Previous in thread
Next in thread

I have often wondered about what makes a person do anything? I came to the conclusion that reason alone is not sufficient. For example, suppose a person smokes and someone tells him that it is bad for health. The smoker is not going to stop. It seems to me that reason just tells you why you should change and perhaps how you should change but the impetus to change itself is outside reason. Jean Buridan, a philosopher "proved" that reason is insufficient. His argument is "A perfectly rational donkey will starve to death when it is placed inbetween to equidistant piles of hay". The point is that ultimately some "irrational" (beyond reason. not idiotic :)) force is needed to choose between the two piles. Since it by definition a choice that is not based on any fact, it is irrational (not idiotic).

I believe that irrational factor is what is called as faith/coviction whatever! From an individual's standpoint, faith is more efficient than reason. I cannot possibly have a sound "reason" for every thing I do. It is a huge waste of time and I'll probably be a loser in life while I endlessly poder the impact of everylittle thing I do. It is much more efficient for me
to just do what someone else says. As long as I exercise some reasonable rational choice in who I choose to follow, it is much better. So, knowing what to do is not the problem. Doing it is. I'm sure that countless millions of people around the world know the problem of the environment etc., but everyone is driving here and there and contributing to the problem. So the question is, what is "it" that makes me act? that is the question? Not whether people know what needs to be done.

The main point I'm trying to make is that reason just answers the question "why I should change and how I can go about it". While is a good thing, it has nothing to do with whether I'll actually do it. This is very easy to understand. Everyone knows that it is good to floss everyday. How many people do it? What makes some do it?

So, it looks like, man has to resort to irrationality to implement rational decisions. There is a need for something beyond reason isn't it? what is it?

-Murali:)

>From: Rick Brudzynski <Rick.Brudzynski@omsi.edu>
>To: "'Jim McClellan'" <jmcclellan@tds.net>, science@lists.pdx.edu, Todd
>Duncan <duncan@scienceintegration.org>
>CC: tsh@pdx.edu
>Subject: RE: food for thought
>Date: Thu, 26 Dec 2002 18:01:39 -0800
>
>...and the integration and embodiment tasks are quite often the hardest
>part.
>---Rick
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Jim McClellan [mailto:jmcclellan@tds.net]
>Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 7:55 PM
>To: science@lists.pdx.edu; Todd Duncan
>Cc: tsh@pdx.edu
>Subject: Re: food for thought
>
>
>But you need the knowledge to know what is true and what is false.
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Todd Duncan" <duncan@scienceintegration.org>
>To: <science@lists.pdx.edu>
>Cc: <tsh@pdx.edu>
>Sent: Thursday, December 12, 2002 5:44 PM
>Subject: food for thought
>
>
> > "We have inordinate amounts of knowledge, which could considerably
> > improve our condition, if only it could be made known to people,
> > integrated, and embodied in our daily practices." - A. Montuori
> > (Evolutionary Competence: Creating the Future, p. 347)
> >