Having No Reason At All
Inadequacy of reason is fitted with having no reason at all. They are not the same though.
Blind faith is one of the main theme St. John Paul II's Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason) discussed about. It's as if faith is against reason and reason is against faith. And we are back to zero just because you went back to blind faith motivated by what I've said about inadequacy of reason which pushes us to trust God. That is why St. Ignatius of Loyola's discerning the spirit is rightly called thus, whether it is of God or of the devil.
St. Ignatius of Loyola's teachings on discernment of spirits are nuanced and emphasize careful reflection. Consolation, which includes feelings of peace, joy, and closeness to God, is generally understood as coming from the good spirit, leading us toward God. However, Ignatius also warned that the devil can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), meaning that even seemingly positive feelings can be deceptive if they lead us away from God's will.
Desolation, on the other hand, often involves feelings of darkness, turmoil, and separation from God, and is typically associated with the evil spirit. Yet, Ignatius acknowledged that desolation can sometimes be permitted by God as a way to deepen our faith and reliance on Him.
When discerning between two good options, the devil can attempt to deceive by creating a false sense of peace or joy to steer us away from God's true calling. Ignatius's rules for discernment emphasize examining the direction in which these movements lead us—toward God or away from Him. He encouraged individuals to seek clarity through prayer, reflection, and consultation with a spiritual director to ensure their choices align with God's will.
Ultimately, discernment requires vigilance and humility, recognizing that both consolation and desolation can be complex and require careful interpretation. -Copilot, Quick response, 13 April 2025.
Inadequate reason means you have reasons for things though it seems inadequate. No reason at all means you're blindly following things without any reason at all. It seems obvious, but in a situation where the devil can deceive you in choosing (even between two good options) because of false consolations, this sole nonrational criteria (Germain Grisez) can lead us against God's better options for us. Catechism of the Catholic Church, let me remind you, tells us that "It belongs to the perfection of the moral or human good that the passions be governed by reason," (CCC, 1767) not the other way around.
We do phenomenologizing to extract not just emotions but personal basis of reasons or our personal reasons themselves buried by things like fear and bias.
A practical note though here. Perhaps before doing any discernment, the idea of the ordering of goods is primary, even though a limited and imperfect reason is the only thing we have, and without yet even using nonrational criterias or passions.
The principle is that the lower goods must serve the higher goods. "A lesser good must never be chosen over a greater good when the two conflict." (ChatGPT-5, 16 Sept. 2025) A specific example is prioritizing emergency funds instead of locking the fund for time deposit to earn after a year some interest money to buy a new phone even you still have a working one.
The loophole though that I wasn't able to see is that I put emphasis on the corollary principle that one can choose the lower goods if there is a valid reason for choosing it instead of the higher one. "Among legitimate goods, one may choose the lesser if it better serves one’s personal vocation or prevents greater harm." (ChatGPT-5, 16 Sept. 2025) For example, you forgo college and worked right ahead to help your widowed mother give primary and secondary education to your siblings. However, always choosing the lower goods and forsaking the higher ones isn't the idea. It's better to first start prioritizing higher goods in all facets of life to get a better grasp at what this principle can truly empower us to establish: the right hierarchy in our valuations of things.
Prioritizing things is the secular way of how we order our schedules for example. It turns out there is a better way of doing it, and even encompasses all kinds of goods at our disposal. Leave the unknowable goods to God.
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a child quieted at its mother’s breast;
like a child that is quieted is my soul.
O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and for evermore.
Psalm 131:1-3
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