I
Peter P. Cheevers
'Not Even a Recall - Now Where is that Revolver?'
published by Ether Books, download it on Kindle
To be
'Reasonable' is to uses a valued discourse designed to naturalise arguments
that have the ulterior motive of furthering a particular set of values. You
don;t think so? Well, think of a
group huddled round a table. It might be any think-tank; high powered Docklands
consultancy; or it may be even a ‘Cabinet’ table. Invariably there is someone
leading the discussion, let’s call him ‘Dave’.
“Look we have to come to a conclusion on this
issue and what I suggest is we explore the various options... Ok?” says Dave.
“... if we take this step by step I think we can come to a
resolution.”
As the
steps are taken to reach the momentous decision the protests (welcomed at
this kind of meeting) are voiced, “Aren’t we just going round in circles with
this?”
“This is going nowhere. Why are we going in this
direction?”
“Because it is the reasonable way,”
says a patience tested Dave’. Now if we can just for one moment stop going off
in tangents...although I do welcome all of your thoughts but I feel we are
straying off topic (topos being Greek
for place). I think we would all agree that this is the most reasonable way and
we must listen to reason”
So why must we listen to reason, Dave’?
·
Is it because of Aristotle’s (384 BC – 322 BC)
assertion that we are rational and thereby reasonable animals?
·
Is it because of René
Descartes (1596 –1650) claim that we
are dualistic persons with a mind separate from and independent of the body,
and we all share the same disembodied transcendent reason, capable of knowing
his mind or her mind simply by self reflection?
·
Is it because of Immanuel Kant’s (1724 –1804)
categorical imperative - his basis for a universal concept of morality,
"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will
that it should become a universal law.” i.e. we all know what is the right thing to do.
·
Is it simply the Enlightenment (circa 17th-18thcentury) that era in Western philosophy and intellectual, scientific, and cultural life, in
which reason was
advocated as the primary source for legitimacy and authority?
Such questions encapsulate a theoretical
edifice which many still subscribe to: but there is another theory about reason. Baldly it goes like this: Reason
is not transcendental, or a priori; nor is it disembodied; .nor neither is it
culture free; no free of interpersonal relations. Nor is it some stand alone
quasi divine source we can always unfailingly refer to. For things have
moved on and now there is another theoretical edifice being erected about our reasoning and you don’t have to be a
sensory-motor fascist to accept most of the neuroscientific findings.
The brain is made of three main parts: the
forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. The forebrain consists of the cerebrum,
thalamus, and hypothalamus (part of the limbic system). The midbrain consists
of the tectum and tegmentum. The hindbrain is made of the cerebellum, pons and
medulla. Often the midbrain, pons, and medulla are referred to together as the
brainstem.
The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe. Here is a visual representation of the cortex: From the diagram we can see that the 'Frontal Lobe' is the 'reasoning' area of the brain
The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of the human brain, associated with higher brain function such as thought and action. The cerebral cortex is divided into four sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal lobe. Here is a visual representation of the cortex: From the diagram we can see that the 'Frontal Lobe' is the 'reasoning' area of the brain
What do each of these lobes do?
- Frontal Lobe- associated with reasoning, planning, parts of speech, movement, emotions,
and problem solving
- Parietal Lobe- associated with movement,
orientation, recognition, perception of stimuli
- Occipital Lobe- associated with visual
processing
- Temporal Lobe- associated with perception and
recognition of auditory stimuli, memory, and speech
But where is the evidence
for these doubts about the power of 'reasoning'? Well, we rmight
refer to Antonio Damasio (1999) who carried out a detailed study of
patients with the ailment of anosognosia - a disorder which leaves rationality
and linguistic abilities intact, but leaves the sufferer without the ability to
experience emotion. For such people functioning on reason alone will cause them to debate the whys and wherefores of
say the route to the hospital all morning. Yet the person with emotions intact
will get emotionally, ‘hot under the collar’ after a while and feel compelled
to get a move on.
By way of further example,
if we see the approach of an aggressive looking person, Damasio has shown this
image provokes sympathetic nervous system activation which affects the internal
environment of the body by its action on smooth muscles and hormonal
levels. This change in body state, corresponding to the emotion that we
call fear, leads to patterns of nerve cell activation in the brain
In yet another example when such patients are
presented with a slide show that includes graphic pictures of sex or violence,
they can identify them and describe their horrible details normally, but they
show none of the emotional responses that are irresistible in normal people. Even
on the fundamental level of crossing the road if we were to find ourselves on a
pedestrian crossing and we saw a car approaching us at speed, it would be the
hairs standing up on the back of our necks which is the first trigger for us to
skid addle out of the way. For it appears there isn’t time to reason.
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