| 释义 |
rationalization|ˌræʃənəlaɪˈzeɪʃən|
[-ation.]
1. a. The act of making rational or intelligible, or the result of this.
1846Ruskin Mod. Paint. (1851) I. ii. i. vii. §42 The two Carthages are mere rationalizations of Claude. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 556 The rationalization which explains the legend.
b. Psychol. The justification of behaviour to make it appear rational or socially acceptable by (subconsciously) ignoring, concealing, or glossing its real motive; an act of making such a justification.
1908Jrnl. Abnormal Psychol. III. 166 Two different groups of false explanations can be distinguished..according as they are formed mainly for private or mainly for public consumption. The former of these I would term ‘evasions’, the latter ‘rationalisations’. 1924J. Riviere tr. Freud's Coll. Papers I. 341 His [sc. Adler's] theory does what all patients do and what our waking thought in general does—namely, makes use of a rationalization, as Jones has called it, in order to conceal unconscious motives. 1947E. F. Frazier in Amer. Sociol. Rev. XII. 271 A dynamic sociological theory of race relations which will discard all the rationalizations of race prejudice. 1953R. F. C. Hull tr. Jung's Coll. Wks. VII. 214 My patient clung to his intellectual world and defended himself with rationalizations against what he regarded as his illness. 1961H. Bonner Psychol. of Personality ix. 281 The term ‘rationalization’ has become a household word. It is essentially a method of self-justification. It is motivated by the fear of criticism and disapproval by others. 1977F. J. Bruno Human Adjustment ii. 67 The defense mechanism called rationalization is used when the real motive for one's behavior is unacceptable to the ego.
2. a. Math. The process of clearing from irrational quantities. (See rational a. 5 a.)
1853Cayley in Camb. & Dubl. Math. Jrnl. VIII. 97 (title) On the Rationalisation of certain algebraical Equations.
b. Physics. The reformulation of the equations and definitions of electromagnetism so that the factor 4π is removed from those relating to systems without spherical symmetry.
1891O. Heaviside in Electrician 16 Oct. 656/2 When..the real advantages of the rational system become widely recognized and thoroughly assimilated, then will come a demand for the rationalisation of the practical units. 1942Phil. Mag. XXXIII. 486 The simplification of formulæ due to rationalization can be illustrated by considering a parallel plate condenser. 1951Electr. Engin. LXX. 332/2 Note that, in effect, a 4π was inserted in the denominator of the classical expression for force between parallel wires to accomplish rationalization, and that the elimination of 4π from the magnetomotive force relation followed without any additional arbitrary insertion of 4π. 1969L. Young Systems of Units Electr. & Magn. 197 The appearance or disappearance of 4π's in the equations of electromagnetism upon rationalization can be interpreted in two ways... Just as our point of view has been described as ‘rationalization of units’, so the other point of view has been called ‘rationalization of quantities’.
c. Econ. and Sociol. The process of applying rational (sense 7) methods, esp. of standardization and simplification, to the planning and organization of economic enterprises or the administration of social groups in order to achieve a particular result such as maximum profit or efficiency; an example of this.
[1905M. Weber in Archiv f. Sozialwissenschaft u. Sozialpolitik XX. 29 Alsdann nun wiederholte sich, was immer and überall die Folge eines solchen ,,Rationalisierungs‘-Prozesses ist.] 1921E. & C. Paul tr. Rathenau's In Days to Come iii. i. 125 The general wellbeing of the country is doubled or trebled by the setting of idle hands to work and by the rationalisation of production. 1926D. Houston Memorandum on Rationalisation in U.S. 3 The term rationalisation as used in Europe today includes, I take it, the three elements of stabilisation, standardisation and simplification of industry or of individual enterprises. 1934P. & I. Petroff Secret of Hitler's Victory iii. 38 The soullessness of modern labour, which had reached its climax in consequence of the rationalization, became the outstanding feature of the whole period. 1936H. A. Phelps Princ. & Laws of Sociol. xx. 424 A compensating general trend is the increasing rationalization of social life. 1939H. Hodge Cab, Sir? 259 The would-be Napoleon..puts his rationalisation schemes into the waste-paper basket. 1947Henderson & Parsons tr. Weber's Theory Social & Econ. Organization i. 112 One of the most important aspects of the process of ‘rationalization’ of action is the substitution for the unthinking acceptance of ancient custom, of deliberate adaptation to situations in terms of self-interest. 1959Listener 31 Dec. 1147/2 A rationalization proposal [in the U.S.S.R.] is a technical improvement using known means which lacks the degree of originality demanded of a patentable invention. 1971J. J. Shapiro tr. Habermas's Toward Rational Society vi. 99 Until then [sc. the 19th century] modern science did not contribute to the acceleration of technical development nor, consequently, to the pressure toward rationalization from below. 1972W. J. Mommsen Age of Bureaucracy iv. 80 Another secular force of social change is found, namely rationalization..by which tradition-bound or value-oriented forms of political and social organization are gradually replaced by purely instrumentally rational institutions. 1976Star (Sheffield) 20 Nov., The company had announced ‘rationalisation’ plans meaning the closure of the Dronfield works. |