indicates that proponents of rationalism are often empiricists and vice versa.

At-risk groups

Rationalization as a way to protect the psyche from unwanted emotions is quite popular. Many people use it. But most often those who really need psychological help. There are 2 categories at risk:

1. Obsessive personalities. They doubt everything. And it doesn’t matter what it is - the person himself, his abilities, the people around him, his work, etc. All the doubts they have over time become obsessive thoughts.
2. Sociopaths. It is difficult for such people to build adequate relationships with society, as well as accept generally accepted rules and norms. They often show aggression and impulsiveness.

Rationalization is dangerous in any case, regardless of whether the person is at risk or not.

Summary

• Rational behavior is a decision-making process based on choices that lead to an optimal level of benefit or utility.
• Rational choice theory is an economic theory that assumes rational behavior on the part of people.
• Rational behavior may not involve maximizing monetary or material gain, since the satisfaction obtained may be purely emotional or non-monetary.

And that’s all for today about rational human behavior in economics. I hope the article was useful to you. Share the article on social networks and instant messengers and bookmark the site. Good luck and see you again on the pages of the Tyulyagin !

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Consequences

Sometimes it seems that rationalization has nothing wrong with it, because, let’s say, it helps to “save face” and get out of any situation with honor. However, everything is much more complicated. This method will not solve the problem. A person only disguises it and tries to protect himself from it. He tries to show that he is better than he really is, and this only complicates the situation.

Plus, with rationalization, labeling, simplification, and the construction of incorrect patterns of behavior occur. Again and again, a person acts according to pre-prepared patterns. As a result, his life becomes boring and gray. It is difficult to surprise an individual with anything. Yes, he doesn’t want this, because he loses interest in reality.