Emotions: You Can't Trust Them

As people of the western culture, we're becoming more and more a people that is over-exercised to avoid upsetting others, either in asserting that we are right, or in telling people that they are wrong. Whether it's the PC movement, a whimpy Senate apologizing for not putting lynching laws on the books, or a pervasive moral relativism; we fear upsetting the "god of Emotions."

If you have been on this blog, you know we deal with arguments, good and bad. As a philosophical realist, I identify fallacies, ambiguities in speech or in terms, false propostions, or just pure sloppy thinking based on logical form, whether they be in others comments or those thoughts that float through my brain. The worship of the "god of emotions" is a religion that will clash with the priorities of this blog. Reason: it is through the worship of emotions that fallacies find a foothold in us. This is why so many sophisticates resort to fallacious rhetoric; they don't care about the truth so much as they care to make you agree with them. As long as you are emotion-dependent, you are at their mercy!

Always remember, just because you discover that you may have fallacious thinking, or a badly worded argument, or haven't thought through some of the challenges put forth does NOT mean you are an inferior person. It is a non-sequitor; your value as a human being is not diminished if you're wrong, OR, increased if you are right. It goes both ways. The important thing is to identify the falsehoods that keep us from seeing clearly.

Our emotions are good if they operate as intended; good when they infuse our decisions and actions with passion and energy, sensitize us to beauty, or inspire laughter. They are terrible when used as a guide to help us discern truth from error, or right from wrong. Too often, they wrap so tightly around our egos that we are tempted to misinterpret counter-arguments as personal attack. If you struggle with this, remember, here in my little kingdom, I will never insult you, but I will ravage the falsehood that is ravaging your mind!

And yet, I am a red-hot blooded male who feels the pains of being wr..wr...wr...wrooooonnnnngggg! I know the heat of anger, the norse god of thunder that protects my ever fragile male ego when my superiors show me that I've committed an error. However, in the long run, if I learn and replace my false perceptions with the truth, truth is served, and I am benefited by the experience. I too, am a learner. And, no doubt I will learn from you.

So, if you want to grow beyond your faulty thinking, your weaknesses, and dependance on emotional thinking, you'll have to say to your emotions, "Okay emotions, let reason drive, and you get in the back seat and enjoy the ride." Don't let emotions drive you to mediocrity. You're worth more than a mediocre existence!

If you are jumping on board for the first time and are wondering "Yuck, what kind of blog is this?" Patience, my friend. It may take you some time learn your way around here. This isn't your typical blog where you can say whatever you want and damnit! no one can tell me different." Nope. Not here. We follow the Common Master, Logic. However, I'll be kind, but I will challenge you to higher levels of thinking, and I hope you do the same for me. But, at all costs, truth will be served, even at the cost of ruffling and denying the final say of those stupid emotions.