Racionalit

Racionalit is a concept in philosophy, cognitive science, and social theory that denotes the quality of being rational. It encompasses the capacity to reason, to form beliefs on the basis of evidence, and to select actions that follow from goals or values. In normative contexts, racionalit refers to what is rational to believe or to do given the information and constraints; in descriptive contexts, it describes how people actually reason and decide.

There are several notions of racionalit. Epistemic or theoretical racionalit concerns holding true or well-supported beliefs. Instrumental or practical racionalit concerns choosing means to end with efficiency and coherence. Value racionalit refers to actions guided by principles or values beyond mere outcomes. In economics and decision theory, models such as expected utility theory formalize instrumental racionalit as maximizing anticipated benefit.

Historically, racionalit has roots in ancient philosophy and was central to Kantian rationalism, utilitarian thought, and rational choice theory. In the 20th century, Herbert Simon proposed bounded racionalit, emphasizing limits in information, computation, and time. Cognitive psychology notes heuristics and biases that can cause departures from normative racionalit.

Racionalit remains debated. Proponents view it as a standard for rational agents, including artificial ones. Critics argue that social, emotional, cultural, and ethical factors shape reasoning in ways that pure racionalit cannot capture. Contemporary discussions distinguish between normative, descriptive, and prescriptive notions to clarify what rationality should be, how it is learned, and how it can be cultivated.