It’s not a “rationalist” thing, it’s a human thing. What are you evaluating the adequacy of rituals of cognition with? You’re already what you are, which is what you use. There are no universally convincing arguments, and one accepts, say, Occam’s razor, not because it’s “rational”, but because we are the kind of agents that are compelled by this principle. Don’t distinguish between “rational” and “magical”, ask what moves you, on reflection, what do you believe to get you the results, and whether you believe the argument for why it does.
It’s not a “rationalist” thing, it’s a human thing. What are you evaluating the adequacy of rituals of cognition with? You’re already what you are, which is what you use. There are no universally convincing arguments, and one accepts, say, Occam’s razor, not because it’s “rational”, but because we are the kind of agents that are compelled by this principle. Don’t distinguish between “rational” and “magical”, ask what moves you, on reflection, what do you believe to get you the results, and whether you believe the argument for why it does.
Links:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/rn/no_universally_compelling_arguments/
http://lesswrong.com/lw/hk/priors_as_mathematical_objects/
http://lesswrong.com/lw/o5/the_second_law_of_thermodynamics_and_engines_of/
http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Futility_of_chaos