Chapter 2. The rationalistic tradition

2.1 The rationalistic orientation

The rationalistic orientation can be depicted in a series of steps:

1. Characterize the situation in terms of identifiable objects with well-defined properties.
2. Find general rules that apply to situations in terms of those objects and properties.
3. Apply the rules logically to the situation of concern, drawing conclusions about what should be done.

There are some obvious questions about how we set situations into correspondence with systematic 'representations' of objects and properties, and with how we can come to know general rules. In much of the rationalistic tradition, however, these are deferred in favor of emphasizing the formulation of systematic rules that can be used to draw logical conclusions. Much of Western philosophy —from classical rhetoric to modern symbolic logic— can be seen as a drive to come up with more systematic and precise formulations of just what constitutes valid reasoning.

Questions of correspondence and knowledge still exercise philosophers, but in the everyday discourse about thinking and reasoning, they are taken as unproblematic. In fact when they are raised, the discussion is often characterized as being too philosophical. Even within philosophy, there are schools (such as analytic philosophy) in which the problems raised by the first two items are pushed aside, not because they are uninteresting, but because they are too difficult and open-ended.

2.2 Language, truth, and the world

2.3 Decision making and problem solving

2.4 Cognitive science