摘要：什么是理性，简单说，就是运用逻辑思维，进行计算、推理、分析、综合，然后进行判断等。什么是本能，是指一个生物体趋向于某一特定行为的内在倾向。其固定的行为模式非学习得来，也不是继承而来。公元前4世纪古希腊斯多葛学派创造了本能的概念。他们认为，本能是有目的的、由自然

基于经济学视角的分析：本能也是理性且是理性的集成

宋 圭 武

什么是理性，简单说，就是运用逻辑思维，进行计算、推理、分析、综合，然后进行判断等。什么是本能，是指一个生物体趋向于某一特定行为的内在倾向。其固定的行为模式非学习得来，也不是继承而来。公元前4世纪古希腊斯多葛学派创造了本能的概念。他们认为，本能是有目的的、由自然赋予的、用以保证其生存繁衍的动作。13世纪基督教哲学家托马斯·阿奎那用本能把人和动物区别开来，认为动物的行为是不自由的，是自然植入的，它们盲目地受感觉驱使，人则有理性的灵魂，其行为是由理性的理解支配的。R.笛卡尔认为本能是上帝设计的，使动物的行为具有适应性的力量源泉。近代心理学家如W.麦独孤则认为本能是一种先天的心理倾向，是人类一切行为的推动者。S.弗洛伊德又把人的本能分为生存本能（自卫本能与生殖本能）和死亡本能（侵略本能与自我残害本能）两种。他认为人的所有行为都受这些无意识的本能或欲望的支配。后来他又把本能称为“本能性冲动”。

在《思考，快与慢》（丹尼尔·卡尼曼，2012年7月中信出版社出版）一书中，作者丹尼尔·卡尼曼认为，我们的大脑有快与慢两种作决定的方式。常用的无意识的“系统1”依赖情感、记忆和经验迅速作出判断，它见闻广博，使我们能够迅速对眼前的情况作出反应。但系统1也很容易上当，它固守“眼见即为事实”的原则，任由损失厌恶和乐观偏见之类的错觉引导我们作出错误的选择。有意识的“系统2”通过调动注意力来分析和解决问题，并作出决定，它比较慢，不容易出错，但它很懒惰，经常走捷径，直接采纳系统1的直觉型判断结果。这里我们也可以简单把本能归为“系统1”，把理性简单归为“系统2”。

一般而言，我们的常识总是把人的本能排斥在理性的边界之外，总认为本能不属于理性的范围，是理性的对立面。其实，细究起来，基于经济学视角分析，本人认为，本能其实也是一种理性，而且是理性的集成。

首先，本能有助于种的延续，这体现了最大的存在理性。种的延续是理性的第一需要。没有种的延续，就不可能实现人的存在。在实现人的种的延续方面，本能比理性的作用更直接，效果更好。

其次，来自本能的反应时间短，这有助于人类对抗来自外界的突然威胁。我们常说的理性是需要计算的，而计算就需要时间。而人类在有些情况下，是不需要计算的，或是来不及进行计算就需要作出肢体反应，否则，就会有生命危险。而本能就体现了这一优势，本能就是不需要经过人脑计算的一种反应。

再次，本能有助于人际交流，有助于形成合作群体。人类为什么会形成合作，一方面，是基于理性的考虑，是基于长期利益的计算，可以说理性在推进合作建设方面具有重要功劳；另一方面，我们也要看到本能的功劳。本能通过情感的宣泄，让人与人之间的交流更容易。比如，在有些情况下，一把眼泪比一大堆说教更有力。在人际互动交往中，理性有时体现的交易成本要高于本能，或者通过理性这种形式往往效果并不佳，这时，人们往往会选择本能这种形式。从这个意义看，本能也有时可以看成是理性的一种情感表达，是理性的另一种实现方式。

第四，若本能没有体现人类生命存在的理性，这也不符合进化理论。按照进化理论，生命在进化过程中，总是要不断淘汰一些不需要或不合理的功能，总是要加强一些适应生存或有利于生存的功能。若本能真的没有体现理性原则，就不会有利于生命的存在的，也就必然会在长期的进化过程中逐渐得到淘汰，但事实并非如此。所以，从进化理论角度看，本能也是符合存在理性的。这里我们可以把本能看成是一种理性进化的稳定形式或集成形式。人类在进化的过程中，有些行为就逐渐稳定下来，形成习惯，而本能就是一种习惯的沉淀，当习惯渗透到基因里去时，习惯就转换为本能。

第五，从实际看，人类的本能与理性，各有其适用范围。本能适应短期行为和短期决策，而理性适应长期行为和长期决策。对于一些事关人类长期的重大事项，人类总是更多靠理性，靠计算和规划，而不是靠本能。这样，二者就构成了一个互补的结构，共同为人的生命存在保驾护航。

第六，由于人类的决策总有一个短期和长期的选择替代问题，所以，本能与理性，也客观存在冲突。在长期内，由于总有一个不确定性的因素在里面，而有的人，偏好确定性，这样就会更加照顾本能和短期的需要，而有的人，更偏好未来，这样就会更多照顾理性和长期的要求。但这里本能与理性所体现的冲突，实际是人的理性基于偏好在时间区间选择上的冲突，是理性自身的一种内在冲突，而不是理性与非理性之间的一种冲突。

所以，笔者认为，本能与理性，本质是统一的，本能应是理性的集成形式，人在一切意义上，都是理性的，人的本质就是一个理性的存在。（作者：兰州城市学院特聘教授，原中共甘肃省委党校（甘肃行政学院）二级教授）

Analysis from an economic perspective: Instinct is also rational and is an integration of rationality.

