Knorr Catena sets up two opposing approaches to reason and rationality, the first being reason as resources and the second being rational action as practiced. These approaches are expertly explored and analyzed by her but are not her own proposals, especially the first. Much of the set of the essay is spent on elaborating the over-emphasis of the first approach by scientists, economists, philosophers and sociologists all pursuing respective notions of rationality or knowledge, treating it value that achieved through proper conduct or operation. The point is that this approach 'sees' rationality embedded within the final outcome of and not within the enacted operations. The author here is free to make to challenging moves successively, the first being the negligence of the second approach by the same authorities, the second, correlating this negligence with the limitations of establishing a preference for the reason as resources approach.
