--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That we are rational agents—that a great…" description: "\"“That we are rational agents—that a great many of our actions are not merely the results of serial physiological urges but are instead dictated by cohe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/david-bentley-hart-4691_great-man_that-we-are-rational-agents-that-a-great_2655030.png" --- # That we are rational agents—that a great many of our… ![“That we are rational agents—that a great many of our actions are not merely the results of serial physiological urges but are instead dictated by coherent conceptual connections and private deliberations—is one of those primordial data I mentioned above that cannot be reduced to some set of purely…” quote by David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/david-bentley-hart-4691_great-man_that-we-are-rational-agents-that-a-great_2655030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/david-bentley-hart-4691_great-man_that-we-are-rational-agents-that-a-great_2655030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/500/david-bentley-hart-4691_great-man_that-we-are-rational-agents-that-a-great_2655030.png) > ““That we are rational agents—that a great many of our actions are not merely the results of serial physiological urges but are instead dictated by coherent conceptual connections and private deliberations—is one of those primordial data I mentioned above that cannot be reduced to some set of purely mechanical functions without producing nonsense. That a number of cognitive scientists should be exerting themselves to tear down the Cartesian partition between body and soul, hoping to demonstrate that there is no Wonderful Wizard on the other side pulling the levers, is poignant proof that our mechanistic paradigms trap much of our thinking about mind and body within an absurd dilemma: we must believe either in a ghost mysteriously animating a machine or in a machine miraculously generating a ghost. Premodern thought allowed for a far less restricted range of conceptual possibilities.”” [David Bentley Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bentley-hart/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human rationality cannot be fully explained by mechanical processes alone; it involves coherent concepts and private deliberation. **In simple terms:** Mind isn’t just a machine. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of mechanistic explanations. Themes philosophy mind-body rationality Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - psychology research - ethical discussions Key Concepts conceptualism dualism emergentism Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance mechanistic and conceptual explanations? - What evidence supports non‑mechanical aspects of mind? A Different Perspective Mechanistic models still explain many behaviors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) [Mind and body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-and-body/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [If you simply announce that things are irrational, then that alone doesn't get you very far. 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Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) [Browse all 1,429 Great man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That we are rational agents—that a great many of our actions are not merely the results of serial physiological urges but are instead dictated by coherent conceptual connections and private deliberations—is one of those primordial data I mentioned above that cannot be reduced to some set of purely mechanical functions without producing nonsense. 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