Full Idea
How much our instincts must have had to be blunted and their functioning slackened before consciousness extended its control over the sum of our actions and our thoughts!
Gist of Idea
Our instincts had to be blunted and diminished, to make way for consciousness!
Source
E.M. Cioran (A Short History of Decay [1949], 1 'The Coming')
Book Reference
Cioran,E.M.: 'A Short History of Decay', ed/tr. Howard,Richard [Penguin 2010], p.89
A Reaction
Modern wisdom, founded in neuroscience, seems to tell us that the role of consciousness even now is far less than Cioran believed. Once you digest that wisdom, I believe introspection supports it. Still, instinct in animals is much stronger than ours.