The Ambivalences of Rationality

Ancient and Modern Cross-Cultural Explorations

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Ancient, History
Cover of the book The Ambivalences of Rationality by G. E. R. Lloyd, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: G. E. R. Lloyd ISBN: 9781108349642
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: December 21, 2017
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: G. E. R. Lloyd
ISBN: 9781108349642
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: December 21, 2017
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

Is rationality a well-defined human universal such that ideas and behaviour can everywhere be judged by a single set of criteria? Or are the rational and the irrational simply cultural constructs? This study provides an alternative to both options. The universalist thesis underestimates the variety found in sound human reasonings exemplified across time and space and often displays a marked Eurocentric bias. The extreme relativist faces the danger of concluding that we are all locked into mutually unintelligible universes. These problems are worse when certain concepts, often inherited from ancient Greek thought, especially binaries such as nature and culture, or the literal and the metaphorical, are not examined critically. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, from philosophy to cognitive science, this book explores what both ancient societies (Greece and China especially) and modern ones (as revealed by ethnography) can teach us concerning the heterogeneity of what can be called rational.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Is rationality a well-defined human universal such that ideas and behaviour can everywhere be judged by a single set of criteria? Or are the rational and the irrational simply cultural constructs? This study provides an alternative to both options. The universalist thesis underestimates the variety found in sound human reasonings exemplified across time and space and often displays a marked Eurocentric bias. The extreme relativist faces the danger of concluding that we are all locked into mutually unintelligible universes. These problems are worse when certain concepts, often inherited from ancient Greek thought, especially binaries such as nature and culture, or the literal and the metaphorical, are not examined critically. Drawing on a variety of disciplines, from philosophy to cognitive science, this book explores what both ancient societies (Greece and China especially) and modern ones (as revealed by ethnography) can teach us concerning the heterogeneity of what can be called rational.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book Neoliberalising Old Age by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Civil Rights and the Making of the Modern American State by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Fast Multipole Boundary Element Method by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book The Phonological Mind by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book New Cambridge Statistical Tables by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Atlas of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Anatomy by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book The Red Army and the Second World War by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book The Interpersonal Dynamics of Emotion by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Wittgenstein by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Plants, People and Practices by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book The Young Derrida and French Philosophy, 1945–1968 by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Dimensions of Phonological Stress by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Discourse and Knowledge by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Federalism in Greek Antiquity by G. E. R. Lloyd
Cover of the book Fossil Primates by G. E. R. Lloyd
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy