I really liked this piece. I’ve been a lurker for a long time, and it’s inspired me to toss up a comment. I think the larger issue here, rather than the specific label we choose to use, is labeling ourselves at all. 'Rationalist', despite its connotations, does an adequate job at summing up our purposes. I agree with Alicorn - we know what we mean when we say it around these parts, and employing the world as a label outside of our community in most circumstances isn’t something I’d ever do without proper context.
If our mission objective is to be less wrong... (read more)
I have been looking at this site everyday for some time. I have to say that the label 'rationalist' has made me suspicious and on guard. I have so far found nothing to confirm my suspicions and many interesting postings. Perhaps I will soon lose the feeling of suspicion. But every single time that the word 'rationalist' is used, I see the ghost of the hated Ayn Rand in the background. If you don't want to be suspected of a Rand sort of philosophy then I think you would be wise to coin another term.
I really liked this piece. I’ve been a lurker for a long time, and it’s inspired me to toss up a comment. I think the larger issue here, rather than the specific label we choose to use, is labeling ourselves at all. 'Rationalist', despite its connotations, does an adequate job at summing up our purposes. I agree with Alicorn - we know what we mean when we say it around these parts, and employing the world as a label outside of our community in most circumstances isn’t something I’d ever do without proper context.
If our mission objective is to be less wrong... (read more)