Crossword clues for rationalization
rationalization
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Rationalization \Ra`tion*al*i*za"tion\ (r[a^]sh`[u^]n*al*[i^]*z[=a]"sh[u^]n), n. The act or process of rationalizing.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
1825, "a rendering rational," from rationalize + -ation. Psychological use is from 1908.\n\nOf the three works now on our table, the two which we have placed first have these laudable objects in view; an improvement on the former versions of the Psalms as compositions, and the rationalization, if we may so speak, of our Church psalmody.
["The British Critic," London, Jan.-June 1825]
Wiktionary
n. 1 The process, or result of rationalize. 2 A statement of one's motives, or of the causes of some event. 3 A reorganization of a company or organization in order to improve its efficiency. 4 (context psychiatry English) The concealment of true motivation in some non-threatening way. 5 (context mathematics English) The simplification of an expression without changing its value.
WordNet
n. the cognitive process of making something seem consistent with or based on reason [syn: rationalisation]
(psychiatry) a defense mechanism by which your true motivation is concealed by explaining your actions and feelings in a way that is not threatening [syn: rationalisation]
(mathematics) the simplification of an expression or equation by eliminating radicals without changing the value of the expression or the roots of the equation [syn: rationalisation]
the organization of a business according to scientific principles of management in order to increase efficiency [syn: rationalisation]
systematic organization; the act of organizing something according to a system or a rationale [syn: systematization, systematisation, rationalisation]
Wikipedia
Rationalization may refer to:
- Rationalization (economics), an attempt to change an ad hoc workflow into one based on published rules; also, jargon for a reduction in staff
- Rationalisation (mathematics), the process of removing a square root or imaginary number from the denominator of a fraction
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Rationalization (psychology), a psychological defense mechanism in which perceived controversial behaviors are logically justified also known as "making excuses"
- Post-purchase rationalization, a tendency to retroactively ascribe positive attributes to an option one has selected
- Rationalization (sociology), the replacement of traditions, values, and emotions as motives for behavior in society with rational motives
In economics, rationalization is an attempt to change a pre-existing ad hoc workflow into one that is based on a set of published rules. There is a tendency in modern times to quantify experience, knowledge, and work. Means-end (goal-oriented) rationality is used to precisely calculate that which is necessary to attain a goal. Its effectiveness varies with the enthusiasm of the workers for the changes being made, the skill with which management applies the rules, and the degree to which the rules fit the job.
Rationalization aims at an efficiency increase by better use of existing possibilities: A same effect can with fewer means, or with same means to be obtained. In the industry thereby frequently the replacement of manpower is designated by machines (rationalization investment). It is the reasonable, appropriate organization of operational conditions under changing conditions to increase with the goal, productivity and economy.
Julien Freund defines rationalization as "the organization of life through a division and coordination of activities on the basis of exact study of men's relations with each other, with their tools and their environment, for the purpose of achieving greater efficiency and productivity."
The rationalization process is the practical application of knowledge to achieve a desired end. Its purpose is to bring about efficiency, coordination, and control of the natural and social environment. It is a product of "scientific specialization and technical differentiation" that seems to be a characteristic of Western culture. Rationalization is the guiding principle behind bureaucracy and the increasing division of labor, and has led to an increase in both the production and distribution of goods and services. It is also associated with secularization without its more positive component of humanism, with depersonalization and with oppressive routine.
Increasingly, human behavior is to be guided by observation, experiment, and reason ( zweckrational). Change in human character is expected to be part of the process; rationalization and bureaucratization promote efficiency, and materialism, both of which are subsumed under Weber's concept of zweckrational.
In psychology and logic, rationalization or rationalisation (also known as making excuses) is a defense mechanism in which controversial behaviors or feelings are justified and explained in a seemingly rational or logical manner to avoid the true explanation, and are made consciously tolerable—or even admirable and superior—by plausible means. It is also an informal fallacy of reasoning.
Rationalisation happens in two steps:
- A decision, action, judgement is made for a given reason, or no (known) reason at all.
