Emotion v Rationality

[Beady]

I know this has been gone over before, many, many times. I still wrestle with the question, though, quite a lot. It comes home to me every time I watch the movie "Thirteen Days," about the Cuban Missile Crisis, especially the last scene, where Kevin Costner's character picks up a small plaque off JFK's desk that says, "Oh God, Your sea is so great and my boat is so small."

It's a really odd juxtaposition in the movie, too. The story is/was all about good men determined to solve the unsolvable against unforgiving odds. It was critical thinking and determination at their best, and yet, when it was all over, that little plaque delivered a message that was somehow more satisfying and comforting than all that had gone before.

I should say that I remember the Cuban Missile Crisis from real life, and I believe I remember mention of that little plaque at roughly that same time (I know there were many comments about Kennedy's love of all things nautical).

I guess what it comes down to is that crtical thinking can answer a lot of questions, but it doesn't offer much comfort. I remember, less than a year ago, my mother-in-law, facing her second mastectomy, saying to my super-rationalistic sister-in-law, "Sometimes I wish you'd just shut up and hug me."

[Kopji]

A drawing or painting done literally (in annoyingly perfect detail) often looks amateurish. The beauty of great art arises from subtle imperfections and sometimes wildly inaccurate rendering of proper geometry.

Picasso states this artistic concept very succinctly -

"art is a lie
that tells the truth".

Healthy, well expressed emotion is a vital 'imperfection' or 'lie' that complements logic and reason.

We look to 'emotional' things like imagination, hope, and a sense of beauty to inspire and create new foundations to be reasonable and logical about.

It is good to be rational and logical people, but we also need to feel.

Maybe a little feeling goes a long way though. :)

[Keneke]

Yet how do we reconcile this with those with whom we give an inch and take a mile?

[LotusMegami]

Emotional doesn't mean irrational. I don't see any conflict between the two. Is it irrational to care about other's feelings?

[epepke]

Originally posted by Beady
I guess what it comes down to is that crtical thinking can answer a lot of questions, but it doesn't offer much comfort.

That's why I keep dogs.

[Dancing David]

Originally posted by LotusMegami
Emotional doesn't mean irrational. I don't see any conflict between the two. Is it irrational to care about other's feelings?

Quite true, in fact I think most rational people end up ignoring their emotions, to their detriment.

I think that thought is also subject to being unbalanced, just as emotions the two should be balanced.

Working in a domestic violence shelter I have seen people who have conflicted emotions, they are very hurt and abused by the perpetrator, but they often are very attached to them and don't want to end the relationshsip. Very unbalanced emotion.

Unbalanced thoughts often accompany the emotions, the residents often have long lists and rationales for why they can't seperate from the perpetrator, and so rational thought is often unbalanced as well.

I think it is a mistake to ascribe primacy to either thought of emotion, they should be carefully blended.

[JAK]

Originally posted by Dancing David

...
I think that thought is also subject to being unbalanced, just as emotions the two should be balanced.
...

This reminds me of the menu at a local café. It notes, “Our meals are well balanced. Our staff is not.�

Balance is a crucial concept regarding thinking and emotions. If Walter Cannon is right, as most psychologists believe, then our primary focus in life is balance, or in Cannon’s terms, homeostasis. It is difficult to maintain due to the wild interfaces posed by the outside environment – lions and tigers and bear markets (Oh, my!).

Given this need for homeostasis, then the purpose of the brain, the mind, and emotions must be to help us find that balance.

The trouble with emotions is, “How high you can fly is how low you can go.� In other words, if you fall from lofty joy, the crash can be disastrous. If you don’t fly too high, you can’t fall very far.

Reason appears to be a defensive mechanism to prevent us from crashes. It also seems to prevent us from trying to fly at all (see Kahneman and Tversky).

I just came back from diving and parasailing off Cozumel, Mexico. The views were breath-taking – both from 90 feet aloft and 90 feet below.

Some people like to fly ...

despite the risks.