Human Nature: Reason, Language, Unconscious
Rational Animals?
Intelligent Beings
One of the earliest definitions of the human being is the “rational animal.”
This definition was proposed by Aristotle over two thousand years ago and, after all this time, still holds.
While science tells us that mammals are primates, the result of a long evolutionary history that has made us Homo Sapiens, the thinking being, the philosophical definition of “rational animal” also highlights intelligence.
Both perspectives highlight intelligence.
The human being is therefore considered intelligent, capable of attempting to understand the world.
Religion, art, philosophy, and science are products of imagination and logical reason, which make them possible.
Reason and Language
The key word “logic” derives from the Greek ‘logos’, a word encompassing ideas, knowledge, science, reason, thought, and language.
According to Aristotle, what separates humans from animals is the ability to speak.
So while animals have a voice (phonē), using sound to distinguish pleasure from pain or warn of danger, humans use the word (logos), which we use to refer not only to specific actions but also to abstract ideas.
Two thousand years later, Descartes agreed, stating that the fact animals do not talk means they “do not have a rational mind like ours.”
To be rational and think is, in a sense, to speak quietly to oneself.
The thinking being is the being who speaks. This seems to be a specifically human trait.
This does not mean animals have no language; ethologists say they do. However, animal language cannot compare to human language.
Unlike more rigid codes, human language is an open, articulate, flexible, and infinite system of signs.
It serves not only to communicate but also to express any idea or thought.
Therefore, it is said that language is thought, and thought is externalized inner speech.
The Depths of the Unconscious
The idea that human beings are guided solely by reason was largely unchallenged until a little over a century ago.
The discovery in the early twentieth century of unconscious structures that strongly influence our behavior marked a turning point in our conception of ourselves.
According to Freud, consciousness (the Ego) is just the tip of an iceberg that emerges externally and over which we have some control.
Hidden beneath are the unconscious (the Id and Superego), consisting of many vital, irrational impulses—erotic, aggressive, and destructive.
These impulses are monitored by censorship and the Ego Ideal, a moral compass that is the product of internalized norms during early childhood.
Blind and amoral instincts can explain most antisocial and violent attitudes.
Their pressure can lead to censorship and pathological psychic conflicts.
In short, the Ego struggles to maintain balance, attempting to meet the demands of these “masters” without infringing upon the rules of life in society.
The reality principle requires certain renunciations of the pleasure principle, but also allows some concessions.
Between Reason and Desire
Since the appearance of Freud’s ideas, we can no longer be so sure of what we truly are.
The definition of “rational animal”, which seemed tailor-made for humans, is less clear now, as we are influenced by both rational and irrational elements.
We can say that desire plays as important a role in human life as reason.
From desire, we obtain the energy that moves us to act, but it must ultimately be channeled through the sound Ego.
These ideas of Freud shattered the perceived equality between psyche and rationality.
Lapses and dreams are no longer perceived as unexplained anomalies but as symptoms of the struggle between reason and instinct.
According to Freud, rationality is not likely to ultimately impose itself over irrationality and destructive impulses; to prove this, one only has to look at history.
According to Morin, the definition of man as Homo Sapiens is incomplete; what distinguishes us is ‘demens sapiens’, the permanent struggle between reason and madness, between order and chaos.