Instinct, Conscientiousness, Virtue

Among the given conditions of any situation are not only established facts, but processes, as well, some of which are the instincts of an organism.  Now, Aristotle conceives at least some human instincts as, as Dewey later puts it, 'plastic', which means that in itself, the behavior that an instinct motivates is willy-nilly.  But, he also conceives Reason as introducing an alternative to such behavior--conducting oneself in a balanced manner that his Golden Mean principle formulates.  Accordingly, he proposes an achievable alternative to Living--Living Well.  In other words, in his doctrine, conscientious conduct is virtuous conduct.  In contrast, on the premise that an Instinct is both 'evil' and 'natural', a premise common to many ideologies, the action of Reason on it can be only that of a 'supernatural' constraint, experienced as an intervention by 'Conscience'.  While the most prominent of those ideologies are familiar Theologies, e. g. Christianity and Buddhism, their demonization of Instinct survives in secular dualisms, e. g. in contemporary Deontic Logic, as signified by 'ought'.