Song Guiwu

What is rationality? Simply put, it is the application of logical thinking to perform calculations, reasoning, analysis, synthesis, and then making judgments, etc. What is instinct? It refers to an inherent tendency of a living organism to engage in a specific behavior. Its fixed behavioral patterns are neither learned nor inherited. The concept of instinct was created by the ancient Greek Stoics in the 4th century BC. They believed that instinct was a purposeful, naturally endowed force that ensured the survival and reproduction of an organism. In the 13th century, the Christian philosopher Thomas Aquinas distinguished humans from animals by instinct, arguing that animal behavior was not free but naturally implanted, blindly driven by senses, while humans had rational souls and their behavior was governed by rational understanding. R. Descartes believed that instinct was designed by God to provide animals with an adaptive force for their behavior. Modern psychologists such as W. McDougall regarded instinct as an innate psychological tendency and the driving force behind all human behavior. S. Freud further divided human instincts into survival instincts (self-defense and reproductive instincts) and death instincts (aggressive and self-destructive instincts). He believed that all human behavior was governed by these unconscious instincts or desires. Later, he referred to instincts as "instinctive impulses."

In the book "Thinking, Fast and Slow" (Daniel Kahneman, published by CITIC Press in July 2012), the author Daniel Kahneman argues that our brains have two ways of making decisions: the fast, unconscious "System 1" that relies on emotions, memory, and experience to make quick judgments, and the slower, more deliberate "System 2" that uses attention to analyze and solve problems and make decisions. System 1 is broad in its knowledge and enables us to respond quickly to the situation at hand. However, it is also prone to being deceived, adhering to the principle that "what is seen is the truth" and allowing illusions such as loss aversion and optimism bias to lead us to make wrong choices. System 2, on the other hand, is more accurate but lazy and often takes shortcuts by directly adopting the intuitive judgments of System 1. Here, we can simply categorize instinct as "System 1" and rationality as "System 2."

Generally speaking, common sense always excludes instinct from the boundaries of rationality, believing that instinct does not fall within the scope of rationality and is its opposite. In fact, upon closer examination, from an economic perspective, I believe that instinct is also a form of rationality and, in fact, an integrated form of rationality.

Firstly, instinct contributes to the continuation of a species, which reflects the greatest rationality of existence. The continuation of a species is the primary need of rationality. Without the continuation of a species, human existence cannot be achieved. In terms of ensuring the continuation of the human species, instinct plays a more direct and effective role than rationality.

Secondly, the reaction time of instinct is short, which helps humans counter sudden threats from the outside world. The rationality we often talk about requires calculation, and calculation takes time. However, in some situations, humans do not need to calculate or do not have time to calculate before making physical responses; otherwise, there would be a risk to life. Instinct demonstrates this advantage, as it is a reaction that does not require calculation by the human brain.

Thirdly, instinct facilitates interpersonal communication and the formation of cooperative groups. Why do humans form cooperative groups? On the one hand, it is based on rational considerations and long-term interests, and rationality plays an important role in promoting the construction of cooperation. On the other hand, we should also recognize the contribution of instinct. Instinct, through the expression of emotions, makes communication between people easier. For example, in some cases, a flood of tears is more powerful than a lot of preaching. In interpersonal interactions, the transaction costs of rationality are sometimes higher than those of instinct, or rationality often does not yield good results. In such cases, people often choose the form of instinct. From this perspective, instinct can sometimes be regarded as an emotional expression of reason, another way of realizing reason. Fourth, if instinct does not reflect the rationality of human existence, it would not be in line with the theory of evolution. According to the theory of evolution, in the process of evolution, life always eliminates some unnecessary or unreasonable functions and strengthens some functions that are adaptive or beneficial to survival. If instinct truly does not embody the principle of rationality, it would not be conducive to the existence of life and would inevitably be gradually eliminated over the long course of evolution. However, this is not the case. Therefore, from the perspective of the theory of evolution, instinct is also in line with the rationality of existence. Here, we can view instinct as a stable or integrated form of rational evolution. During the process of human evolution, some behaviors gradually stabilize and become habits, and instinct is a sedimentation of habits. When habits are embedded in genes, they transform into instincts. Fifth, in reality, human instinct and reason each have their own applicable scope. Instinct is suitable for short-term behaviors and decisions, while reason is suitable for long-term behaviors and decisions. For some major matters concerning the long-term interests of humanity, humans always rely more on reason, calculation, and planning rather than instinct. Thus, the two form a complementary structure, jointly safeguarding human existence. Sixth, since human decision-making always involves a choice between short-term and long-term alternatives, there is an objective conflict between instinct and reason. In the long term, due to the presence of an uncertain factor, some people prefer certainty and thus pay more attention to instinct and short-term needs, while others prefer the future and thus pay more attention to reason and long-term requirements. However, the conflict between instinct and reason here is actually an internal conflict within reason based on the choice of time intervals, rather than a conflict between reason and non-reason. Therefore, the author believes that instinct and reason are essentially unified, and instinct should be an integrated form of reason. In all senses, humans are rational beings, and the essence of humanity is a rational existence. (Author: Distinguished Professor of Lanzhou City University, former Second-Class Professor of the Gansu Provincial Party School (Gansu Administrative College) of the Communist Party of China)

来源：宋圭武