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WISER LEADERSHIP
Rational Vs Reasonable Leadership
Why the enlightenment may not have been all it was cracked up to be and how it impacts leadership today
We have a lot to thank the Enlightenment for. It gave rise to the science of science. It birthed the triumphant nature of ‘reason’. Of course, I am a fan — the US constitution was a product of the Enlightenment and a huge leap forward for democracy and rights. The Federalist Papers that defended it inspired these articles. But I am also a fan of wisdom and as Matthew White put it
Centuries of custom and tradition were brushed aside in favour of exploration, individualism, tolerance and scientific endeavour, which, in tandem with developments in industry and politics, witnessed the emergence of the ‘modern world’. — Matthew White
I have previously mentioned a few formative forces in the development of how we know leadership today such as Feudalism and Industrialisation but I mention them in passing because they do not offer us as much insight into how to get out of the leadership maze we have created today. However, the (hyper)rationalisation of the world that started with the Enlightenment may still hold many clues as to how to lead now and in the future. Critically it also holds some clues as to where we go wrong…