When Reason Flees: The Fertile Ground for Evil’s Bloom, By James Reed

In a world that's increasingly chaotic, think endless online vitriol, political polarisation, and a general erosion of civil discourse, it's tempting to ask: Why does evil seem to thrive? The answer, as echoed in timeless philosophy and starkly visible in modern society, boils down to one critical abandonment: reason. When we ditch logic, evidence, and objective thinking in favour of emotions, dogmas, or whims, we create a vacuum where malevolence rushes in.

First off, what do we mean by "reason"? It's not just being smart or winning arguments. Reason is the human faculty for identifying and integrating facts of reality through logic. It's how we distinguish truth from fiction, right from wrong, and progress from stagnation. Think of it as our evolutionary superpower, the tool that lifted us from caves to civilizations.

Philosophers like Aristotle championed reason as the essence of a good life, while the Enlightenment thinkers (Locke, Voltaire, Kant) made it the cornerstone of modern society. The U.S. Declaration of Independence? Built on rational principles like individual rights and self-evident truths. Reason isn't arbitrary; it's grounded in reality. When we flee from it, we're not just ignoring facts, we're rejecting the very means of survival and morality.

Evil, in this context, isn't some supernatural force. It's the deliberate choice to act against human flourishing: harm, deception, coercion. And it flourishes in the shadows where reason doesn't shine. Socially, reason is our only absolute. Abandon it, and you're left with force as the default mode of interaction.

Let's trace the roots. Evil doesn't pop up overnight; it's nurtured by irrational philosophies that seep into culture. Take the 19th-century seeds sown by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their communist ideology dismissed individual reason in favour of class struggle and collective determinism. Fast-forward to the Frankfurt School in the 1920s, where Critical Theory emerged as a wrecking ball against Western rationality. They saw reason as a tool of oppression, blocking the path to socialist utopia. Instead, they promoted critique without construction, tearing down without building up.

These ideas didn't stay in academia. They invaded education, the breeding ground for future minds. John Dewey, the so-called "father of progressive education," flipped the script on learning. Influenced by socialism, he viewed truth not as objective but as socially constructed, whatever the group agrees on. Forget facts; prioritise feelings and conformity. This echoes in today's classrooms, where critical thinking is often sidelined for emotional safety nets and groupthink.

Maria Montessori, by contrast, championed reason through observation and independence. But Dewey's model won out in many systems, dumbing down generations. Kids aren't taught how to think; they're moulded to follow. Lenin allegedly boasted about capturing children's minds for Bolshevism, scary stuff, and it's happening subtly today. When education rejects reality, it primes people for manipulation. Enter evil: Leaders exploit the irrational masses, promising utopias built on lies.

Flash to now. We're in an era where "my truth" trumps the truth. Postmodernism tells us reality is subjective, no absolutes, just perspectives. Universities preach this: Facts are fluid, knowledge is power play. Students graduate not empowered but confused, reliant on echo chambers and authorities.

Without reason, emotions rule. Insults become "tolerance," biological facts yield to feelings (e.g., gender debates), and moral relativism justifies anything. Celebrating someone's death? That's not just sickness; it's evil unchecked by rational ethics. When reality is denied, "anything goes" — from smears to violence.

Social media amplifies this. Algorithms feed confirmation bias, fleeing reason for rage-bait. Political discourse? Forget debates; it's tribal shouting. When reason flees, force fills the void. Riots, cancellations, authoritarianism … these are symptoms of a society unmoored from logic.

And evil loves this fertile soil. Dictators rise on populist whims; scams thrive on gullibility; hatred spreads unchecked. Without reason, we can't discern good from bad, leading to default evil, inaction against wrong, or active participation in it.

So, how do we fight back? It starts with individuals. Embrace objectivity: Question assumptions, seek evidence, think independently. In education, push for curricula that teach logic over indoctrination, Montessori-style, perhaps.

Culturally, celebrate reason. Read the Bible, Aristotle, or Enlightenment texts. Demand rational discourse in politics and media. As the late great Charlie Kirk suggested, talking prevents violence, but only if it's reasoned talk.

Evil flourishes when reason flees because reason is our moral compass. Restore it, and we starve the darkness of evil, which today, is everywhere.

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/09/evil_flourishes_when_reason_is_abandoned.html