Error

I think that, yes, you did misunderstand rationality, though it’s hard to tell for sure since you never define it. I’ll use two commonly used definitions:

• Rationality means having accurate beliefs.

• Rationality means making good decisions, i.e. decisions that help one achieve one’s goals.

You write:

Our reliance on the scientific method and empirical evidence as the sole means of acquiring knowledge is problematic in its narrow, positivist approach, which ignores the invaluable insights that can be gleaned from our innate intuitive faculties. [...] I always thought I had to act rational and pay no attention (or less attention) to my own intuition as rationality suggests.

But rationality doesn’t tell us that we should ignore intuition. Intuition is evidence, sometimes useful, sometimes not. Intuition can help us be rational if and to the extent that it helps us have accurate beliefs and/​or make decisions that help us achieve our goals.

Effective altruists and rationalists do emphasise using evidence and reason, but that is not because those are inherently good, it’s because they’re instrumentally good—because (we think) they help you have more true beliefs and make better decisions.