Reason & Emotion

Emotion v. Reason • We like emotion, we are human– Kill one to save many– One person disarms the bomb to save many– Sacrifice good life for love

• We like emotional, but logically sound?

Human behavior flows from three main sources:

desire, emotion and knowledge ---- Plato Is it reason or emotion that SHOULD dictates action?

ReviewWhat is reason?

• Supports a conclusion with SOUND evidence– Critical thinking– Sound Thought– Problem solving– Sound Action

• By using reason we hope to solve problems– Difficult Know Resistances– Unfamiliar Prepare for future– Challenges our values Question Beliefs– Open to solutions Flexible– Critical of evidence Evaluate

History of reason• Plato (400 BC): Three parts of the human soul

– Emotional……………………Feel and desire– Physical Cravings………… Need and reactions– Reason…………………………Our mind and thought

• Thomas Aquinas (1200 AD): God is Perfect Reason – Humans should strive to be like God, the world around them– Closer you are to God, the more you are to perfect reason

• Charles Darwin (1800 AD): – Theory of evolution (survival of the fittest). – Higher Reason, higher on food chain of beings – Reason should adjust behavior to

bring about the best outcome

Emotion and Reason

Culture- Balance Emotion

• Western: Europe and Americas– Christianity: Emotion hinders reason and emotion generally leads to sin

• Far East: China, Japan, India– Confucius: Emotions can improve life, especially loyalty and compassion.

Understanding emotions is important.– Buddhists: Compassion and love of all things is the foundation of life.– Hindu: Emotion should shift from the good of ones self to the good of God

• Middle East: Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia– Muslim: Emotions must be balanced

• Good emotion: love, hope and determination• Bad emotion: Anger Depression and hate

Emotional IntelligenceThe ability to accurately perceive, appraise

and express emotion

Not that I am (mad, sad, happy)But

Why I am (mad, sad, happy)Or

Should I be (mad, sad, happy)And

Empathy- we feel for others

Faith & Reason

Faith• A trust in a higher power and it’s rules--- with no evidence– 10 commandments of Christianity– Six pillars of Islam– Koran of Judaism

• Reason and faith– Do this because of faith.. No proof needed– Abraham sacrifices Isaac• He prepares (faith)• Stopped by God (reason?)

Faith, NOT reason will lead you to the truth

Fideism

• Faith with no reason. Reward driven – Christianity = Heaven and sit at the right hand of the lord– Muslim = Levels of paradise– Ancient Egypt = Aaru (East)– Greek - The Elysian Fields (West @ the end of the Earth)

• Paradox: If faith was open to reason it wouldn't be faith? It is impossible to prove faith.

• If so do we have any evidence for faith?• If so– can people just believe what they want?

Problem with Fideism• How do we make informed decisions without reason?• How do we ever decide right (good) from wrong (bad) if we

take everything on faith– It is all relative to what YOU think?• 9/11• Crusades• Concentration Camps

• My faith is more important than your reasons?• Shouldn’t religion want to be questioned and held up to scrutiny…….or proven

Real Life Religion• Does faith make your life better?– How?– Why?

• Does you faith make common sense?– Suicide bombing– Abortion clinic bombings

• Faith is for individual comfort not to influence groups– Why churches?– Why cults?More for acceptance than individual faith?

Applying Reason to an emotional

Argument

Religion

Thomas Aquinas, Proofs for God’s Existence

• Energy– Everything needs a reason to move/energy– Something Had to make the first move

• Cause to an effect– Physical: every effect has a cause– Something had to be the first cause, nonphysical

• CreationistThere must have been a time when no physical thing existed, but physical things exists now. Something non-physical must have brought it into existence….God

Thomas Aquinas, Proofs for God’s Existence

• Relativeness– Need to know absolut perfection to be able to judge degrees of perfection– All things on Earth can be good and bad, they are not

perfect….– There needs to be a perfect being…..God

• Designed life-- organized– Things look like they have been created for a reason– The created has to have a creator…..God

Richard Dawkins, God Delusion

1. Evolution just has a better argument• Evidence is verified and reliable

2. Religion relies on Emotion, rather than argument, leads to horrific results

• Prayer, not medical attention• Bombings

4. Science can change as the world changes, religion does no allow for this. Rules are set.

Richard Dawkins, God Delusion

• Regression arguments – All three of these have the same problem….False termination • Why terminate with God?

• Why is God immune to such regress?If god is omniscience (all seeing/all good) and omnipotent (all powerful) there seems to be a problem. – If god is all seeing then he already has laid out his plan for

the end of time – This means he never can change is mind. – This mean, then he is not all powerful.

Richard Dawkins, God DelusionPerfect God = No evil in the world.

1. Is [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able to? Then is he impotent

(not omnipotent--not all powerful)2. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent

(not omniscience—not all good)3. He is testing us? Why?Why does a perfectly good being need to test anyone?

Richard Dawkins, God Delusion

• Relative perfection– Is this an argument?– Take on faith (no proof) that perfection

exists somewhere?– Assumes absolutism• Smelliest person that we compare all to.

Richard Dawkins, God Delusion

Design Arguments is biggest problem

By assuming the universe as a whole has a purpose just because we see a part of it is a fallacy. If the parts of the universe are ordered, it would not necessarily follow that the whole universe is ordered.

– Fallacy of composition– The whole is not ALWAYS like its parts