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Emotions vs. Logic

This is probably a fairly common one, but a good subject of debate.
I'm squishy and I whine a lot, so once I got a good punch in the face when a man told me something like this:
"No decision made by emotion is a good one."

Which I dispelled completely at first glance, but unfortunately I gave it a second thought. It seems that even with moral issues, you absolutely have to address logic. And often, logic does win. Is there a situation you can think of where the "emotional" decision wins over a more logical approach? Or do we say that logic and emotion are more separated than they are?

Which option do you find yourself catering to? Stereotypically, Atheists are very cold, after all.

Tags: emotion, logic, morality

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Permalink Reply by Tom Thompson on August 1, 2010 at 8:49pm

"Which option do you find yourself catering to?"

It depends if you mean instinctively or purposefully. All humans except for sociopaths tend to let their emotions influence their decisions. Humans also exploit this fact to cause other people to think or behave as they would like them to. Knowing this, I am defensive with people who use emotionally charged language. I know that I am just as susceptible to credulity as other people when presented with an emotional anecdote or metaphor and might arrive at a different conclusion than I would if simply presented with a set of facts.

I think of emotion as life enriching but also as potentially detrimental and necessary to moderate. It carries a cost. This is easily demonstrated when it is necessary to weigh the value of one human life against that of another, or many others.

"Stereotypically, Atheists are very cold, after all."

Logic is emotionless and cold. I don't think it's fair to stereotype atheists as cold, but that's just my opinion. Having the fortitude to moderate one's emotions isn't something that I think should be held in contempt.

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Permalink Reply by George on June 27, 2011 at 7:29am

Actually all decisions are ultimately made with emotion. It's difficult or impossible to make decisions without it; logic and rationality allows you temper it.

What motivates you are your values, and values are that which you desire. In order to make any decision, you have to want that which you are pursuing. So every decision is ultimately based in emotion; whether it's positive such as desire, or negative such as fear, dislike, distaste, etc.

If someone says they've made a rational decision, they may be correct... but only within the context (or framework) of their underlying values which is based on emotional associations.

So it's not either-or at all.