Rational Thought as a Product of Natural Selection

Abstract

Neil Spurway’s presentation coincides with the general line of the seminar. When he was asked about the origin and nature of reason, in his answers he assumed the point of view of the school known as Evolutionary Epistemology (EE). In some ways, perhaps with the only exception of Gregor Nickel, the contributions of the speakers at the different meetings, and the comments and written contributions by the rest of participants, have always agreed that the origin and nature of reason should be explained in the framework of the evolutionary process. That is, reason is the response to an evolutionary requirement; in other words, if evolution is «evolution towards the consolidation of life» (towards the optimal adaptation to the environment in order to survive), then the «logical evolution» has given rise to reason as a good tool for the survival of the human species.