The atomic bombings were products of rational problem-solving mentality

Evidence

Having made this evidently true observation, Dawidowicz nevertheless misses an important point: the killing of the two hundred thousand Japanese was conceived (and executed) as a searched-for effective means to implement the set goal; it was, indeed, a product of rational problem-solving mentality. — Zygmunt Bauman, Modernity and the Holocaust, 730

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Weber’s distinction between Zweckrationalitat (instrumental rationality) and Wertrationalitat, which Bauman draws on throughout to distinguish the Holocaust from other mass killings. — connects to: Pragmatism redefined thought as an active tool for solving problems rather than passive contemplation. — Richard A. Posner, What Has Pragmatism to Offer Law?, 25; Metal’s predictable behavior seeded rational thinking, logic, and mathematics. — Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex, 165

Related

• The Holocaust succeeded partly through victims’ rational actions. (similarity 0.79)
• Instrumental reason’s slaughter continued after the Holocaust on the same scale. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Pragmatism redefined thought as an active tool for solving problems rather than passive contemplation. #expands (0.85) — Richard A. Posner, What Has Pragmatism to Offer Law?, 25