Antonio Black
10-25-2008, 08:59 AM
As a philosophy major, I know that this debate is more complex than it appears, but for the sake of the board I will reduce the impact of this question to relationships and human interaction. To think with your heart actually means to base your thought process on emotions. To think with your mind means to base your thought process on logic. Emotions are how you feel at a particular time and they vary in extremities. Common emotions are happiness, sadness, angryness, boredom, and all those other options on that myspace status thingy. lol. Everybody has emotions, but the question remains "is it healthy to make your decisions based upon your emotions?"
For most of my adult life, I have shunned factoring emotion into any type of decision that I make. Emotions can cloud your judgment and make you do things that you wouldn't normally do given the circumstances.
People who think emotionally do things that they "think" are right. People who think logically do things that they "know" are right. Let me give you an example. Let's say that you catch your significant other cheating on you. People who think emotionally would wanna fight, make a scene, do all this dramatic stuff, but the likelihood of them terminating the relationship is little to none. A person who thinks logically would say "this person cheated on me, I can't trust them, therefore this relationship must end". They wouldn't make a scene or act crazy. They would look at the situation and come to a resolution. Once again, there's a difference between people doing what they think is right, and doing what they know is right.
But perhaps, maybe I am wrong. Maybe the logical approach is flawed. Studies show that people who think emotionally are happier because they do what they think is right because it is what makes them happy, and that people who think logically do what they know is right, regardless of how it affects them personally. Prime example. You've been in a relationship for 5+ years, and your significant other wants to call it quits. A person who thinks emotionally would say "fuck that, we been through too much", and would stay and work it out, trying to make the other person see that staying together is worth it. On the other hand, a person who thinks logically would say "Well, they want to break up, if they don't want to be with me, then it makes no sense to continue the relationship" and they would grant the wishes of separation, even though in their heart they really wanted to stay and make it work.
So the question becomes "is it better to do what you feel is right, or what you know is right (even if it doesn't benefit you)"?
Most of my life, I always thought that people who reacted based upon emotions were weak. But maybe they're the strong ones; putting what they feel on the line to get what they want. Maybe being logical works against you because everybody else is illogical and using their emotions to guide them. On a personal note, sometimes I feel that because I am so logical, people don't understand where I'm coming from. Because with logic, there are laws, the answers are concrete, and we never deviate. It appears to be more sound than to use emotions to arrive at decisions.
Maybe, we need a combination of both, but at what percentage.. 50/50? Maybe I've been reading the 48 Laws of Power too many times. lol. Maybe I refuse to see the flaws in my thought process, because logic is flawless. But if everybody else is using a different measure, then what good is my logic.
I digress.
For most of my adult life, I have shunned factoring emotion into any type of decision that I make. Emotions can cloud your judgment and make you do things that you wouldn't normally do given the circumstances.
People who think emotionally do things that they "think" are right. People who think logically do things that they "know" are right. Let me give you an example. Let's say that you catch your significant other cheating on you. People who think emotionally would wanna fight, make a scene, do all this dramatic stuff, but the likelihood of them terminating the relationship is little to none. A person who thinks logically would say "this person cheated on me, I can't trust them, therefore this relationship must end". They wouldn't make a scene or act crazy. They would look at the situation and come to a resolution. Once again, there's a difference between people doing what they think is right, and doing what they know is right.
But perhaps, maybe I am wrong. Maybe the logical approach is flawed. Studies show that people who think emotionally are happier because they do what they think is right because it is what makes them happy, and that people who think logically do what they know is right, regardless of how it affects them personally. Prime example. You've been in a relationship for 5+ years, and your significant other wants to call it quits. A person who thinks emotionally would say "fuck that, we been through too much", and would stay and work it out, trying to make the other person see that staying together is worth it. On the other hand, a person who thinks logically would say "Well, they want to break up, if they don't want to be with me, then it makes no sense to continue the relationship" and they would grant the wishes of separation, even though in their heart they really wanted to stay and make it work.
So the question becomes "is it better to do what you feel is right, or what you know is right (even if it doesn't benefit you)"?
Most of my life, I always thought that people who reacted based upon emotions were weak. But maybe they're the strong ones; putting what they feel on the line to get what they want. Maybe being logical works against you because everybody else is illogical and using their emotions to guide them. On a personal note, sometimes I feel that because I am so logical, people don't understand where I'm coming from. Because with logic, there are laws, the answers are concrete, and we never deviate. It appears to be more sound than to use emotions to arrive at decisions.
Maybe, we need a combination of both, but at what percentage.. 50/50? Maybe I've been reading the 48 Laws of Power too many times. lol. Maybe I refuse to see the flaws in my thought process, because logic is flawless. But if everybody else is using a different measure, then what good is my logic.
I digress.