Abstract
Suppose someone were to declare as they began eating their meal: “This food is poisoned and will kill me if I eat it [as they continue to eat it] and I have no wish to die”. They further declare, truthfully, that they are not being coerced into eating the food, nor do they feel compelled to do so; yet still they consume the food. Is this an example of an irrational act? If so, what makes it irrational? If not, why not?
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Further reading
Bortolotti, L. (2010). Delusions and other irrational beliefs. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Davidson, D. (1980). Actions, reasons and causes. In Essays on actions and events. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 3–20.
Searle, J.R. (2001). Rationality in action. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
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© 2013 Garry Young
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Young, G. (2013). Philosophical Issue 4: What Is It to Be Rational?. In: Philosophical Psychopathology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137329325_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137329325_10
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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