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Reason and Emotion

Reason and Emotion


It is well known that over the centuries many philosophers gave much thought to the question whether reason or emotion define a good life. All those thinkers based their decisions over their thoughts and personal experiences so now young generations can learn from the wisdom of great philosophers.

A good example of ancient philosophy is Plato's "Republic" which contains many wise thoughts on various issues. Plato starts his work "The Republic" by analyzing the qualities and virtues of a man as he believed that a state could only be just if people who lived in it were just. With the help of comparison and analysis Plato concluded that the human soul consists of three parts each having its own field of activity. According to Plato rational is "a part of the soul whereby it reflects"; the second part which the philosopher calls the "irrational appetite" and characterizes as the part that feels basic needs, animal passions and desires and the third element which Plato calls the "natural auxiliary of reason" and the "spirited element" refers to the emotions.

Plato believed that in order for a man to be just and live a proper life all elements of his soul have to fulfill their function correctly, therefore Plato decides which element should be in charge. And after supporting his opinion with proofs Plato states that only good reason should be in charge of the other elements of the soul and make decisions and emotions should be an aid to the reason. Plato states his point very clearly and he truly believed that a man has to develop his reasoning and continue collecting knowledge and virtues throughout his entire life.

But after reading Joel Kupperman one can find an opposite point of view. In his famous work called "Myth Four: Reason Rather than Emotions Would be the Best Indicator of What Would be a Good Life." Kupperman suggests his own opinion about the issue of the role of reason and emotion in one's life. It is interesting that the first thing that Kupperman does is giving his own definition of both terms that he states his argument about. And in this philosopher's opinion reason is "the process of making sound logical inferences" and emotions he calls "magical retreats from engagement with reality" meaning that emotions act in a separate field or a separate world that is different from the reality of reason. Reading this work one can find an analysis of the ancient, Indian and Chinese philosophy which state that in order to live a good life a person has to leave all emotions behind and base decisions only on reasonable thinking. But Joel Kupperman opposes his theory to those philosophers stating that "to lose all emotions would point in the direction of an affectless, apathetic state which is hardly appealing." Kupperman agrees that strong emotions can make people blind and cause irrational actions without taking to consideration all options and possibilities of the problem's solution. But he believed that "mild emotions" were absolutely necessary to feel the good life and they lead to "more effective action" and "contribute to the quality of life". Kupperman suggested that without emotions people would not have an idea how to evaluate life and how to define life as good, bad or unsatisfactory. So emotions are essential to the good life and without them reasoning would make no sense. Kupperman suggests for "anyone who doubts that emotions which crystallize judgments of value are fundamental to any reasoning about value should ask herself or himself this question. Could we think of what is desirable or enviable in life if nothing ever seemed delightful or admirable, and nothing ever was seen as pitiable, distasteful, or disgusting?". Kupperman states that " It is very hard to imagine a world that was absolutely without emotions in which we ( or the stick figures that would have our places) would make value judgments."

An interesting argument would have appeared if the philosophers met in person. Kupperman would probably state his opinion that without emotions a person would not even have an evaluation scale for reasoning and that emotions are a more significant element. I think that Plato would agree that emotions supply our soul with the evaluation information but he’d say that decisions should be made only by reason and later supported by the emotions as its loyal ally.

I would define emotions as certain qualities that our soul gives to events or objects. Emotions are like colors that we use to paint our own vision of the event. When we first face a problem it is neutral to us but later emotions enter and we start seeing this thing through some color. These colors can be bright and sunny defining the positive emotions like admiration, satisfaction and love or dark and cold if we experience anger, disgust or sadness. When we meet a person we don't know anything about, this person is a plank page to us but after getting to know him or her or just observing his actions we start seeing this person through a prism of our affection, love or even hatred. The problem here is that we may stop seeing this person just as he is with all good qualities and faults, with his true aims and dreams but we only notice the aspects of his behavior that our emotions allow us to see. This is an example of my understanding of emotions.

And reason in my vision is the true clear vision, when one shuts off the soul and tries to evaluate the issue taking in concern its causes and consequences, the affect that each decision can have on his own life and on the lives of other people regardless of his own desires. I believe that good reasoning is a very important attribute when making any important decisions.

Answering the question about whether reason should guide or rule over emotions I would say that when making vital decisions it is necessary for reason to guide emotion in order for those emotions not to lead us in the wrong direction. And considering the fact that emotions don't allow a person to see people or situations just as they are, decisions based on emotions can't be objective. Reason is essential to making objective and sober decisions or making correct judgments. But at the same time I don't think that emotions should be in any way suppressed. Positive emotions make our life brighter and more interesting and I agree with Joel Kupperman that without emotions people would become dolls or machines. Emotions make people individual and unique.

I suppose that an opposition to my opinion could state that emotions give some extra energy to person's decisions and actions so when taking important steps it is necessary to take emotions in consideration and let them guide you. I would agree that in some cases emotions supply actions with energy and temper but at times they take all energy away as it only goes into worrying about the situation instead of acting to solve it. So the wisest thing to do is close your mind to the negative and disturbing emotions as well as to the ones that stand in the way of your clear vision. To live a good life one has to find balance between reason and emotion when the life is bright and exciting and at the same time everything is clear and in any moment a person knows what is leading him.




Works Cited:

Kupperman, J. "Myth Four: Reason Rather than Emotions Would be the Best Indicator of What Would be a Good Life." "Six Myths About the Good Life". Fackelt, 2006.
Plato. The Republic. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1950
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Posted by: Natalie Saturday

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