Emotionalism Cheapens The Depth Of Emotionality

Emotionality can be a very fulfilling, stimulating part of human life.  Understood correctly, emotionality does not threaten either reason or the intellect that grasps it, and it adds otherwise nonexistent layers of depth or excitement to all kinds of experiences.  One of many truths rationalists can realize and embrace is the fact that emotion is not a sign of irrationality.  Emotionalism, on the contrary, is inescapably irrationalistic and shallow.  Someone who looks to emotionalism for a cathartic release of deep emotions has only misunderstood both reason and emotion.

Celebrating and dwelling on emotions only has serious depth when done rationalistically.  Apart from intentionally consulting reason, the true nature of emotions cannot even be understood, which might lead some to the fallacies and perils of emotionalism.  There is no depth in emotionalism, only an emphasis on letting whatever arbitrary or conflicting emotions someone might experience guide them in spite of whether their beliefs deviate from reality and whether their actions ultimately harm them or others.  Emotionalism is indeed among the absolute shallowest kinds of worldviews and personal approaches to life.

It should be no surprise that emotionalism is the close companion of metaphysical or moral relativism.  Just like emotionalism, relativism in all of its forms is the epitome of shallowness, pettiness, and stupidity.  Intellectual depth is nowhere to be found in relativism or emotionalism, but even emotionalists and relativists still inevitably brush up against concepts and aspects of their own personal psychologies that are deep.  In the case of personal psychologies, they have simply exchanged the infallibility, stability, and illumination of logical truths for temporary delight in untrue ideas.

Whatever pathetic joy someone might find in emotionalism or relativism pales in comparison to the inherent depth of rationalism, for the necessary truths of reason are at the heart of all things, and yet those who adhere to these self-refuting worldviews still have the capacity to look to reason if they wish to--and even then the most unintelligent relativist to have ever lived must still depend on reason to even reason out the ramifications of their worldview and preferences, however selectively or hypocritically they might do so.  Embers of the potential for genuine depth are still present.

The depths of human emotion can only be comprehended as they are when analyzed with reason, a truth that leaves non-rationalists at an inherently lesser, incomplete understanding of emotions at best.  The most thorough emotional depth comes solely from the rationalistic embrace of logic.  This does not cheapen emotion, instead putting it in its rightful epistemological and metaphysical place as a cauldron of potentially deep feelings, motivators, and inner life that does not overpower a person's grasp of logic unless it is allowed to.