A Mythical War Between Emotionality And Rationality

It should eventually become apparent to any sound thinker that the relationship between emotion and rationality (not merely reason itself, but the individual's grasp of reason) has been deeply misrepresented across millennia.  Few have understood the nature of reason and rationality, and few have understood the nature of emotion.  In most cases, a given person will either prioritize emotional satisfaction over logical comprehension or regard logic as the enemy of emotion.  The truth of the matter is aligned with neither of these misconceptions.  Reason is not only something that is true regardless of someone's feelings, but it is also the tool without which a person cannot understand his or her feelings to begin with.

The vast depths of the human heart--or potential depths, as few cultivate or contemplate the depths of their feelings--can only be thoroughly understood when they are held up to the light of reason.  Since reason governs all things, emotions, desires, and motivations are not outside the boundaries of logic.  Some desires are irrational in that they entail a longing for that which is logically impossible, but the laws of logic govern them nonetheless.  A desire is what it is and is not what it is not; there is no such thing as an aspect of the mind that is metaphysically free from the inevitable laws of reason, for nothing can exist which metaphysically defies the necessity of logic.

It is because logic presides over all that no one can understand their emotions by looking only to their emotions themselves.  For clarity, they must look to reason.  There is not and never was a war between emotionality and rationality.  Indeed, the presence of one enables a deeper, more fulfilling appreciation of the other.  It is rationality and emotionalism that are at war, and emotionalism loses every single battle and confrontation within that war.  However, emotion is not hostile towards reason and rationality (the laws of logic and the intellect respectively), and vice versa.

As soon as a person realizes this, they are able to enjoy the peace that can only come from knowing that one's emotionality and rationality do not have to displace each other.  It is impossible to have genuine peace about the relationship between these two aspects of human nature without an accurate, rationalistic understanding of them.  Perhaps not a single person does not have the desire to obtain this kind of introspective understanding and the resulting peace--nevertheless, very few are willing to invest the effort into rational investigation of their own feelings, much less the investigation of anything else.

Again, having great intelligence does not mean that one must have weak emotions, and the inverse is also true.  Having deep emotions does not mean that one has only shallow intelligence.  Only when both are embraced and developed can an individual experience the fullest personal flourishing.  The two might be erroneously regarded as inevitable adversaries, but those who hold this mistaken stance merely hinder themselves with their own fallacies.  There is nothing to gain by ignoring one's emotions or capacity for intelligence.  However, there is much to gain by doing the opposite.