How Can Rationality Empower Children?

Abstract

Introduction: If you had superpowers, would you use them to help yourself or to help the world? When asked this question, this 10 year-old girl made the following deduction: “Since I am part of the world, if I do something to help the world, then I am helping myself.” She avoided the false dilemma fallacy in which you have to choose between only two options. She was able to reason in such a way as to produce a third option without compromising the first two. This is not only a logical deduction, but also the type of reasoning that the world arguably needs for positive progress on environmental and political issues. Once people understand that helping the world is helping humanity and that they are, themselves, part of humanity, they might feel that is it their duty to do whatever they can to help the world.¹