ABSTRACT
This chapter explores which critical and supportive interactions appear within and between rationalities, and how these interactions are grounded in different types of argumentation. It compares the social construction of internal irrationalities and crossover irrationalities, based on cross-case analysis. The chapter focuses on expressive rationality, social rationality and instrumental rationality as leading in the evaluations. While expressive rationality and social rationality can mutually influence each other on the level of values, the interplay when social and expressive rationality influence instrumental rationality is more unidirectional regarding the content of personal and social values. Instrumental-rational evaluation can be supportive to social rationality by showing the possibilities to act on the values and principles suggested, and undermining by showing the opposite. The public debates offer various examples of 'out of context' rationality, like deciding about the pension and settlement rights of Gurkha veterans based on financial means–end considerations.
