'Intellectual Reasoning vs. Instinct\r'

'It has been said from Plato in front that earths reason tabu is his highest faculty and makes him superior to animals. In the short bilgewater system â€Å"To Build a Fire,” by Jack London, small-arm’s intellectual debate mightiness is regarded as â€Å"second class” to that of the endurance implement that is embedded within hu small-arms and animals alike. This survival mechanism is sometimes referred to as mind. If whole depended on, compositionkind’s intellectual debate may be clouded, imprudent and raze detrimental, leading him to the wrong decision. mind, on the new(prenominal) hand, is a natural reaction pre-programmed into homophile for survival and rat non be altered by reasoning, making it superior to reason. As the story opens, the man clearly netherstands that the â€Å"day had embarrassed cold and gray, exceedingly cold and gray,” and salve he insists on continuing his go (650). The fact that the temperature is bel ow freezing did non seem to bother him. He is unintellectual of the cold.As he stands surveying the s today cover Yukon trail, â€Å"the mysterious, far-reaching hair-line trail, the absence of sun from the sky, the tremendous cold, and the curiousness and weirdness of it allâ€made no impression on him” (651). He is situated to join the boys at camp to have sex the warmth, food, and companionship regardless of the weather. The man is very(prenominal) observant more or less his surroundings, however, â€Å"he was without fancy” (651). The temperature is about septenaryty-five degrees below zero, which subject matter that it is about one hundred and seven degrees below freezing.To him, the air is cold and uncomfortable, and zip more. He ignores the fact that he is a warm blooded creature and as such only able to function at certain temperatures. Anything beyond that undulate requires not only intellectual reasoning ability however also reason. The large -scale native husky that accompanies him on his transit is his only companion. The animal can oblige to the cold weather, solely on this author it is very apprehensive about actuateling in the primitive cold. The cut through’s instinct â€Å"knew that it was not time for traveling.Its instinct told it a truer rehearsal than was told to the man by the man’s judgment” (652). The computer-aided design does not understand how temperature is measured or even how a thermometer works. It inherited this instinctual ability from its ancestry. It relies on this innate ability for survival. It craves warmth, and knows that man can create ignore and warmth. Its instinct for warmth and survival tells it this is not a time to be traveling. The man pelf at each creek or river bend, and observes â€Å"the changes around the creek, the curves and bends and timber-jams” (653).He knows if he walks on applesauce that is not frozen to the rotter he will crack the ice cap and break through it. open frame through the ice will relieve oneself him to get roiled. Under such an extreme, tartness cold temperature, being wet can be fatal. The man tries to compel the train to go ahead. However, it hesitates. It will not go and stays back until â€Å"the man shoved it forward, and wherefore it went quickly across” (653). The dog brake system through the ice and scampers back on land. Quickly, it begins to â€Å"lick off its legs, then dropped refine in the bamboozle and began to bite out the ice that had formed mingled with the toes” (653).This is not a matter of intellectual reasoning but rather instinct. Because the dog is now wet and cold, the dog is apprehensive about traveling further. The relationship between the man and the dog is like that of an proprietor to an animal. there is no â€Å"keen intimacy between the dog and the man, the dog made no effort to communicate its apprehension to the man” (654). When the man final examinationly reaches the left separate on the other side of the creek, he did not see signs of any springs. in one case again, the man is relies on his visual perception, but he fails to recognize the danger.He thinks it is not requisite to send the dog ahead because he did not see any signs of danger. Unfortunately, at a place â€Å"where the soft, unskintn snow seemed to advertise solidity beneath, the man broke through” (655). He is now wet from the waist dismantle to his foot-gear. He escapes from the water and quickly works to build a fire. Memories of antique on Sulphur brook creep into his consciousness. The old-timer repeatedly warned him of extreme cold temperatures in the Klondike, cautioning him not to travel alone without a partner when the temperature is fifty dollar bill below or colder.The man laughed and thought, â€Å"the old-timer was rather womanish” (656). In his upsurge to start a fire, he did not notice that he built it under a sp ruce tree. The tree held the weightiness of the snow from many previous storms. for each one time the man pulled on a twig, the tree moved. Finally, the branches released the snow, sending it falling down onto to man and extinguishing the fire. Standing in disbelief, he â€Å"heard his own conclusion sentence. ” (656). Again, his memories returned to the old-timer on Sulphur Creek.Maybe the older-timer is rightâ€â€Å"after fifty below, a man should travel with a partner” (657). With his vivification at the mercy of nature, he recognizes his foolishness. His final attempt to rebuild a fire is unsuccessful. He sees the dog and remembers a tale of a man who was caught in a blizzard. This man survived by killing a steer and crawling inside the cavity to keep warm. Perhaps killing the dog and burying his hands in its dust will thaw them so he can build a fire. He calls to the dog, but the dog senses a â€Å" strange note in his voice that panicky it” (658 ).Its instinct senses danger †â€Å"it knew not what danger, but somewhere, somehow, in its brain arouses an apprehension of the man” (658). The dog stays clear of the man. Instinct is a natural part of all living creature. Its purpose is to alert its owner of impending danger, to override reason, to survive. The dog, through its instinct, is alert of the life-threatening conditions in the Yukon. The man, thinking he is smarter than nature, relies on his knowledge and ignores his instinct. By relying on his knowledge, mistakenly believing it to be his highest faculty, he ultimately forfeits his life.\r\n'