RATIONALITY AND IRRATIONALITY

SYLLABUS, Fall 2023

I. CONTACT INFORMATION

Instructor: Teaching Assistant:

Eylem Özaltun
Omar Mostafa
eozaltun@ku
<omostafa22@ku.edu.tr>

SOS 155 Office: TBA

Office Hours: TBA Office Hours: TBA

II. COURSE DESCRIPTION

This is a course that investigates what it means to have a rational mind. Having a
distinctive kind of mind, human beings have a special place on earth. Thanks to
our rationality we are linguistic, scientific, and political beings unlike any other
life form on earth. Therefore, a study of the concept ‘rationality’ is central to our
understanding of our own nature, and consequently, to our understanding of the
uniquely human experience. We will consider some questions about (1) the nature
of rationality and (2) the possibility of irrationality.

(1) A venerable philosophical tradition holds that human beings are set apart from
other terrestrial creatures by being “rational animals,” but what does this mean?
What kind of power is “rationality,” and what difference does it make to a
creature’s mind? We will consider some attempts to defend the idea that a special
form of understanding is brought to bear in making sense of rational creatures, and
also some challenges to the idea that there is any fundamental difference between
human minds and the minds of creatures traditionally classified as “nonrational.”

(2) Even if we are by nature rational creatures, it is clear that we are sometimes
irrational: we do what we judge not to be worth doing (we are “weak willed”) and
believe what we in some sense know to be unjustified (we are capable of “wishful
thinking” and “self-deception”). How are we to understand such phenomena? Can
Rationality & Irrationality Eylem Özaltun, Fall
2023

a person be knowingly irrational? Can a person’s reason be “overpowered” by

other forces in her mind, and if so, in what way? What distinguishes genuine
irrationality from mere ignorance, and what distinguishes it from irresistible
compulsion?

We will consider these questions by drawing on a diverse body of literature

produced by various disciplines. Our authors will be philosophers, cognitive and
neuro scientists, developmental and comparative psychologists, and evolutionary
anthropologists. We will see how each discipline uses its own tools to work on the
same topic, how they compliment each other, and finally how understanding of the
nature of rationality requires the integration of these diverse sources of knowledge.
We will read texts from the oldest days of western society as we know it, but also
contemporary texts just out of print. In reading these texts side by side, we will
aim to gain historical insight into the evolution of our ever continuing efforts to
pin down the essence of human nature.

The course itself has a critical structure. In each unit we will discuss readings
which will challenge the previous readings. By showing how the literature engages
with the idea of rationality critically, the course will invite the students to adopt a
critical stands towards this basic of concept of our self-image.

III. Learning Objectives

This course emphasizes to think and read critically, engage with texts creatively,
and write and speak clearly and expressively. The aim of the course is to help the
students build an intellectual foundation for free inquiry, understand the factors
shaping the thought, culture, belief, and society and recognize the interplay
between them in an informed and critical way.

IV. TEXTS

Many of the required readings for the course will be made available on the course
website. Other readings will be drawn from the following texts,

 Donald Davidson, The Essential Davidson [ED], Oxford University Press,

2006

 Susan Hurley and Matthew Nudds, eds., Rational Animals [RA], Oxford
University Press, 2006.

 Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Thinking, Harvard

University Press, 2016

2
IV. SCHEDULE OF READINGS

The following is a tentative list of readings and due-dates for assignments.

Assigned readings will consist of about 40 pages of material per week: not so
much, but it will be dense. Be prepared to read and reread until you understand
what is going on.

I. INTRODUCTION

Oct 3: Overview of the course

Oct 5: Aristotle, De Anima, Book II, §§2-3 Metaphysics, Book I, §1

Oct 10: René Descartes, Discourse on Method, Part V

Oct 12: David Hume, Treatise of Human Nature, I.III.XVI

Oct 17: DS & Q1

II. MIND AND REASON

Oct 19: Daniel Dennett, “Intentional Systems”

Oct 24: Christopher Cherniak, “Minimal Rationality”

Oct 26: Stephen Stich, “Could Man Be an Irrational Animal?”

III. RATIONAL AND NONRATIONAL ANIMALS

Oct 31: Donald Davidson, “Rational Animals”

Nov 2: Josep Call, “Descartes’ Two Errors: Reason and Reflection in

Great Apes”

Nov 7: Daniel Dennett, “Intentional Systems in Cognitive Ethology”

Nov 9: DS & Q2

WINTER BREAK

Nov 21 Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Thinking, Ch. 2

Nov 23 Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Thinking, Ch. 3

Rationality & Irrationality Eylem Özaltun, Fall
2023

Nov 28 Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Thinking, Ch. 4

Nov 30 DS & Q3

Dec 5 Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Thinking, Ch. 4

Dec 7 Michael Tomasello, A Natural History of Human Thinking, Ch. 5

Take-Home Exam Sunday December 10th

IV. IRRATIONALITY I: WEAKNESS OF WILL

Dec 12 Plato, Protagoras, 351b-358, and Augustine, Confessions, II

Dec 14 Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, VII, §§1-3

Dec 19 Michael Stocker, “Desiring the Bad”

Dec 21 Gary Watson, “Skepticism about Weakness of Will”

V. IRRATIONALITY II: SELF-DECEPTION

Dec 26 DS & Q4

Dec 28 Open Mike

Jan 2nd Ralph Demos, “Lying to Oneself”

Jan 4th John Canfield and Don Gustavson, “Self-Deception”

Jan 9th Mark Johnston, “Self-Deception and the Nature of Mind”

Jan 11th Open Mike

Take-Home Final Jan 13

4
V. COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1. Attendance and participation (20%). Each week I will post a question about
the readings for the week on the course website. You should come to the
lectures prepared to give brief but contentful responses to the reading
prompt–-or, if you’re not able to answer, you should be prepared to explain
why not. You are expected to come to the class having done that day’s
reading. Regular attendance, evidence of preparedness to discuss the
reading for a given week, and participation in discussion will make a
significant difference to your grade in the course.

2. Quizzes (20%). There will be four in-class quizzes which will cover the unit
we just finished. No make-ups for quizzes, be there and take your quizzes.

3. Midterm (30%) & Final (%30) There will be two take-home exams. The
midterm exam will cover the first three and the final exam will cover the
remaining two units. The exams will consist of multiple short essay
questions. No make-ups for take-home exams.

In order to get credit from this course you need to submit all the
written assignments and the attendance is practically compulsory.

VI. COURSE POLICIES

Policy on Extensions. There will be no extensions.

Policy on Academic Integrity and Collaboration. All of the assignments in the

course are designed to be completed relying only on the sources we read in the
course. If you do consult other sources, you should indicate any words or ideas
you have drawn from them. You are also welcome to discuss the assignments and
your ideas about them with other participants in the course, but everything you
submitted should be substantially your own, written without the direct
collaboration of any other person. If you have any questions about any of these
points, please don’t hesitate to consult the instructor. The course policy on
plagiarism is that any student found to have plagiarized words or ideas will fail the
class, and be reported to the disciplinary board.

Accommodations for students with disabilities. Students needing academic

adjustments or accommodations because of a documented disability must speak
with the instructor by the end of the second week of the term.