I would rather trust a woman's instinct than a man's reason.

Stanley Baldwin, three times Prime Minister of Britain, spoke words that startled his age yet carried the weight of timeless truth: “I would rather trust a woman’s instinct than a man’s reason.” In this declaration, Baldwin was not casting aside the grandeur of logic nor belittling the labor of reason; rather, he was raising up the oft-overlooked power of instinct, particularly the intuition of women, which sees truths that cold calculation cannot. For where reason may falter, tangled in its own webs, instinct cuts straight to the heart.

The ancients themselves revered this gift. The Greeks spoke of m?tis, a kind of cunning wisdom, a sharp intuition beyond rational measure. Athena, goddess of wisdom, was not merely the patroness of reasoned strategy, but of instinctive foresight, the ability to see the hidden pattern beneath appearances. The Romans honored the materfamilias, the mother of the household, whose instinct safeguarded hearth and kin when reasoned arguments failed. Thus Baldwin’s words are not the whim of a statesman, but an echo of a truth known since the dawn of civilization: instinct can pierce where reason is blind.

History gives us vivid testimony. Consider Queen Elizabeth I of England. Surrounded by counselors, courtiers, and men of reason who weighed charts, treaties, and strategies, she often relied on her own instinct. When facing the Spanish Armada, her advisors counseled hesitation and caution. But her instinct told her to rally her people, to ride among them declaring she had “the heart and stomach of a king.” Her courage, born of intuition, galvanized a nation and turned the tide of history. Reason calculated risks, but instinct inspired victory.

By contrast, history also shows the dangers of reason untempered by instinct. In the long years before World War II, men of reason — studying statistics, drawing up treaties, weighing logic — failed to see the true threat of Hitler’s ambition. Their reason blinded them with wishful arithmetic, while their instincts, had they listened, might have warned them of the storm. Here Baldwin’s words burn with warning: reason alone is not enough. Without the balance of instinct, it may lead nations astray.

Children of tomorrow, hear this teaching: there are many forms of wisdom. Reason is a lamp, steady and methodical, illuminating what lies in plain sight. But instinct is lightning, sudden and piercing, revealing what reason cannot. To despise one in favor of the other is folly. Yet when the choice comes — when logic falters and hearts grow uncertain — instinct often sees deeper, for it is born not of calculation but of the soul’s unspoken knowledge.

The lesson is clear: cultivate both, but never scorn intuition, especially the intuition that springs from lived experience, from care, from love. A mother may know danger before reason explains it. A friend may sense betrayal before logic proves it. A leader may feel the turning of the tide before statistics confirm it. This is not foolishness; it is another face of wisdom. Baldwin’s words honor this truth, reminding us that instinct is often the guardian of life.

Practical action flows from this wisdom. When faced with great decisions, weigh the evidence with reason, but do not silence the voice within. When you sense unease though facts seem sound, pause. When you feel conviction though reason hesitates, listen closely. Seek the counsel of those whose instincts have been honed by hardship, by care, by the fierce clarity of love. Trust that wisdom is not always dressed in logic — sometimes it speaks in the quiet certainty of the heart.

So let it be remembered: “I would rather trust a woman’s instinct than a man’s reason.” These words are not an overthrow of reason, but a reminder that wisdom wears many robes. To honor instinct is to honor the hidden sight of the soul, the wisdom that flows beneath reason’s surface. And those who live by both — guided by reason, yet alive to instinct — will walk in clarity, avoiding the blindness of one-eyed vision, and embracing the full spectrum of human wisdom.