1 seems true only in the sense that, in general, immorality is more attractive to bad decision-makers than to good decision-makers, but I would be reluctant to extend beyond that.
What if it had no effect on morality, but just made people more effective? As long as the sign bit on people’s actions is already usually positive, rationality would still be a good idea.
Well, if you don’t mind me answering a question with a questions, more effective at what? If it just makes you more effective at getting what you want, whether or not what you want is the right thing to want, then it’s only helpful to the extent that you want the right things, and harmful to the extent that you want the wrong things. That’s nothing very great, and certainly nothing to spend a lot of time improving.
But if rationality can make you want, and make you more effective at getting, good things only, then it’s an inestimable treasure, and worth a lifetime’s pursuit. The ‘morally good’ seems to me the right word for what is in every possible case good, and never bad.
If: 1) being more rational makes you more moral
2) he’s saying things during this campaign he doesn’t really believe
3) dishonesty, especially dishonesty in the context of a political campaign, is immoral
Then: c) His recent behavior is evidence against his rationality, in the same sense his pre-political success is evidence for it.
1 seems true only in the sense that, in general, immorality is more attractive to bad decision-makers than to good decision-makers, but I would be reluctant to extend beyond that.
This is probably not something we should argue about here, but I think the whole project of rationality stands or falls on the truth of premise 1.
Why?
What if it had no effect on morality, but just made people more effective? As long as the sign bit on people’s actions is already usually positive, rationality would still be a good idea.
Well, if you don’t mind me answering a question with a questions, more effective at what? If it just makes you more effective at getting what you want, whether or not what you want is the right thing to want, then it’s only helpful to the extent that you want the right things, and harmful to the extent that you want the wrong things. That’s nothing very great, and certainly nothing to spend a lot of time improving.
But if rationality can make you want, and make you more effective at getting, good things only, then it’s an inestimable treasure, and worth a lifetime’s pursuit. The ‘morally good’ seems to me the right word for what is in every possible case good, and never bad.
He could expect to do enough good as president to outweigh that.
I doubt it, though.