No validation of our rationality - of our very sanity - can be accomplished using our rationality itself. How can a person operating within a system of beliefs, including beliefs about beliefs, get outside that system to determine whether it is rational? If your entire system becomes infected with madness, including the very rules by which you reason, then how can you ever reason your way out of your madness?
The quote highlights a profound philosophical problem regarding self-validation of rationality. It questions how individuals, bound by their own sets of beliefs, can step outside of their convictions to objectively assess their rationality. When all aspects of reasoning are intertwined with potentially flawed beliefs, finding a clear path to truth becomes extremely challenging.
This situation creates a paradox where even if a person recognizes inconsistencies in their system of beliefs, they might still be incapable of reasoning their way out of it. If the very framework of reasoning is tainted, the conclusion drawn from it may also be erroneous. This encapsulates the struggle between reason and madness, illustrating the limitations of human logic when confronted with its own irrational foundations.
