A cognitive bias where one projects one's own standards of rationality onto others—assuming that everyone should reason the same way, value the same things, reach the same conclusions from the same evidence, and that those who don't are simply irrational. Rational projection operates when someone says "any rational person would agree" about matters where reasonable people differ; when they dismiss alternative values as irrational rather than differently valued; when they cannot recognize that rationality itself is culturally and historically variable. The projection lies in mistaking one's own rationality for Rationality itself—assuming that the way one thinks is simply the way thinking should be done. It's a form of cognitive imperialism, imposing one's own standards while remaining blind to their specificity.
Example: "He insisted that any rational person would support his policy preferences—rational projection, assuming his values were universal reason rather than particular commitments."
by Dumu The Void March 19, 2026
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