Why I am not a Rationalist, but a Humanist…A Research Note

February 12, 2024
  “The great obstacle that reason (Vernunft) puts in its own way arises from the side of the intellect (Verstand) and the entirely justified criteria it has established for its own purposes, that is, for quenching our thirst, and meeting our need, for knowledge and cognition… The need of reason is not inspired by the […]

 

“The great obstacle that reason (Vernunft) puts in its own way arises from the side of the intellect (Verstand) and the entirely justified criteria it has established for its own purposes, that is, for quenching our thirst, and meeting our need, for knowledge and cognition… The need of reason is not inspired by the quest for truth but by the quest for meaning. And truth and meaning are not the same. The basic fallacy, taking precedence over all specific metaphysical fallacies, is to interpret meaning on the model of truth.”

https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/09/16/hannah-arendt-the-life-of-the-mind/#:~:text=The%20great%20obstacle,model%20of%20truth.

 

From a quote of Hannah Arendt, from MARIA POPOVA, “The Life of the Mind: Hannah Arendt on Thinking vs. Knowing and the Crucial Difference Between Truth and Meaning” in The Marginalian (https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/09/16/hannah-arendt-the-life-of-the-mind/).

 

ANSWER:

 

In the compatibilist model I take the legitimacy for both reason and intuition, and legitimacy for Vernunft and Verstand, and, on the Arendt model, the compatibility has its legitimacy in human experience.

 

 

Featured Image: Street sign of Hannah-Arendt-Strasse in Berlin near the Holocaust Memorial. Photo 221152381 | Hannah Arendt © Stephan Dost | Dreamstime.com

 

 

0 0 votes
Article Rating
The following two tabs change content below.
Neville Buch (Pronounced Book) Ph.D. is a certified member of the Professional Historians Association (Queensland). Since 2010 he has operated a sole trade business in history consultancy. He was a Q ANZAC 100 Fellow 2014-2015 at the State Library of Queensland. Dr Buch was the PHA (Qld) e-Bulletin, the monthly state association’s electronic publication, and was a member of its Management Committee. He is the Managing Director of the Brisbane Southside History Network.
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments