Be Reasonable, not Certain

Ever since the 17th century, European thinkers have valued ‘rationality’ at the expense of ‘reasonableness’: the current crisis about postmodernity is one by-product of that obsession. Yet, from garden design and literature to electrical theory and development economics, it can be helpful to restore the balance between these two aspects of Human Reason. In this way, we can recapture the practical wisdom of Aristotle, and recognize the importance of clinical understanding as contrasted with theoretical explanation.