John C. Medaille wrote: > I think there is a big mistake in trying to confound logic with the whole of reason. Everyone who acts, acts for a purpose and hence has a reason for his actions. But to say that the reason is arrived at by a chain of logical deductions is inaccurate. Humans act from a complex of hierarchically ordered desires, and actions generally appear to each actor as rational at the time the action is performed but may appear to another observer, even the same person at another time, as irrational. > I want to thank John Medaille for his post, and Mason Gaffney for bringing in a unique perspective to many discussions. Professor Gaffney grounds economics firmly and soundly in its social context. I would also be interested in knowing from people who have studied this as to what John Stuart Mill had to say about the role of logic and ratiocination in the development/construction of science. Thanks in advance. Sumitra Shah