ABSTRACT
In order to see this distinction between types of rationality that are epistemic and those that aren’t, consider the following case (one that we have seen before, as it happens, in Chapter 2). Suppose that you need to jump a ravine in order to save your life (you are being pursued by an angry mob, perhaps, and this is the only escape route). Knowing what you do about your psychology, you may be entirely aware that if you reflect on the dangers involved in this jump, then you won’t be able to summon the necessary commitment and concentration to make the required leap. In such circumstances, where your aim is to save your skin, the best course of action is to ignore the dangers as best as you can – to set them from your mind – and focus solely on the leap. Moreover, insofar as one can ‘manufacture’ one’s beliefs, it would also be wise to do what you can to convince yourself that you can indeed make this jump, since it is only if one is convinced that one will succeed (and failure doesn’t bear thinking about).
