The 5 most important types of rationality in human beings.

A summary of the types of rationality: ways of understanding the logical thinking of human beings.

Rationality is one of the qualities that define us as humans, but its definition can be approached in different ways.

Therefore, we can establish different typologies, depending on the criteria we select to talk about this concept. This is the question we are going to analyze in the following paragraphs, which will allow us to learn about the different types of rationality.

• Related article, "Are we rational or emotional beings?"

What do we understand by types of rationality?

In order to delve into the various types of rationality, we first need to make an introduction about this concept, as its complexity may be greater than it seems at first glance. Rationality refers to the capacity of human beings to think and act according to a logic or elements of their own..

This quality is what allows us to understand the reality that surrounds us and to use our mental processes to try to achieve our ends in a conscious way, through the most optimal decision making for each goal. This is a tremendously complex characteristic that is not found at this level in any other species.

Rationality is inherent to human beings, although there are individuals who have not yet developed it, as in the case of babies, and others who will never be able to develop it (or at least not fully, as the case may be), such as some people with intellectual disabilities.

Others, on the other hand, had rational capacity in the past, but have lost it or have had it limited, either by dementia due to advanced age, brain damage or other diseases or disorders. Excluding these cases, we could say that rationality is a characteristic of human beings.

Nevertheless, signs of some very primitive types of rationality have been observed in other animal species, such as different primates, dolphins, reptiles and other animals.However, indications of some very primitive types of rationality have been observed in other animal species, such as different primates, dolphins and even animals much more distant from us evolutionarily, such as octopuses, which do not even belong to the group of vertebrates.

Of course, although rationality is a human condition, it does not mean, far from it, that all our mental processes and behaviors are based on a rational question. On the contrary, in many occasions, people fall into behaviors or thoughts without any logical basis and therefore, irrational.

Different types of rationality

After a first part in which we have been able to delve into the meaning of this concept, it is now time to review the types of rationality. There are several typologies that can be made. In this case, we are going to use the one proposed by the famous German sociologist Max Weber..

In his theories, Weber spoke of the concept of social action, as the basic form of interaction between people, and stated that this element depended on the types of rationality being applied at any given moment.

To this end, he distinguished four possibilities in their pure state, although he also considered that on most occasions, what could be appreciated when analyzing the process in question would be a combination of two or more of these types. In any case, let us now look at the four types of rationality proposed by Max Weber.

Instrumental rationality

The first form of rationality that Weber appreciates is instrumental. The key to this way of thinking and acting lies in the expectations that the subject has about the way other people or the entity with which he is interacting act.. This anticipation will mark the subject's way of behaving, guiding him/her in the appropriate way to achieve the objective he/she has set for him/herself.

This would be the most classic way of understanding rationality: we act as we do because we know (or believe) that this is the most logical way to achieve the particular end we have set ourselves at each specific moment. It is a way of acting that we use constantly, without thinking about it.

This type is also known by the name of intentional rationality, since the subject has an intention in behaving as he does, which is to achieve his goal, as we have already seen.which is to achieve his objective, as we have already seen. The name instrumental, likewise, would refer to the use of the means, which would be the concrete conduct, to achieve the end.

Belief rationality

Continuing with the types of rationality, we would now find that which is based on the person's beliefs. In this case, the focus would not be on the expectations that the person has of other people or elements, but would be within him/herself..

What kind of conditions can modulate rationality in this sense? Any that come intrinsically from the person, such as his own beliefs about a given matter, his own ethics and moral values, religious considerations that may modify his worldview, etc.

In this sense, these issues are not a predictor of whether or not the person achieves the desired end, but rather that the behavior or thought is exercised for its own reasons, of the type we have just enumerated. We note, therefore, that belief-oriented rationality modulates the person's way of acting, but does not guarantee that it is the most successful behavior.

3. Affective rationality

But these are not the only types of rationality described by Weber. The third is affective rationality. Here the emotionality of the subject comes into play, another characteristic of the human being. Therefore, will be the feelings and emotions that he is experiencing at a given time, which will guide his thinking or behavior..

In this case, we can observe that the very idea of rationality is at the edge of its definition, since sometimes the very emotion or feelings experienced by the subject could lead him to act in a practically irrational way, according to an external observer.

Max Weber himself was aware of this issue and took it into account when defining the types of rationality, specifically the one that concerns us at this moment. Even so, it is undeniable that feelings and emotions are powerful elements that can influence people's decision making and in fact usually do.

4. Conventional rationality

Finally, Weber completes his list of types of rationality by alluding to social conventions. The cultural elements of the society to which the subject in question belongs may be so integrated that they will also be a decisive factor in modifying our thoughts or behaviors.may be so integrated that they will also be a decisive factor in modifying our thoughts or behaviors.

Many of the actions that a person performs would respond fundamentally to tradition. That is to say, he does what he does because he has learned that it is the way to act, it has always been done this way and apparently this is the right way to act.

Obviously, this may or may not be true, although on many occasions there is no truth as to the correct way to act. In any case, rationality by tradition is another important way of modulating a person's behavior, although it may not always be the efficient way to achieve a certain goal.

5. Combinations of the above

Although we already anticipated that for Max Weber there were four types of rationality that could occur, we also mentioned that these four modalities refer to "pure" situations that, in general, do not usually occur. The fact is that it is usual for several types to exert their influence at the same time.

It is difficult (although not impossible) to abstract from such human factors as the feelings that are being experienced, an intense emotion that we are experiencing, an intense emotion that we are experiencing at the same time, or a feeling that we are experiencing at the same time.It is difficult (although impossible) to abstract from such human factors as the feelings that are being experienced, an intense emotion that is clouding us, the traditions so deeply rooted in our culture, whatever it may be, religious issues that inhibit or modulate part of our thoughts and behaviors.

In short, it is difficult to leave aside all these issues, or other intrinsic factors of the person that, in one way or another, are present when making decisions. Therefore, even if we try to use the first of the types of rationality, the instrumental or intentional, as we have already seen, it is possible that any of the other types (or even all three) are present.

Therefore, even when faced with a cold and meditated decision making, it is possible that, albeit subtly, the other types of rationality are exerting a certain influence on the behavior or thinking adopted.

Bibliographical references:

• Demeulenaere, P. (2014). Are there many types of rationality? Papers. Journal of Sociology.
• Kalberg, S. (1980). Max Weber's types of rationality: Cornerstones for the analysis of rationalization processes in history. American journal of sociology.
• Salvat, P. (2014). Max Weber: power and rationality. Santiago: RIL editores.
• Swidler, A. (1973). The concept of rationality in the work of Max Weber. Sociological Inquiry. Wiley Online Library.