Human reasoning is always informed—at least in part—by non-rational processes (sometimes ignored, overridden, or wisely integrated): intuition shaped by evolution, and emotions—especially empathy—that let us feel the human consequences of choices that might appear acceptable under purely formal logic. The reciprocal ethic of not doing unto others what you would not wish done to you—found in many traditions and echoed in Kant’s categorical imperative—still requires a sentient awareness of what would be bad or harmful. Empathy supplies that felt understanding. Evolution built intuition as the fastest, most efficient compression of experience available. A brain that can act instantly on patterns and embodied feedback is far more adaptive than one that must compute everything explicitly. Insight isn’t a shortcut; it’s evolution’s optimal solution for “weighing” decisions in a time-pressured, resource-limited organism. When time allows, we can reflect rationally. But rule-bound reasoning without empathy is rarely humane. Ethical judgment needs both: clear thought and felt understanding. “The heart has its reasons which reason knows nothing of… We know the truth not only by the reason, but by the heart.” — Blaise Pascal, Pensées PS: This framework directly illuminates Pascal’s Wager… https://lnkd.in/eycJw4aj Pascal’s core claim is that reason alone cannot decide, so we rely on intuition, emotion, and the “heart” to act under uncertainty. The point — that human reasoning is always partly shaped by evolved intuition and felt consequences — explains why Pascal thought this. The Wager only works if we can feel what is at stake. That is exactly the role of the non-rational processes described.
Beautiful reflection. I’ve found that clarity happens when rational analysis, embodied intuition (all that subconscious pattern-recognition we carry), and our ethical awareness actually converge. That’s when decisions feel both accurate and true.
As often said .."the heart has reasons that reason knows nothing of"
Cognitive love is the generative source of intuition because it opens the mind toward meaning: it creates the value-field that enables Einfühlung (attunement) and supports Einsicht (insight). Fear also affects cognition, but in the opposite direction: it drives avoidance, narrowing attention and limiting what the mind is willing to engage. Thus love expands the field in which intuition can arise, while fear restricts it.