NationStates Jolt Archive

So, my brother had a heart attack earlier today, and I only learned about it a few minutes ago. He's in Tenessee, so I can't exactly do anything. As a 400 pound man with lots of excess flesh and all that jazz, it was only a matter of time till he had one. He's only 29, too.

On one hand, my brother molested my two little sisters, and thus from an emotional-revenge standpoint, deserves this. On the other, he is a human being, and no harm to any human being is ever good no matter what they've done, which is the rational standpoint. And yet, despite this, I find myself leaning heavily towards the emotional standpoint.

How do we manage to take the rational stand in hand so unoften? Why do we let our emotions rule us so much? For that matter, what causes them? What exactly are they?

Chemicals in the brain. And, to quote another thread, this is Earth, not Vulcan. Man is a rationalising animal, not a rational one.

So, my brother had a heart attack earlier today, and I only learned about it a few minutes ago. He's in Tenessee, so I can't exactly do anything. As a 400 pound man with lots of excess flesh and all that jazz, it was only a matter of time till he had one. He's only 29, too.

On one hand, my brother molested my two little sisters, and thus from an emotional-revenge standpoint, deserves this. On the other, he is a human being, and no harm to any human being is ever good no matter what they've done, which is the rational standpoint. And yet, despite this, I find myself leaning heavily towards the emotional standpoint.

How do we manage to take the rational stand in hand so unoften? Why do we let our emotions rule us so much? For that matter, what causes them? What exactly are they?

An interesting question. But your emotions don't rule you, and I find it unlikely that you are intentionally allowing them to do so. They are a part of you, one factor that influences your behavior, like previous experience or reason.

I believe I have heard that information first passes through emotional filters in the brain, so our rational decisions are automatically tinged with emotion.

On the other, he is a human being, and no harm to any human being is ever good no matter what they've done, which is the rational standpoint.
Not true. If you think someone may "strike again" (to use the cliché), then striking first removes them neatly. You don't have to worry about a man becomign a repeat offender if you've killed him.
More importantly, from a strictly rational stand-point, simply having people around isn't all that good either, and if those people existence detracts from yours, then you should remove them.
How do we manage to take the rational stand in hand so unoften? Why do we let our emotions rule us so much? For that matter, what causes them? What exactly are they?
Irrational desires rule us because that is all we have for motives. Everything you do is done to fulfill some base instinctive want (flee pain, pursue pleasure). Either this pay-off comes now, or you believe that it will come later, but it is still the only thing that is driving you.
Rationality only comes into play when we have multiple motives to follow and need a good way to pick which pleasure to pursue or which pain to avoid at this moment (killing my roommate would make me happy, but going to jail for murder is just not my shtick, so the bastard gets to live another day), or when we are determining the best way to obtain a particular desire (go to college to get a better job to get more money to be able to have more things).