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Does compartmentalisation require explicit acknowledgement of the specialisation dissociation—i.e. conscious, as is likely in the case of an economist, physicist, etc… whom acknowledge the use of the laws of logic within their respected spheres—or, would we also call implicit specialisation dissociation—i.e. subconscious, as is likely in the case of a baker, surgeon, etc… who may not even think logic has anything to do with their respected spheres of specialisation, but evidently, and necessarily it does (to the extent that they are successful). In short, must one explicitly acknowledge that the laws of logic can be applicable in some spheres, in order to compartmentalise?
Ely, I may not fully understand your question but here goes my attempt. Are you asking whether it is possible to compartmentalize while also being illogical (irrational) within your speciality? If so, I believe the answer is yes. For example, someone could specialize in theology, astrology or alchemy without attempting to integrate these irrational beliefs to anything else. If so, the person would be guilty irrationality within the speciality as well as compartmentalization.But I think Rand/Peikoff think that the more interesting type of compartmentalization is where someone is rational within the specialized area of knowledge but fails to integrate that area with other areas of knowledge. Peikoff gives the example of the conservative economist (bottom page 127) but a more dramatic example is the character of Dr. Robert Statler in “Atlas Shrugged” who was very logical/rational in physics but failed to integrate his valid knowledge with any area dealing with people eg ethics.
Hi Steve, thanks for the answer. The question is not so much about the pursuit—specialization—at stake, but more so about whether the specializer explicitly acknowledges and accepts that he is using reason and logic within that sphere. Is this explicit recognition—i.e. “I know I am logical in physics, but that is all theory—that doesnt apply to the real world…”—a prerequisite of compartmentalization? Or, is the mentality that rejects logic and reason altogether as “impractical”, all the while unknowingly using it in their area of specialization also compartmentalizing?
I doubt if it would be so explicit as that. I think that the “compartmentalizer” simply avoids (and evades) the mental effort required to integrate his speciality with other areas of knowledge. Many people do this even at the level of recognizing some facts while disregarding others which they don’t like.
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