Is "reason" a separate operation of our mind or is it a product of our instinct?

Question

I asked this question because I observed that the lizards and other animal specie has the instinct to avoid danger, in my situation - avoidance of danger is compelled by my reason and instinct...perhaps.

Answer 1

I think that the laws of deductive reasoning were a consequence of our observations of their practicality in our world. That we have confidence in them not because they are true but because we see them true most of the time... and are awed by the law, after our predictions have been proven true But our faith in deduction, before prediction is validated, is based on instinct, if not raw emotional feeling of surety. Inductive reasoning bred deductive reasoning. Before deduction, all we had was induction... and therefore induction was used to formulate the more restrictive laws of deduction... without any proof to their undeniability.

Answer 2

Reason and instinct are not completely separate. Whenever we think about something, at least some of our instinctual urges come into play, shifting our mind this way and that.

For example: suppose you are hungry. You could reason that you should not get food on the basis that you want to lose weight but more often than not you will say 'I'll just get SOME food', thus the mind is still guided by instinct.

You can't really riposte that some ppl are anorexic through reason, because in fact they do not want to be anorexic; they are suffering from mental disorder as their reasoning has become skewed (we see the habit instinct of refusing to eat overriding the eating instinct).

Indeed, you know the phrase 'she has an instinct for...[something]'? Well I do not think that is an arbitrary expression, for the mind, it seems to me, is an advanced set of conscious instincts capable of changing as the subject (the man) sees fit --i.e. 'better' in some manner. Perhaps ;-)

Answer 3

Man has the ability to problem solve (reaon) and figure out solutions to complex problems, which is a learned ability. Some of the other higher primates can do this, as well as a few other animals like dolphins and pigs. Most other lower animals have mostly instinct, which is an almost automatic response to external stimuli.

So, short answer...reason is a separate function of our mind from instinct.

Answer 4

"Our two minds .... One is an act of the emotional
mind, the other of the rational mind. In a very
real sense we have two minds, one that thinks and
one that feels" (Daniel Goleman, Emotional
Intelligence, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1996,
page 8). This rational mind is also called the
faculty of logic and reason. The emotional mind
is connected with instinct.

The Upanishads say that these two are opposite in
nature. Modern psychologist also have observed it,
but they are not very sure about it:

"At the same time, reason sometimes clearly seems
to come into conflict with some desires (even
while not being in conflict with others) giving us
the impression that reason is separate from
emotion".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reason

Answer 5

Human instincts exist only from birth until the child "wakes up" to the fact that he does indeed reason. These instincts teach him to suck a bottle of liquid food, to pay attention to the world, to roll over, to crawl, to walk, to talk.
But when he begins to talk, his instincts gradually begin to subside, to be replaced by a burning desire to know "why, why, why?" It was his subconscious instinct in his infancy to ask "why," and this created the knowledge base that brought him into full consciousness.

Answer 6

In my opinion, "reason" is an intellectual calculation- a choice.
"Instinct" is one of the sixth senses provided by God. Therefore do we choose (reason) to listen to it?
AN EXAMPLE; : When my 4 year old daughter was visiting with 3 teenage cousins on a hot day, I was enroute to an art show- I had a powerful instinct (sixth sense) come over me in a wave.
I reasoned to return to their home immediately, where I found my child locked herself in the car, because she was too shy!! Forever grateful for my senses!!

Answer 7

Instinct is built into us, or into animals...by our creator. It can signal us for danger, or in animals how to live and survive.

Reason is the ability to think and process information. We reason...animals do not. They can be aware and smart...but they don't have the brains we do, or the ability to process everything.

God made us to be in charge of the animals and take care of them. We are higher than the animals we take care of....God planned it that way.

Answer 8

I don't think they have much in common. Animals instinctively avoid danger because those who don't, don't survive to reproduce. Among humans, what our gut tells us and what our head tells us is more often in conflict than agreement.

Answer 9

most common since people are born with it