Abstract

DANNER, Leno Francisco. The emergence of rationality: a philosophical essay. Conjectura: filos. e Educ. [online]. 2017, vol.22, n.1, pp.11-31. ISSN 2178-4612.  https://doi.org/10.18226/21784612.v22.n1.02.

This article argues that the emergence of the Western question of rationality can only be understood in its dynamics and evolution from the correlation between philosophical/theological/scientific institution and strong objectivity, which can only be achieved by a scientific institutional praxis, something that common sense and common people cannot achieveperform. The Platonic model of scientific institution as centralizing and monopolizing the epistemological-political grounding, imposing it directly on common sense and common people, is based on the idea that strong epistemological-moral objectivity is the normative condition to the sense, framing, legitimation and guiding of common sense and common people. This correlation between scientific institution and strong objectivity leads to strong institutionalism regarding the constitution, the legitimation and the social foment of the valid knowledge and valid culture, again from the contraposition to common sense and common people. Here, scientific institutions acquire a role of judge and guide of social evolution as a whole. The paper's central argument is that such Platonic association between scientific institution and rationality (or epistemological-moral objectivity as a product of scientific institution) must be deconstructed in favor of common sense and common people, that is, in favor of democracy as the basis of the epistemological-moral grounding, which implies, as a consequence, the institutional weakening and even abandonment of that Platonic self-understanding which associates scientific institution and objectivity.

Keywords : Rationality; Scientism; Foundation; Objectivity; Democracy.

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