What Are the Characteristics of a Rational Person? Is Being Rational the Same as Being Intelligent?
These days, with the spread of psychology, everyone knows about intelligence. People regard being intelligent as a gift. Everyone thinks that successful people are necessarily more intelligent. However, not all intelligent people are rational; as you see there are many intelligent wrongdoers, as well as intelligent people who mostly make poor choices. The desire to seem intelligent, for ourselves and our children, often outweighs the desire for being a rational person. Intelligence is different from rationality. Rationality is the ability to discern dos and don’ts, while intelligence is the ability to understand concepts and rules. Rationality is like a brake that prevents us from making decisions without thinking. It saves us from becoming limited. Rationality precisely defines our path toward eternity and infinity in a clear way.
What are the characteristics of a rational person? How can we recognize our own rationality? We have often heard people say, “He is a rational person!” or “It is a rational deed!” But who decides what constitutes a rational person? Determining how rational we are depends on who sets the standards of rationality in our minds? The person who does not have a comprehensive understanding of rationality and does not know the human being, all the dimensions of human existence, as well as the path and purpose of his creation cannot help us in this regard. This world is the world of measurements, and naturally, there are rules and criteria for determining the level of our rationality. The kind of things we have tendency to and the things we love reveal how rational we are and how much we meet these criteria.
In this article, we are going to explore the characteristics that make us a rational person and the impact of rationality on our path in life and our eternity.
Rational Frameworks
We stated that it is important who defines the criteria for being rational. Naturally, the best option is to measure ourselves based on the criteria of the One who has created us, the One who knows well the origin, destination, and hardships of our path and is fully aware of the purpose for which we have been created. If our life was limited to this world, probably rational decisions would have a different meaning for us. But in addition to this world, there is the prospect of eternity, which affects all our decisions. If we do not believe in eternity, many of the pressures of the world seem unfair, nonsense, and unbearable to us.
In the divine hierarchy of value, a sound intellect prioritizes more over less, the unlimited over the limited and temporary, and of course, the hereafter over this world. A sound intellect, behaving according to its logical structures and frameworks, definitely chooses the more and the unlimited options as well. For example, it always chooses the better option: a lifetime app subscription over a one-month trial, and a more valuable prize over a less valuable one.
But when it comes to choosing between this world and the hereafter, many of us prefer this world. For example, we prefer to endure eternal suffering in the hereafter and live according to our low desires in this world. For example, we prioritize personal preferences—like choosing our clothing, place of residence, friends, and spouse—over a healthy birth into the hereafter. While from God’s perspective, rationality is demonstrated when our choices—in work, education, relationships, and neighborhood— make us more like Him, and help us to acquire a sound heart, which is a necessity for a blissful life in the hereafter.
So according to worldly standards, it does not really matter which kind of perfection we are dealing with. Our earthly pursuits are temporary, but our desires and how we invest our lives, talents, and love impact our eternity. The choice between limited pleasures and beauties and unlimited ones reveals the extent of our intellect and understanding.
Unfortunately, the criteria for rationality have been reversed today. From the point of view of those who have preferred the temporary and limited world to the unlimited eternity, a rational person is someone who has more knowledge, wealth, fame, political and social status, and beauty. While from the point of view of God, the world with all its splendor is nothing more than play and amusement compared to the hereafter. In God’s system of evaluating, if we prefer the world to eternity and do not base our decisions, relationships, thoughts, and behaviors on the hereafter and eternity, then no matter what degree of success and fame we have reached, we do not have a sound intellect.
A Rational Person Knows the Limits and Measures Determined by God
As we stated, we are human beings due to our supra-rational dimension. Since God has breathed into us of His spirit, we are in love with infinity and the Absolute Perfection in our human part. However, material limitations prevent the complete manifestation of the Beloved of our human dimension, which is Allah, in the world. So if we reach human maturity, we naturally look for our true Beloved. Heaven is the most perfect place where God manifests Himself. Because of our familiarity with the world, we have become accustomed and attached to the beloveds of the lower dimensions of our being. But a rational person does not exchange an eternal Heaven, which is the place of manifestation of his true Beloved, for a limited world in which he ultimately reaches the beloveds of the lower dimensions of his being.
The harmony of our ideals, desires, concerns, interests, and the hierarchy of love with God’s system of measurement and our human part shows whether we are a rational person or not, and the level of our rationality. A rational individual aligns his criteria in every decision, relationship, behavior, and thought with the Creator, who is fully aware of all the aspects of human existence. In this way, he achieves happiness and peace and comes closer to the purpose of his creation.
In this article, we discussed the characteristics of a rational person from God’s perspective. We argued that the level of our rationality depends on our choices between less and more, limited and unlimited, and ultimately between the world and the hereafter. Our tendencies, attachments, and beloveds indicate the type of our choice and the level of our rationality. We may be a very intelligent person, even a scientific elite and genius, but this does not make us a “rational person.”
Are your criteria consistent with the criteria that God sets for a rational person? What other factors can we use to measure our rationality?