Sunday, October 5, 2014
Reason & Desire
I was very intrigued by our discussion of freedom in Friday's class. Topics like reason and desire seemed to play a major role in Augustine's concept of freedoms and I found this to be very thought-provoking. Augustine explains that men are free to make their own choices, and this sometimes results in "order" and sometimes "disorder." If in a state of "disorder" desire overcomes reason, I am curious why terrible tragedies and poor decisions can stem from premeditated actions. I brought up the example of 9/11 at the end of class and I am curious to hear what others make of this example. In the case of the 9/11 attacks, did reason not precede desire? If you think that desire acted alone, should you not consider the role of religious zeal in the attacks? Is this not also a form of "reason"? I obviously believe what happened that day was an absolute tragedy and a direct encounter with evil, but I cannot help but wonder how Augustine might explain this event. To me it seems evident that reason in some sort prevailed, so why then was tragedy the result?
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Part of the answer to your question comes in distinguishing different kinds of reason. It seems like the reason you're referring to is calculative reason, the reason which assists in the planning of an activity. The other part is distinguishing between religious passions? The simplistic answer would be that some passions are idolatrous and other is genuine.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand your answer to Lexi's question Professor Vaught, I am curious as to how we are to internalize these different kinds of reasoning? How exactly can we dissect these different sorts of reasoning and attach them to an individual's actions, intentions, and ultimately state whether they result in order or disorder? It would seem to me that the more we discuss "types" of reasoning we would be adding our own perspective and assumptions.
ReplyDeleteLexi, I found your addition of 9/11 into the conversation on Friday to be very interesting and very applicable. I was really unsure as to how to dissect that day and verbalize how Augustine would have reacted. I believe that in this case reason preceded desire like you say. The people involved, in their minds, had a reason as to why the US needed to be punished. Once the reason was created, and the passion was there, the desire to kill and destroy emerged. Without reason, I almost believe, that desire alone could end up being a mistake and resemble an impulse decision. The terrorists never once considered that day to be a mistake confirming reason and desire both acted in this situation.
Delete9/11 was a good example to use in this discussion. I could not help but think of Aristotle and his views regarding human function when reading the comments. Aristotle believes that the human function is to act in accord with virtue and reason. So it is clear to me that while these attacks may have been based on some illogical reasoning as we have stated, they clearly go against virtue. I think that Augustine would potentially agree that in order for us to use reason as a motive, it must not contradict the lives of others or be in violation of virtue. I then do not think that we could rightfully say that these acts were truly based on reason.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Prof. Vaught as he pointed out that it seems as though, Lexi, you are referring to the calculative reasoning behind the 9/11 attack and how the planning had to have occurring through this reasoning and it wasn’t just something that resulted from pure desire. In addition though, if you are referring to reasoning as in moral decisions, I would have to say that no there was no reasoning involved in the attack because reasoning consists of more than just the physical aspect of planning an activity, but rather assisting the morals involved in the action as well as the consequences involved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Prof. Vaught as he pointed out that it seems as though, Lexi, you are referring to the calculative reasoning behind the 9/11 attack and how the planning had to have occurring through this reasoning and it wasn’t just something that resulted from pure desire. In addition though, if you are referring to reasoning as in moral decisions, I would have to say that no there was no reasoning involved in the attack because reasoning consists of more than just the physical aspect of planning an activity, but rather assisting the morals involved in the action as well as the consequences involved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of your comments, and it makes me wonder about the relationship between desire and reason. I wonder if in the case of 9/11 desire first overcame the terrorist, and then they tried to justify their actions with false reasoning. Maybe the reason terrible tragedies can come from premeditated actions is because reason follows desire. Depending on one’s desire, their reasoning can either be true and virtuous or falsely calculated. Mary H.
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