[MD] reifying carrots

[ridgecoyote at gmail.com]

And I'd say it's a bigger issue than you realize or signify with your pejorative "just", Ian. 

<ian.glendinning at gmail.com> wrote:

> I'd be OK with that John,
> 
> But as I say it's just about choosing which word you prefer for each
> .... err .... concept.
> 
> Ian


It's a much bigger issue you see, because rationality and intellectuality are two distinct concepts, representing completely different modes of thinking.

The easiest way I can think of describing the differences between the two is by showing you examples of how we use these terms in the real world.  For instance, if you went to a high school prom and intellectualized the dancing, that would be irrational.  If you sat on a hot stove, and intellectuallized getting off, that would be irrational.  An animal that was biting itself or acting against its own self-interest, we would call irrational.  We would not call it unintellectual because only humans intellectualize.  Art is rational.  Art criticism is intellectual.  

Intellectualizing always implies objectifying and alienation.  Rationality implies holistic understanding.  Intellect is analytic, rationality is synthetic.  Intellect is dependent upon the subject/object divide, but rationality is dependent upon ratio and context.  Intellectualism subverts artistic endeavor, while all true art is a rational attempt to create a meaningful expression of experience.  

So it's not just a matter of an arbitrary choice of semantics but two actual distinctive words for different mental concepts. I'd go further and say that intellectuality is a subset of rationality.  That rationality embraces both hemispheres of the brain, whereas intellectuality is the name we give to classical reason.

And this in a nutshell, is why I believe the 4th level should be deemed rational, and not merely intellectual.

Take Care,

John