Reason and Rationality in the Post-Pandemic Era

Author

Jordan David Schwanke, Utah State University

Date of Award

5-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Communication Studies and Philosophy

Abstract

This paper investigates human reason’s proper function and role in the post-pandemic era. Sections 1 and 2 analyze recent literature on Kahneman’s dual processing theory and Hugo Mercier’s and Dan Sperber’s (M&S) interactionalist approach toward human reason. Kahneman’s theory cannot explain how System 2 is still prone to make serious mistakes, and M&S provide a more plausible alternative: reasoning is all intuitive. Humans can intuit reasons for their beliefs and intuitions. But more importantly, reason is the metarepresentational ability to evaluate the strengths or weaknesses of reasons and arguments. Reason, through the process of evolution, is fundamentally used for justification and argumentation. Section 3 outlines that the individual can summon reason to justify an established moral intuition. Argumentation helps interlocutors self-reflect on political and moral beliefs, opinions, and intuitions, influencing people to change their minds.

Section 4 introduces the internal cognitive limitations that accompany human reason and rationality: confirmation bias influences the individual reasoner to look for reasons to support their own intuitions and beliefs with little regard for the strength or reliability of those reasons. Reasoning in like-minded groups without dissenting opinions, called groupthink, gives off the impression of sound reasoning. However, this only exacerbates reason’s flaws and limitations. Additionally, willful and strategic ignorance, i.e., ignoring certain aspects of reality on purpose, which is used as a coping and convenience mechanism, can lead to negative real-world consequences if used improperly or excessively. People who denied the existence of the Covid-19 virus, objected to the vaccine’s efficacy, and doubted the results of the 2020 presidential election are topical examples of confirmation bias, groupthink, and willful or strategic ignorance influencing contemporary American society and politics. Section 5 identifies the MAGA movement’s effect on public reason. Specifically, the movement’s “Great American Utopia” mythology is used to justify radical political change and totalitarianism.

Section 6 discusses how the internet, particularly social media, stifles the spread of knowledge and contributes to a decline of critical thinking in American society by exploiting reason’s deficiencies. Accordingly, it also emphasizes how these exacerbated flaws negatively affected American culture during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 US Presidential Election. Section 7 discusses possible solutions for improving public reasoning, such as focusing on epistemic virtues, vigilance, rules, and developing internet and social media navigation skills. The section also highlights how individuals, groups, and institutions can tailor human reason and rationality toward positive epistemological ends. Lastly, section 8 briefly refutes M&S and Johnathan Haidt’s reductionist claims that individuals are only motivated to obtain knowledge and truth for self-interest and to improve their social reputation. Their premise severely undermines the possibility of trustworthy objective knowledge and neglects other motivating forces and the human emotional relationship towards knowledge and truth. By arguing that humans are solely motivated by their reputation, M&S and Haidt not only unsatisfactorily narrow the complexity of human experience but also subvert the audience’s confidence in their theory with their own argument.

Recommended Citation

Schwanke, Jordan David, "Reason and Rationality in the Post-Pandemic Era" (2023). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 953.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/953