Sunday 27 October 2019

On Reason and Emotions

Emotions are as innate to man as reason is. A man of reason, who has suppressed or overcome his emotions, is usually a totalitarian and a dogmatist. A good human being is a man of both, reason and emotions. Reason cannot be trusted when it operates without regard for emotions. Likewise, emotions cannot be trusted when they operate without regard for reason. Both reason and emotions are fallible, but when they work together in a man’s mind, then he has a better chance for making the right choices. I often come across philosophers who invoke reason to attack emotions. But an examination of their philosophies will show that their ideas are bogus. Reason is ineffective if it does not have access to the common sense that is reflected in a man’s emotions.

1 comment:

Terrekain said...

The derivative of this adage - or perhaps the root - is the arrogance of "Objectivity", characterized by Men who anoint themselves the arbiters in all things, whilst proclaiming their lack of self-interest.

Of course, nobody is free from self-interest - nobody is "Neutral" - and the denial of self-interest is an odious sign of the most inimical self-interest of all...

...Vanity.

It can be seen among self-proclaimed "agnostics" and "atheists" who arrogate unto themselves special dispensation in religious matters. Or among those who claim authority in technical professions from an "outsider's" (another term for "ignorant") perspective. Or among the saints of Marxism and all its fellow-travelers, who insist on their own selflessness, in order to validate their contempt (in its many manifestations) against the "selfish".

In all, the facades of "Objectivity" and "Selflessness", which are often symptomatic in the faux-separation of emotion from reason, are a transparent "pose" who's only purpose is to fend off obvious and legitimate lines of inquiry; a shield of "selfless motives" to hide a devastating lack of substance - as well as the worst kind of self-interest; self-absorption as an end in itself.

In lock-step with the vainglorious posturing of "Emotionless" Wisemen, there is quite possibly no greater Evil than that which flows from the poisoned wellspring of "Objectivity" and "Selflessness".