Rationally Correct

A normative framework within rationalist communities where conformity to specific models of rationality—often Bayesian reasoning, expected utility calculations, or adherence to “rationalist” principles—is treated as both intellectually mandatory and morally superior. Being “rationally correct” means adopting the approved heuristics, avoiding cognitive biases as defined by the community, and framing every issue in terms of probability and optimization. Dissent is pathologized as motivated reasoning. Like political correctness, it establishes an orthodoxy enforced through social pressure, jargon, and exclusion, but here the sacred values are epistemic purity and instrumental reason.

Example: “He refused to discuss climate justice unless she framed it as a cost‑benefit analysis. That’s being rationally correct: insisting the only valid discourse is the one his tribe already dominates.”

by Dumu The Void April 1, 2026