- A rationalisation is performed, constructing a seemingly good or logical reason, as an attempt to justify the act after the fact (for oneself or others).
Rationalization encourages irrational or unacceptable behavior, motives, or feelings and often involves ad hoc hypothesizing. This process ranges from fully conscious (e.g. to present an external defense against ridicule from others) to mostly unconscious (e.g. to create a block against internal feelings of guilt or shame). People rationalize for various reasons—sometimes when we think we know ourselves better than we do. Rationalization may differentiate the original deterministic explanation of the behavior or feeling in question.
In sociology, rationalisation or rationalization refers to the replacement of traditions, values, and emotions as motivators for behavior in society with rational, calculated ones. For example, the implementation of bureaucracies in government is a kind of rationalization, as is the construction of high-efficiency living spaces in architecture and urban planning.
Rationalisation refers to the process of replacing the current values, traditions and emotions of a society, that motivate their current behaviors, with thoughts and actions which appear to be more rational. For example, this could take the form of a Western society attempting to change the cultural traditions and values of a less economically developed country to, in their eyes, benefit them. They replace what they see as an outdated thought process with one more modernized and Westernized. A potential reason as to why rationalization of a culture takes place could be due to the process of Globalisation. Countries are increasingly becoming interlinked, and with a rise of technology it is easier for countries to influence each other through social networking, the media and politics. An example of rationalization in place would be the case of Witch Doctors in certain parts of Africa. Whilst many Africans view them as an important part of their culture and traditions, many Westerners have tried to rationalize the practice in order to educate the Africans on modern medicine and practice (Giddens, 2013).
Many sociologists, critical theorists and contemporary philosophers have argued that rationalization, as falsely assumed progress, has a negative and dehumanizing effect on society, moving modernity away from the central tenets of enlightenment. The founders of sociology were acting as a critical reaction to rationalization:
Usage examples of "rationalization".
I also use it, in a general sense, to refer to the rationalization of any of the mythic structures.
Each belief is the rationalization of the prevailing mood of one of these persons.
And since one psychological state cannot be truer than another, since all are equally facts, it follows that the rationalization of one state cannot be truer than the rationalization of another.
The difference between a scientific theory and a metaphysical world-view is that the first is a rationalization of psychological experiences which are more or less uniform for all men and for the same man at different times, while the second is a rationalization of experiences which are diverse, occasional, and contradictory.
Seeing, then, that even sense impressions not only can but must be rationalized in irreconcilably different ways, according to the class of object with which they are supposed to be connected, we need not be troubled or surprised by the contradictions which we find in the rationalization of less uniform psychological experiences.
The technological transformations of the 1970s, however, with their thrust toward automatic rationalization, pushed these regimes to the extreme limit of their effectiveness, to the breaking point.
I also knew I would find a rationalization, but it was too far from my reach as I prepared myself for a week of solitude.
Do you honestly think your life, with its unending rules, elaborate rituals, and convoluted rationalizations, is simple?
Thus, the almost indefinitely numerous rationalizations of the aesthetic and the mystical experiences not only contradict one another, but agree in contradicting those rationalizations of sense experience known as scientific theories.
In substance, however, they are simply rationalizations of diverse and equally valid psychological states, and are therefore neither true nor false.
I was bored with the endless monologue of numbers and rationalizations in my head.
The treatment of locust swarms by air attack, the spraying of the reafforested regions against various tree diseases, the regular cleansing and stimulation of our grain and root crops are all subsequent rationalizations of these practices of the Age of Frustration.
While the rationale of the she-male may seem to be nothing more than a transparent attempt at rationalization, upon closer examination it reveals an interesting form of transvestic metaphysics.
Then the usual obligatory introductions and sugary compliments and aggravating politenesses, and over an hour of back and forth, of demands calmly deflected, ponderous arguments, delays requested, astonishment where none was merited, questions needing to be repeated, facts dismissed, the truth disregarded--alibis, explanations, rationalizations, excuses, all courteously delivered.
The major virtues tend to disintegrate under the pressures of convenient rationalization.