We often see reason as providing a solid basis for our theories. Some have even imagined that reason alone can deliver truth. But far from being a stable foundation, critics of reason argue that it is equally a vehicle of destruction. Reason’s drive to question everything makes it a restless force that destabilizes all frameworks. The French Revolution, born from Enlightenment ideals of reason, devoured its own architects and created unrestrained terror. Postmodernism applied the principles of reason to uncover flaws in every outlook including its own. At a personal level, Cornell studies show that simply writing out reasons for our beliefs weakens rather than strengthens our attachment to them.
Should we see reason as a double-edged sword, refining our theories but also undermining them and making society inherently unstable? Do we need to guard against the disruptive power of reason with foundations built on authority, tradition, or religion? Or is the revolutionary character of reason the very basis of its success in driving change, progress, and better living standards for all.
