is true that humans enjoy an astonishingly sophisticated form of rationality: the capacities for abstract thought, counterfactual reasoning, and logical deduction. But the first flowerings of reason are found in the most primitive drives. To pursue what you’re attracted to or to avoid what you dislike are rational responses. It is rationally appropriate—all things being equal—to do what you feel like doing, and to avoid what repels you. To this extent, when simple organisms respond to their likes and dislikes, they are exhibiting a basic form of rational responsiveness, whether they recognize
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