feeling and thinking

Initial thoughts on emotion:

We like to think of ourselves as rational beings occasionally subject to emotional sway. I think we're actually emotional beings capable of rationalizing our feelings. What I mean is that we rarely use our intellect to arrive objectively at logical opinions; rather, we take opinions that have arisen unnoticed from our emotional core, and use intellect to justify them and make them seem logical.

My gut reaction is to condemn this (perceived) reality and rave against the damnable human ignorance that gives rise to it. But when I think about it, I'm not sure I know whether this emotional core (as opposed to rational core) is a good or a bad thing. After all, perhaps it is our unique combination of the emotional and the rational that makes us truly human. A purely rational, logical person would be an awfully boring friend. A whole society of such people would be, well, dead.

Now, as I process these ideas, I wonder if perhaps the development of emotional intelligence (wisdom?) is as important as that of rational intelligence--maybe even more so. Maybe that's the key--to stop pretending this emotional core doesn't exist, stop fighting tooth and nail to prove we're right about everything, and instead to engage our emotional core and work to make it smarter. I certainly think this is important for teachers; we clearly need both brains AND heart.

Albert Einstein said, "It has become appaulingly clear that our technology has outstripped our humanity."

Seth Bernard claims his mom said, "Feel! Feel, boy, feel! Make muscle in your head, and use it to fuel your heart..."