Steven Pinker argues that humans have been short of rationality throughout most of history, and suggests we may now be putting that right (Nature 478, 309–311; 2011). But intuition — the gut feelings that range from raw instinct to common sense — is important too. Reasoning and intuition together lead to wisdom, but either without the other is dangerous.

Intuition derives from various subconscious responses, presumably largely evolved, that lie at the root of our moral and aesthetic sense. A healthy mind conducts a perpetual dialogue between reasoning and intuition.

Rationality without moral and aesthetic constraint has led us to nuclear war and eugenics and, more recently, to the crude logic of neoliberalism, industrialized agriculture and overconsumption.

This, of course, is where religion comes in. Although it sometimes loses sight of its own raison d'être, its core function is to refine our intuitions.