Hello, I'd Like To Have an Argument.

Reason, logic, and rationality are supposed to be the foundation of our Western way of life. Science relies upon rationality in order to advance, and our entire law system is based upon the idea that logical argument will enable justice by uncovering the truth of a situation. In spite of this ideal, it's well known that bad science happens all the time, and that money will often buy victory in the court of law through the modus of expensive and highly-skilled lawyers.

Odd, then, that it's only just now been noticed by science that rational argument is bent more often in the service of victory than it is in pursuit of objective truth. It is, apparently, far more often just one more way for a human to consolidate power and win a mate. It's a good thing that we're admitting there's no such thing as true objectivity - we can, however, attempt to analyze our lack of objectivity in an objective manner, nesting quasi-objectivity inside itself recursively and approaching some kind of asymptotic ideal that way. Or we could just watch Monty Python videos about arguing about arguing about arguing and have a laugh at ourselves instead.

Read more here: Reason Seen More as Weapon Than Path to Truth via NYTimes.com