Within Reason: Rationality and Human Behavior

by Donald Calne

It has long been a central conviction of western humanistic thought that reason is the most godlike of human traits, and that it makes us unique among animals. Yet if reason directs what we do, why is human behavior so often violent, irrational and disastrous?In Within Reason, leading neurologist Donald B. Calne investigates the phenomenon of rationality from an astonishingly wide array of scientific, sociological, and philosophical perspectives--and shows that although reason evolved as a crucial tool for human survival, it is an aspect of mind and brain which has no inherent moral or spiritual qualities and one whose relationship to our thoughts and actions may not be as central as we want to believe. Learned, lucid, and always illuminating, Within Reason brings together the latest developments in the science of mind with some of the most enduring questions of Western thought.

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2000

Reviews

[Davia Finch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Calne's basic argument is that reason is a tool of the instincts and emotions: it allows us to achieve their goals, but is incapable by itself of setting its own goals. That's a fairly widely-accepted, straightforward, and uncontroversial statement which I agree with.

However, the book doesn't really go much beyond this. It covers a very wide range of topics, but none of them with any depth, so the impression I had while reading it was that it was a sort of "Coles Notes" or television special about everything that had anything to do with reason. (With surprisingly little about neurology considering it was written by a neurologist.)

Having said that, the book isn't without value. It is an excellent summary of a wide range of subjects and integrates them in a logical and coherent framework and would have made an excellent "For Beginners" or "Introducing" book if it had been presented in an illustrated graphic novel format.

If you're looking for an easy introduction or primer on the place of reason in nature and culture, this might be the book for you, but don't expect it to revolutionize your understanding of how reason actually works.