Abstract

Audi presents an account of the nature and chief varieties of theoretical rationality, conceived mainly as the rationality of cognitions, especially beliefs. He describes the essential sources of theoretically rational cognitions: perception, memory, consciousness, reason, and testimony, and examines the role of coherence in accounting for rational belief. In the light of his account of sources of belief and knowledge, Audi describes the structure of a rational system of cognitions in persons whose beliefs reflect both direct responsiveness to basic sources of cognition, such as perception, and inferences that build on those sources. He considers conditions for rational change of belief, and he sketches structural and developmental aspects of a person’s theoretical rationality. In his concluding sections, Audi discusses the scope of theoretical rationality and the kind of cognitive integration it requires.