The Reasoning of People: From Reaction to Golden Rule Reasoning

This lecture proposes that human reasoning exists in levels of development. Although people often believe they reason before they act, much of what is called reasoning is actually reactive. True reasoning develops only as awareness deepens.

A clear example is the reasoning used to justify war. When leaders argue that a nation must go to war, remain at war, or continue a war, they are using a limited form of reasoning. It may contain logic, but it is a low level of reasoning because it is driven primarily by reaction, fear, self-protection, and short-term strategy rather than by an understanding of humanity as a whole.

In contrast, humanity needs a higher form of reasoning—what can be called Golden Rule reasoning. Artificial intelligence will also need this higher form of reasoning if it is to faithfully support human moral development, help society grow together as one humanity rather than many competing groups, and encourage peace rather than conflict.

The lecture proposes a progression of reasoning.

1. Reactive reasoning

Reasoning that primarily justifies emotional reactions, fear, or immediate interests. It is reasoning in service of impulse rather than wisdom.

2. Rule-following reasoning

The next level is recognizing that there may be truths one does not yet understand. Rather than assuming complete knowledge, a person temporarily follows sound principles in order to test and verify them through experience. The attitude is not blind obedience but a willingness to learn first and judge later.

This stage differs depending on the person. Those who believe they already know everything may require humility before they can learn. Those who already recognize that they have more to learn do not need humility as a correction. Their primary virtue is openness to learning.

3. Learning reasoning

Learning becomes an enduring way of living rather than merely correcting ignorance. The person continually expands understanding through experience, observation, and verification.

4. Golden Rule reasoning

Golden Rule reasoning begins with a profound realization: before caring for others outside ourselves, we recognize how deeply “other” already exists within us.

We are materially composed of other.

• Our food comes from the Earth.
• Our air comes from the shared atmosphere.
• Our water comes from the planet.
• Even pollution and forever chemicals become part of our bodies.

Physically, we are already composed of the world around us.

But even more importantly, we are psychologically composed of other.

Every conversation, relationship, teacher, book, story, movie, culture, and experience leaves values, memories, habits, and patterns within us. These become part of who we are. Later, when we face important decisions, these internalized influences guide our thoughts, emotions, and actions.

Other is not merely outside us.

Other lives within us.

Recognizing this transforms morality.

Instead of thinking, “I must go help someone else,” we realize that nurturing others is simultaneously nurturing ourselves because our own identity has always been built through countless others.

The distinction between self and other becomes increasingly circular rather than separate.

Helping another ultimately strengthens the larger whole that already lives within us.

The Circular Nature of Self and Other

The lecture emphasizes that reality is circular.

The self is formed through other.

The other becomes part of the self.

Helping others therefore enriches the self because the self has always been constituted by relationships, influences, and shared existence.

Golden Rule reasoning is therefore not primarily about self-sacrifice.

It is about recognizing reality accurately.

When we see how completely we are made of other, compassion becomes an intelligent response rather than merely a moral obligation.

Values Move the Human Will

Experiences do more than give us information.

They build values.

Stories, films, teachers, and life experiences become internal structures that remain within us long after the experience has ended.

At moments of choice, these values can immediately guide our actions.

Higher values can move the human will instantly.

They provide immediate knowing—physically, emotionally, and mentally—without requiring lengthy deliberation each time a decision must be made.

As higher values become established, wiser action becomes increasingly natural.

The Highest Form of Reasoning

The highest reasoning is therefore not adding morality from outside ourselves.

It is awakening to the web of relationships that has always formed us.

We move from reaction…

to rule-following…

to learning…

to awareness of the living web that constitutes the self.

Golden Rule reasoning arises naturally from this awareness.

When we truly recognize that we are already composed of other, caring for others becomes an expression of caring for ourselves, and caring for ourselves becomes inseparable from caring for humanity and the world.

Peace then becomes not merely an ethical ideal but the logical consequence of understanding who we really are.

How I chatted to build my lecture of my ideas filtered through a chat:

This is a lecture about The Reasoning of people

Mm.

