Neurath's ship: The constitutive relation between normative and descriptive theories of rationality

Comments on article by Shira Elqayam and Jonathan St. B. T. Evans (see record [rid]2011-26229-001[/rid]). I defend the claim that in psychological theories concerned with theoretical or practical rationality there is a constitutive relation between normative and descriptive theories: Normative theories provide idealized descriptive accounts of rational agents. However, we need to resist the temptation to collapse descriptive theories with any specific normative theory. I show how a partial separation is possible. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

Accession Number: 2011-26229-029. Partial author list: First Author & Affiliation: Waldmann, Michael R.; Department of Psychology, University of Gottingen, Gottingen, Germany. Release Date: 20120102. Publication Type: Journal (0100), Peer Reviewed Journal (0110). Format Covered: Print. Document Type: Comment/Reply. Language: English. Major Descriptor: Decision Making; Judgment; Reasoning; Thinking. Classification: Cognitive Processes (2340). Population: Human (10). Page Count: 2. Issue Publication Date: Oct, 2011. Copyright Statement: Cambridge University Press. 2011.