The old theological problem of âFaithâ and âKnowledge,â or more plainly, of instinct and reasonâ âthe question whether, in respect to the valuation of things, instinct deserves more authority than rationality, which wants to appreciate and act according to motives, according to a âWhy,â that is to say, in conformity to purpose and utilityâ âit is always the old moral problem that first appeared in the person of Socrates, and had divided menâs minds long before Christianity. Socrates himself, following, of course, the taste of his talentâ âthat of a surpassing dialecticianâ âtook first the side of reason; and, in fact, what did he do all his life but laugh at the awkward incapacity of the noble Athenians, who were men of instinct, like all noble men, and could never give satisfactory answers concerning the motives of their actions? In the end, however, though silently and secretly, he laughed also at himself: with his finer conscience and introspection, he found in himself the same difficulty and incapacity. âBut whyââ âhe said to himselfâ ââshould one on that account separate oneself from the instincts! One must set them right, and the reason also
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