The big idea: When you make a big choice, what really drives it — cool reasoning, or how you feel? People often say humans should be ruled by the head. But which one is actually in charge?
Imagine: the 3 a.m. decision: You've listed every reason to stay in a safe job. Then a feeling won't leave you alone — you'd regret never trying the thing you love.
Did you decide by weighing reasons, or did a feeling decide, and reasons just tidied up afterwards? That's the whole debate.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
Start Studying Free Full access to Aimnova Pro · cancel anytime
Start with the view that reason is, and should be, the master.
Descartes: trust reason, tame the passions: René Descartes prized clear, careful reason as the best of us. Emotions — he called them the passions — are useful signals but unreliable guides: they flare up, cloud judgement and push us wrongly. So the wise person lets reason take charge and keeps the passions in check.
Checkpoint — Descartes: In one line: feelings mislead, so let clear reason take charge. The next thinker flips this on its head.
Never wonder what to study next
Get a personalized daily plan based on your exam date, progress, and weak areas. We'll tell you exactly what to review each day.
Try Free Study PlanYour first topic is free to keep • No credit card required
The opposite view says feeling is the real driver, and reason just works out how to get there.
Hume: 'the slave of the passions': David Hume argued that reason alone never moves you to do anything. It can tell you facts — this route is faster, that food is cheaper — but only a feeling (a want, a fear, a care) makes any of it matter.
His famous line
'reason is, and ought only to be, the slave of the passions.' Reason is the clever servant; the feelings choose the destination.
Reason should rule (Descartes)
- Strength: feelings really do mislead us sometimes
- Strength: we admire calm, clear thinking
- Weakness: with zero feeling, nothing would matter to you
- Weakness: even 'be reasonable' relies on caring about truth
Feeling drives us (Hume)
- Strength: explains why pure facts never move us alone
- Strength: fits how our biggest choices actually feel
- Weakness: if feeling rules, how do we criticise cruel desires?
- Weakness: reason can reshape feelings, not just serve them
Go further — higher-level insight: The neatest position isn't a knockout for either side — it's that reason and feeling need each other. Feeling supplies what you care about; reason works out how to get it and can talk you out of a feeling that rests on a false belief. Argue that partnership and you've beaten the false either/or.