What is the difference between Intellect and Rationality?
Posted by khuram on January 23, 2009
Intellect is the name of an “ability”. Rationality is an “approach”.
Intellect is the ability of mind that it can store, manipulate, organize and suitably utilize past sensory information. Mind organizes sensory information due to the application of intellect. Knowledge is so organized information.
Rationality is an ideological approach whereby you show confidence in ability of human mind (intellect) that it can lead to truth. In other words, Rationality means using the faculty of intellect with confidence.
umer tur. said
would you like to elaborate the meaning and significance of two words we have incorporated here:
“Ideological”
& “Confidence”. In the context of the article. And does confidence imply here “validity”, “empirically reliable”?
Humble regards.
Salman Latif said
I agree that intellect is innate and rationality develops but I’d disagree in the usage of ‘ideological’ next to rationality which makes it bit too rational. xP
What I mean is that…rationality, sometimes, is nothing but to act according to instinct which may’ve been shaped over time by social orders.
SARFRAZ AHMED said
good info
Bob Heifler said
Does rationality relate to sanity and survival?
khuram said
@ Bob Heilfer
Sir,,, I think “rationality” operates only at conscious level where one acts while consciously knowing about one’s actions. Rationality can even prepare a person to die for getting some better cause e.g. to die for the cause of nation is not irrational. “Sanity” will definitely be a part of rationality. But mere ’survival’ efforts (i.e. operating at instinctive and unconscious level) are not part of rationality, how much they may seem to be “sane”, however!