Instinct and Reason#
Summary#
The conflict between instinct and reason is framed as the old theological problem of “Faith” versus “Knowledge”—whether instinct deserves more authority than rationality in the valuation of things. Socrates took the side of reason but secretly recognized its limits, arriving at a self-outwitting compromise where instincts should be followed while reason provides supporting arguments. Since Plato, philosophers and theologians have tried to reconcile the two, but in matters of morality, instinct (or “the herd”) has ultimately triumphed.