20081107

What is Metarationality?

Mere rationality is far behind comparison with metarationality, for to compare them at all would be absurd. Material substance finds its telos in the earth, but dreams, being immaterial, have no such telos in this world. As surely as this is so, the rationality of this word is fated for stasis, but metarationality is destined far beyond. It is said among some mere rationals, these being minimal rationals, that rationality can be attained merely by adopting beliefs for reasons. Surely this will not do! Can a man not validly reason from the premises, "Blind men do not see," and, "The blind man saw it, too," that I am the Lord-Mayor of Cloudcuckooland? Verily, we can rationally make such a valid conclusion, but it is not a sound conclusion, for I am not the Lord-Mayor of Cloudcuckooland. Thus rationality fails to be reasonable, and even a merely reasonable man is far behind the metarational. For a reasonable man reaches conclusions for rational reasons, and might I add noncontradictory reasons, but a metarational has no use for such hindrance to the ascertation of true conclusions. Metarationality reaches any true conclusion by being there, so reaching is behind the concern of a metarational. Now I must condescend to even lower depths that I have thus far so that the merely reasonable might understand. The metarational is not irrational, for the irrational man is without rationality, whereas the metarational has transcended it, understanding the whole of rationality at once. Understand, O reasonable one, if you can, that irrationality and metarationality are not related terms in the least; truly they could not be more separate. With that I conclude, having only hinted at a dream of the reflection of the tip of the iceberg. Any more would drive the reasonable man to disconbobulation unto overflowing and the merely rational man into the chains of madness.

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