Class
Article
College
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department
Political Science Department
Faculty Mentor
Rachel Robison-Greene
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Abstract
My research investigates human reason and rationality's proper function and role in the Post-Pandemic Era. First, 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. Second, individuals 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. Third, human reason and rationality are accompanied by internal cognitive limitations: 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 group-think, gives off the impression of sound reasoning. However, this only exacerbates reason’s flaws and limitations. 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, group-think, and online echo chambers influencing contemporary American society and politics. Fourth, 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, I also emphasize how these exacerbated flaws negatively affected American culture during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 US Presidential Election. Fifth, focusing on epistemic virtues, vigilance, rules, and developing internet and social media navigation skills are possible solutions for improving public reasoning. Specifically, my research focuses on how individuals, groups, and institutions can tailor human reason and rationality toward positive epistemological ends.
Location
Logan, UT
Start Date
4-11-2023 2:30 PM
End Date
4-11-2023 3:30 PM
Included in
Reason and Rationality in the Post-Pandemic Era
Logan, UT
My research investigates human reason and rationality's proper function and role in the Post-Pandemic Era. First, 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. Second, individuals 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. Third, human reason and rationality are accompanied by internal cognitive limitations: 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 group-think, gives off the impression of sound reasoning. However, this only exacerbates reason’s flaws and limitations. 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, group-think, and online echo chambers influencing contemporary American society and politics. Fourth, 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, I also emphasize how these exacerbated flaws negatively affected American culture during the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 US Presidential Election. Fifth, focusing on epistemic virtues, vigilance, rules, and developing internet and social media navigation skills are possible solutions for improving public reasoning. Specifically, my research focuses on how individuals, groups, and institutions can tailor human reason and rationality toward positive epistemological ends.