Currently science shows us that humans react first with
their emotions and then progress to justify their decisions by supporting it
with logical reasoning; however, in today’s society, displaying one’s emotions
is often seen as weakness and therefore undesirable. I would argue that while
sometimes fully engaging in one’s emotions - when they are irrelevant to the
situation at hand - lessens efficiency, emotions help to guide us through the world,
as we perceive it, and build relationships with others. In the 21st
century, the western world is ruled mentally rather physically as most
interactions/ communications are made using technology. Consequently, logic
ranks higher when influencing decision than emotion does – and rightly so.
Critical thinking allows us to analyse our actions and the actions of those
around us to better influence our communities and engage in positive movements
while correcting negative ones. These thought sequences stem from our background
in education and culture, shaped by family religion and tradition. For
instance, if we see another person (or animal) being mistreated in our
community and (I would hope) help them: we understand and think about the
psychological effect on that person and the rippling effects it may have.
However, if initially we had not felt
that the situation was unjust and felt
sympathetic for the person, we would not have taken the initiative to assist them
and used critical thinking to create a positive impact. As I stated earlier,
emotions play a key role in allowing us to perceive the world and form
relationships with others. Emotions enable us to pursue subjects and activities
we enjoy – if a person is logically inclined and enjoy maths, emotion drives
them to pursue and better themselves at maths, even though it is the logical
though they seek. Therefore we can understand that emotion, as it has always
been, is the base on which we build our logical thought. This does not mean
that displaying emotions is always beneficial for the individual or that
relying solely on emotion is healthy but rather that balancing emotion and
logic leads to a more harmonious lifestyle. Relying solely on emotion can make
us unreasonable and insensitive to others while depending on logic can do the
same. Although, when using emotions to connect with others and logic to assist
them, one can provide their best support and make better decisions for themselves.
In this way, emotion and logic complement each other however often they are
seen as opposing forces.
