Reason

===Classical philosophy===
For many classical [[philosophers]], nature was understood [[teleology|teleologically]], meaning that every type of thing had a definitive purpose that fit within a natural order that was itself understood to have aims. Perhaps starting with [[Pythagoras]] or [[Heraclitus]], the [[cosmos]] was even said to have reason.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Presocratic Philosophers|edition=second|last1=Kirk|last2=Raven|last3=Schofield|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1983|pages=204 & 235}}</ref> Reason, by this account, is not just a characteristic that people happen to have. Reason was considered of higher stature than other characteristics of human nature, because it is something people share with nature itself, linking an apparently immortal part of the human mind with the divine order of the cosmos. Within the human [[mind]] or [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] ({{transliteration|grc|[[psyche (psychology)|psyche]]}}), reason was described by [[Plato]] as being the natural monarch which should rule over the other parts, such as spiritedness ({{transliteration|grc|[[thumos]]}}) and the passions. [[Aristotle]], Plato's student, defined human beings as [[rational animal]]s, emphasizing reason as a characteristic of [[human nature]]. He described the highest human happiness or well being ({{transliteration|grc|[[eudaimonia]]}}) as a life which is lived consistently, excellently, and completely in accordance with reason.{{r|NE|at=[[Nicomachean Ethics#Defining eudaimonia and the aim of the Ethics|I]]}}

The conclusions to be drawn from the discussions of Aristotle and Plato on this matter are amongst the most debated in the history of philosophy.<ref name=Davidson>{{cite book|title=Alfarabi, Avicenna, and Averroes, on Intellect|last=Davidson|first=Herbert|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1992|page=3}}</ref> But teleological accounts such as Aristotle's were highly influential for those who attempt to explain reason in a way that is consistent with [[monotheism]] and the immortality and divinity of the human soul. For example, in the [[Neoplatonism|neoplatonist]] account of [[Plotinus]], the [[cosmos]] has one soul, which is the seat of all reason, and the souls of all people are part of this soul. Reason is for Plotinus both the provider of form to material things, and the light which brings people's souls back into line with their source.<ref>{{Citation|chapter=Plotinus|title=Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy|chapter-url=https://iep.utm.edu/plotinus/|last=Moore|first=Edward}}</ref>