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Cognitive Success: A Consequentialist Account of Rationality in Cognition.

Gerhard Schurz1, Ralph Hertwig2

  • 1Düsseldorf Center for Logic and Philosophy of Science, Heinrich Heine University.

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|January 22, 2019
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Summary

Human cognition rationality is redefined by cognitive success, measured by ecological validity and applicability. This new framework integrates descriptive and normative approaches in psychology and philosophy.

Keywords:
ApriorismCognitive successConsequentialismIs−ought relationLogicRationality

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Philosophy of Mind

Background:

  • The definition and measurement of human cognitive rationality are long-standing debates.
  • Current approaches often rely on normative standards and a priori intuitions.
  • Recent developments like ecological rationality and descriptivism challenge traditional views.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a new foundation for defining rational cognition by integrating psychological and philosophical perspectives.
  • To introduce a novel framework for measuring rationality based on cognitive success.
  • To re-examine the relationship between descriptive ('is') and normative ('ought') aspects of cognition.

Main Methods:

  • Reviewing key developments in ecological rationality and descriptivism.
  • Proposing a new conceptualization of rationality based on cognitive success.
  • Defining cognitive success through ecological validity and applicability.
  • Analyzing prominent reasoning systems (deductive, Bayesian, etc.) using the proposed framework.

Main Results:

  • Cognitive success, defined by ecological validity and applicability, offers a new metric for rationality.
  • Different reasoning systems exhibit varying performance across ecological validity and applicability.
  • The proposed framework provides a unified perspective on descriptive and normative rationality.

Conclusions:

  • Conceptualizing rationality through cognitive success offers a robust, empirically grounded approach.
  • This framework facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration between psychology and philosophy.
  • It provides a novel lens for understanding the nuances of human reasoning and decision-making.