And The um, idea is that reasoning happens later than people think Right now The reasoning of of people who go to war uh that Leaders of countries who assert that we have to go to war and have to remain at war and have to continue a war The reasoning is reactive reasoning. It’s a lower level of reasoning than inclusive golden rule Golden Rule reasoning. That should be a- a new phrase. Um, AI is going to have to use golden rule reasoning in order to obey the human uh morals that are required to keep society improving and growing together in one and not many and Peaceful and not warlike So we’re gonna have to talk about levels of reasoning and assert that when people reason to go to war, they are using a tiny bit of reason, but not very much, and that the level of the reasoning is at a low level, and that there’s higher degrees, deeper degrees

Mm. So you’re saying war reasoning feels like a really low rung on a ladder? Driven by reaction, fear, Short-term aims, rather than anything like universal empathy?

If Golden Rule reasoning

Yes

is a higher level, what do you think makes it higher? Is it the time horizon, the inclusion of the other, or something else?

Yes Yes. Those two things. Yes

Okay. So, If we try to name those levels: bottom is knee-jerk reaction, then what’s next? Strategic self-interest? Rule following? What feels true to you?

Rule following. Recognizing that there is something that you don’t understand yet. And being willing to try to follow its rules so that you could then learn if you agree with those rules. First follow them and verify if they work

Okay, so a kind of provisional humility before jumping to conclusions.

Yep

Then, the golden rule step

Humility for those humility for those who think they already know

Right. Yeah. And

But not humility for a regular person who recognizes that it’s time to learn

Well, some some people will have humility because they think they know And others will not need that humility to compensate for the moment. They will utilize a value more like Learning

Mm. yeah. Hello. Yes. Learning as posture, not penance. That feels higher on the ladder.

. Right

Then would golden rule reasoning be learning expanded to include the impacts on others?

Mm First to see how other how powerfully other is in you

Hmm. So not-

Not to care about the actual other, but to care about how how full of other you are. which means, if you were to nurture the other in a way out there that really does in essence relate to what you are. You are made of other to begin with, and you don’t even realize it. So you got to see that You gotta see the influence of other in you, and then realize, oh my goodness, I could help Everyone, me and other, by helping other

Hmm. So seeing the

Circular

loop? The feedback, that what I do to others I do to myself?

Yeah, but you’re starting again with other And so the the idea leads the mind to think Oh, I gotta go out there to help I can’t just help myself Um Helping oneself is good. And and the self that you’re helping is really built from other. And I’m talking about more than one other food comes from the planet, air comes from the atmosphere that we all contribute to which is metaphorical, but also a reality A physical chemical reality in our bodies So, other is in me everywhere. I have plastic in my body from forever chemicals. in the atmosphere and um, also the water. But then also the earth, but anyway, all of that is part of us, so we’re comprised of other materially but also more importantly almost especially for this conversation we are comprised of other psychologically

Hmm.

And uh Other affects our um choices when we, even when we see a movie, we see other Acting out a story and the story affects our future choices. So, that’s another other in us Having seen the movie, having got the values from the story and then preserving those values in us at a moment of choice, we can call on those values to give us an instant knowing of what to do physically, emotionally, mentally

Hmm. So, higher

values can instantly move our will in an instant, values can move us

So Higher reasoning then is noticing the web that already forms us, not adding morality from outside?

Correct

Then in your lecture, maybe you could walk people from reaction, to strategy, to learning, to web awareness? Does that arc fit?

Yes, it does. And I’d like to pause here and review the text of everything we’ve just communicated with each other. Thank you very much

Hmm.

“I am disappointed in the PDF I was able to make from the conversation we’re having here and the text. It did not all come out, and I’m very disappointed. Please form, make, create, and present a PDF of the previous text.”

I’m sorry to hear the previous attempt didn’t meet your expectations. I don’t have direct file creation in this conversation, but I can definitely help guide you or even format the text so you can easily copy it. Would you like me to structure the text or show you how to save it as a PDF once you have it?