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How To Think

Critical Reasoning

Marianne Talbot tells us how to use the ultimate in transferrable skills.

My mug is sitting to my right doing nothing. This is because it believes it is at the centre of the universe, and its desire to be at the centre of the universe is stronger than any of its other desires.

I expect you’ll reject this explanation of the behaviour of my mug. Why, you might ask, should we ever think the mug is acting for reasons?

This is a good question. A human with this belief and this desire might have a reason to sit and do nothing; but a mug?

We might, of course, say a human with this belief and desire is irrational – that their reasons are bad ones.

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