Unsettled Thoughts: A Theory of Degrees of Rationality, by Julia Staffel. Oxford University Press, 2019. Pp. ix + 217.

Citation

Field C (2021) Unsettled Thoughts: A Theory of Degrees of Rationality, by Julia Staffel. Oxford University Press, 2019. Pp. ix + 217.. Review of: Unsettled Thoughts: A Theory of Degrees of Rationality, by Julia Staffel. Oxford University Press, 2019. Pp. ix + 217. Mind. https://doi.org/10.1093/mind/fzaa070

Abstract
Ideal rationality is often thought unachievable for ordinary thinkers. It demands, for example, credences that add up exactly to 1 and certainty in logical truths. Since this is beyond most of us, we might well wonder whether ideal rationality is worth bothering with at all. Should we try to be more rational? If rationality is an all-or-nothing matter, and beyond our reach, then this would seem a futile project. This is a problem for theorists of ideal rationality, at least in so far as their theories are intended to be applicable to ordinary people rather than only ideal epistemic agents. In Unsettled Thoughts, Julia Staffel offers us ordinary folk some encouragement. She shows both that it is possible to be more or less rational...

Keywords
Philosophy;