When a man proceeds rationally from his values, he must always guard against a fallacy that often arises therewith: that those values are made rational by the procedure thereafter. This fallacy waits upon all those who would like to wear the impressive raiments of rationality but who are barely able to dress themselves.
4 comments:
I've read this one over and over, upside down and inside out. Raiments of rationality. OK. This is either too clever for me or else it's too clever by half. Assuming the former, what had you in mind at the point of stating this, Deogolwulf? Give an explanatory example.
Is Boozing in Bordeaux the reason you have not deigned to reply, sir? By the way, I was in Bordeaux and certainly boozed. It would have been travesty not to.
James, I think what he's getting at is that one should not judge a claret by its label ... er, no, that doesn't quite do the job ... just let me have another slurp ... how about, never judge a sommelier by the way he pores the wine? No, no, that's not quite it ... pass the decanter ... um, what about 'many a slip twixt glass and lip', oh God what am I rambling on about ... hang on, must just pull the cork on another ... now where were we ...?
I suspect, James, that you are looking too deeply into the phrase. (My apologies, by the way, for the spelling mistake. It should of course be "raiments".) I had in mind the kind of sixth-form rationalists that haunt many discussions and who arrogate rationality for their deepest sentiments.
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