Pluralistic Rationalism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Pluralistic Rationalism is a millennial social movement to encourage reasoning thinking and behavior in all people irrespective of their disparate beliefs, backgrounds, and current ideological or tribal affiliations.[1][2][3][4]

In the sphere of religion, pluralistic rationalism contends that reasoning is not the sole purview of atheists, but is practicable for both atheists and theists; similarly, in the sphere of politics, it contends that reasoning is practicable for both conservatives and liberals: For example, in contrast to self-proclaimed rationalist organizations that ban those who espouse religious or liberal beliefs,[5][6][7][8] pluralistic rationalist organizations[9] are inclusive, encouraging communal commitment to practice reason in worldly affairs irrespective of one's current religious or political creed.

As a social movement, pluralistic rationalism has also been called "methodological" rationalism because to broadly deter human irrationality it only necessitates commitment to the basic methodological tenets of a reasoning lifestyle,[9] rather than to the potentially arbitrary extrapolations of particular religious, ethical, or political worldviews, such as those espoused in Theism, Secular Humanism, and Objectivism.

A social method of pluralistic/methodological rationalism, for example, is to deter emotive, ad hominem invective in the public square, in part by directly discouraging such public invective as non-rational or as inciting irrationality, or as indecent, unethical, or unseemly;[2][3][4][9] and also in part by encouraging the convening of "transbelief reasoning dialogues"[1] between people of every (and no) belief. By encouraging "theists-only" interfaith dialogue to include atheists,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] and by encouraging the similar convening of political liberals with conservatives,[19] pluralistic rationalists encourage participants to practice, and recognize the universalities of, reasoning lifestyles—to see that "Reason is not a tribe."[9]

A second social method of pluralistic/methodological rationalism is to encourage introspective and public vetting of facts and questioning of assumptions[9]—typified in the public political sphere by the recent proliferation of public (rather than newsroom-limited) fact checker websites, such as the non-profit Annenberg Public Policy Center's FactCheck.org.[20]

Public individuals calling for such fact-informed, non-dogmatic, and civil reasoning dialogue between disparate political or social groups include U.S. President Barack Obama in his Second Inaugural Address, pundit and comedian Jon Stewart in his Rally to Restore Sanity, Obama-appointed National Endowment for the Humanities Chairman Jim Leach in his Civility Tour, and Harvard Humanist Chaplain and theist-atheist dialogue proponent Chris Stedman. The first international society of pluralistic rationalists, founded in 2000, is The Circle of Reason.[9][21]

As an international "standard of civilization" (one descended from Westphalian sovereignty), pluralistic rationalism in the form of civilizational diversity contrasts with solidaristic rationalism in the form of Westernization or other types of treaty-imposed civilizational homogenization.[22]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b Harvard Pluralism Project, Promising Practice: Finding Common Ground Through Difference. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Jon Stewart Keynote Speech (Transcript), Rally to Restore Sanity, October 30, 2010. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Frank Burton Speech (Transcript), Rally to Restore Sanity-Minnesota, October 30, 2010. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "E.J. Dionne Jr. Welcomes Jim Leach's Call for Civility," The Washington Post, November 30, 2009. Retrieved November 03, 2012.
  5. ^ Project Reason: Spreading Science and Secular Values. Retrieved November 04, 2012.
  6. ^ United Coalition of Reason. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  7. ^ Council for Secular Humanism. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  8. ^ Atlas Society. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g The Circle of Reason. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  10. ^ Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC). Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "Secular Bible Study casts wide net," Star Tribune, February 20, 2009. Retrieved November 02, 2012.
  12. ^ "Be Sane, Be Very Sane!", NonProphet Status, November 9, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  13. ^ Monash Interfaith Gathering. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  14. ^ Charlotte Baines, City Councillor News, Monash Bulletin, November 1, 2011. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  15. ^ "Atheist has faith in power of dialogue," Monash Weekly, June 8, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  16. ^ "(A)theologies: Do Atheists Belong in the Interfaith Movement?", Religion Dispatches, June 10, 2011. Retrieved November 03, 2012.
  17. ^ "Chris Stedman: Proud to be a 'Faitheist'", Edge on the Net, November 2, 2012. Retrieved November 04, 2012.
  18. ^ "The Mediator: An Ex-Evangelical Atheist Trying to End Fights, Not Start Them", The Daily, July 8, 2012. Retrieved November 04, 2012.
  19. ^ Transbelief Forum on Proposed MN Constitutional Amendment to Ban Same-Sex Marriage ("Assumptions on the Marriage Amendment: A Reasoning Forum"), First Minneapolis Circle of Reason, September 20, 2012.; Forum Announcement Flyer, Google Docs, Retrieved November 29, 2012.
  20. ^ FactCheck.org. Retrieved November 03, 2012.
  21. ^ Cirkel van Rede. Retrieved January 25, 2013.
  22. ^ The Return of The Standard of Civilization, David P. Fidler, Second Chicago Journal of International Law, p. 137 (2001). Retrieved November 02, 2012.

External links [edit]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pluralistic_Rationalism&oldid=534801497"