In the Twisted Fairytale of Human Agency, Irrational Beliefs Are the Unlikely Heroes

Agency is our capacity to intervene in the world to pursue our goals. It is commonly assumed that we need to be rational in order to be effective agents, and that rational agency is also something that contributes to our mental health. Indeed, several medical interventions aimed at improving functioning are interpreted as a way to restore rational capacities that had been previously compromised. However, research in cognitive and social psychology has undermined the idea that we are rational agents and has drawn attention to forms of behaviour that are at the same time irrational and instrumental to our wellbeing. Embracing this complexity is vital to gaining a better understanding of why, at least in some contexts, reinstating rationality does not enhance mental health. Moving towards a view of our agency that is less idealised also enables us to develop effective strategies for interacting in a productive way with people who have different beliefs and values from ours, where a productive exchange is one where all parties gain something from the exchange. In this paper, I briefly discuss some cases of irrational belief that support, rather than compromise, agency.