Education for Rationality

This chapter considers how we can promote the development of reasoning and rationality. It begins with the concept of critical thinking, which has long been popular in education and, although variously defined, is closely connected to rationality in its concern for reasons. Peer argumentation is proposed as an educational approach that promotes the development of rationality. The chapter also notes the prevalence of indoctrination in curriculum and instruction, especially in elementary and secondary education. Extending previous discussions about the role of intellectual freedom in collaborative reasoning, deliberative democracy, and the development of rational agency, this chapter provides a reconceptualization of academic freedom that recognizes the central role of intellectual freedom in any educational program aimed at the promotion of rationality. The chapter concludes with a brief sketch of the ideal rational agent.