Henry Perown Rationalism

Rationalist frame of thought which actually evolved out of the tradition of Puritanism. The Declaration

The narrator though an educator, is not very good at verbalizing his emotions. He tends to be the person who keeps everything inside

Rationalism is the theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge rather than religious belief or emotional, while empiricism is the theory that knowledge is derived from senses-experience which stimulated the rise of experimental science. The philosophers Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz, Locke, Berkeley, and Hume all have different views on the existence and nature of external objects. Some see it as the view on objects as everything is sense related other see it that it is all from thought but the object is not existent.

Along in with the author’s use of metaphors is the frequent use of imagery. In this reading, it is simple to envision the scenes as the different scenarios are explained and the audience can easily picture Staples in the places he is describing and also the people he comes across. Perhaps the most powerful and memorable imagery is provided in the author’s description of people’s different reactions and faces when they come into contact with him. Actions speak volumes and an immediate change of facial expression is possibly one of the

He adds to this by introducing the concepts of rational and irrational authority, explaining that rational authority would be equivalent to that of a teacher and student whereby there is mutual benefit, while irrational authority would be identified by the likes of a slave and his owner who demonstrates complete disregard of the slave’s happiness or well-being, his only interest being how the slave will benefit him.

As I mentioned before, irrationality is reoccurring throughout the novel. Ethan is perhaps the most irrational character. Initially, he imprisons himself in a marriage and ruins any chance of a future for a quick irrational decision to marry Zeena (for fear of being alone one winter). He is manipulated by Zeena and tossed around like a chew toy. Frome’s inability to act is another example of his irrationality. He continually lies to Zeena (like the Andrew Hale incident) for a fast solution to an ongoing dilemma. Rather than confessing his love for Mattie and telling Zeena that they should no longer be together, he complicates the situation and chooses to live in a box where the only thing that matter’s to him is Mattie.

He adds to this by introducing the concepts of rational and irrational authority, explaining that rational authority would be equivalent to that of a teacher and student whereby there is mutual benefit, while irrational authority would be identified by the likes of a slave and his owner who demonstrates complete disregard of the slave’s happiness or well-being, his only interest being how the slave will benefit him.

Besides BonJour's argument of illustrative examples, moderate rationalism is defended by two intimately related dialectical arguments. The argument is that the denial of a priori justification will lead to a severe skepticism, in which only the most direct experience could be justified. Stemming from this severe skepticism, comes the stronger argument that argumentation itself becomes impossible. This essay will describe the distinct segments of the argument and will demonstrate the relationship between the two arguments.

In Art Spiegelman’s comic book In the Shadow of No Towers, the comic strip, “Marital Blitz” (8), highlights the state of distress that Art and his wife were thrown into after the events of 9/11. In just a few panels, Spiegelman makes it apparent that he has “totally lost it” (Spiegelman 8) due to, as his wife puts it, “news poisoning” (Spiegelman 8). Throughout the comic Art is immersed in the news; he reads and watches whatever comes his way. This constant exposure to the media leaves him more paranoid than informed - which in turn takes a toll on his marriage.

To begin with the question of rationalism versus empiricism, it is important to understand, first, what it is that rationalists argue. This school of thought infers that all knowledge comes from within, an innate source that

Answer question 1 in Preston (2001, p. 39). Preston is a required reading. "Why should I be moral...Where do I think my own values come from?" The entry should be no more than 200 words. Do not delete this instruction.

However, this idea can be a divergence from reality, as in real life it is difficult or even impossible to find such agents that will make perfectly rational decision as reflected by irrational human behaviour. Though the assumption of individuals act rationally is important when analysing economics and interactions. This is because if we don’t assume everyone act rationally, if there’s a loss of welfare, we will not be able to decide whether it is the result of flaw in the structure or just because of irrationality.

In Plato's Theaetetus, he says, "Any one forms the true opinion of anything without rational explanation, you may say that his mind is truly exercised, but has no knowledge." This is quite true that when one can state a true opinion supported by a rational explanation, one's opinion constitutes knowledge, since perceptions of senses are excluding in this case. Moreover, a rational explanation does not contain any subjectivity, it is an objective entity for humans to understand true knowledge. For this reason, I fall with rationalism and believe it is a superior philosophical viewpoint about the nature of knowledge.

Ian McEwan’s novel, Saturday, takes place on a single day, Saturday February 15th, 2003, and follows the events of middle-aged man, Henry Perowne. Perowne lives a comfortable and privileged lifestyle. He works a high paying job as a neurosurgeon, owns a nice house, and drives an expensive car. He is happily married to his wife, Rosalind, and he has two talented children, Daisy and Theo. Although he seems to live a “perfect” life, he is flawed by being primarily driven by his rational thoughts. McEwan writes, “Perowne, the profesional reductionist, can’t help thinking it’s down to invisible folds...written in code” (272). This mindset limits his capacity to feel and leads him to a simple way of thinking, which makes him unable to fully connect with his surroundings. In the novel, he experiences a series of events that makes him question his set way of thinking. Through his two interactions with a young thug named Baxter, Perowne’s rationality is challenged which ultimately makes him change his perspective on his privileged life by the end of the novel.

They are the result of generalizing experiences. Rationalism believes that the ideas of empiricism cannot be dependable without considering future claims that can be proven. Such factor as the laws of nature or cause and effect on an event, cause and effect, where one event causes the effect of the other event, stem from rationalism are inherently