[Brandon]

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

Actually, I did not know that this idea had been thought of before. That said, considering who Hume was, he probably had different reasoning for it than mine.

First, consider what is meant by instinct. We shall define it precisely as this: "An inborn pattern of behavior that is characteristic of a species and is often a response to specific environmental stimuli."

Now, it becomes relevant here to remember my principle of induction - that when we are born, we do not know anything (although I don't disagree with the belief that certain things are inborn, I don't think that they constitute knowledge) and that all so-called "assumed" axioms are really the results of a vast inductive argument.

But arguments, and, indeed, the principle of induction itself, stem from logic. What this means is, regardless of whether or not we are conscious of it, we do reason subconsciously since the beginning of our life. Reasoning is, then, an instinct through which we derive various conclusions about our surroundings and later, more often through conscious thought (instinct can be conscious, after all) about abstractions.

I realize that I have opened up a can of worms that I need to deal with when I admit this - such as how can I possibly maintain that correct logic is objective, and that I have allowed a very large room for intuition as subconscious reasoning - but I will address this when it becomes more relevant and less tangent from the point.

I agree, actually. Granted, we aren't born with perfect reasoning (the logic of children is crude and prone to fallacies), but it does seem to be a characteristic, natural ability of ours.

In the evolutionary scheme, it would make sense as well, considering exceptional intellectual ability was the primary factor in human survival and, later on, dominance.

EDIT: On second thought.. no, that's absolute garbage. We only learn to reason after either experiencing the world or being taught how to do it by others. If we were born with the instinct of reason, children wouldn't need to be taught mathematics.