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Samiksha Varadarajan
What makes a human, “human”? The ability to interpret feelings and use them as an aid
in decision-making makes a human, “human” (deSousa, 2017). The ability to decide when
feelings should interfere with and appear in physical manifestations makes a human, “human”.
Emotion can act as a decisive factor in certain circumstances by overpowering the rationale and
developed thought. The existence of the dominance of emotion over rationale is theoretically
proven through theories that declare feeling as a result of chemical imbalances; that define
emotion as an automatic response to bodily states, beliefs, and desires, and as expanse that has
yet to be understood; and that denote emotion as a deceptive entity that can alter direction and
intensity of feeling.
Feelings and emotion represent two different ideas. Emotion is sudden and can be
measured by objective means, whereas feeling, an intangible concept in respect to emotion, can
only be measured subjectively, or through the recollections of the individual (A. Amritwar,
personal communication, January 13, 2018). Emotions originate in the amygdala, or the human
center of emotion, which contains experiences accumulated over the time of human evolution
(Sapolsky, 2017). Sapolsky, a professor of neurology and biology, demonstrates the idea of the
accumulation of experiences in the amygdala through the example of events that occured
milliseconds ago, to events that occurred during the lifetime of the individual, to social
constructs set by the ancestors of the individual, to the basic emotional states of his/her neolithic
ancestors (Sapolsky, 2017). Feeling describes the resulting combination of rational thought and
emotion while emotion is more simplistic in its origins (Panksepp, 1998, as cited in deSousa,
2017).
THE DOMINANCE OF EMOTION OVER DECISION 3
Philosophical theories declare the origin of emotions are chemical imbalances in the brain
and in the body; due to this, the emotion undoubtedly has immediate, as opposed to long-term,
can interfere with the rationality, or reliability, of rational thought (Tuske, 2011). The dominance
(Tuske, 2011). Emotion is unwanted in the process of cognition when dissecting emotion from
event or emotion from thought because of the undue influence of emotion on feeling (Tuske,
2011). Though emotion can overcome rational thought when the decision must be made quickly,
it is not the always the procession with which cognition proceeds. The cognitive process which
arises from emotion dampens and interprets the emotion to come to a decision (Clore, 2011).
Though emotion can aid and also overcome decision in cognition, feeling also acts as an
influential factor in the discernment of choice. The contradiction of emotion to resulting feeling,
reinforced by the chemical imbalance of emotion, represents the influence of decision over
emotion in feeling, rather than the overpowering of emotion over decision. Due to these
experiences, the resulting feeling from the combination of emotion and cognition could be
completely opposite to the original feeling state (A. Amritwar, personal communication, January
13, 2018). Without overpowering or concurring with emotion in the cognitive process, it is
extremely difficult to refrain from acting on impulse, as emotion arises from a chemical
The procession of the cognitive process is responsible for the overcoming of rational
thought by emotion. Emotions physically occur before the rational thought can be conceived,
resulting in the inevitable influence of the emotion on the rational thought (deSousa, 2017). As
an event, and this emotion is conceived before the experiences in relation to the event and in
relation to the emotion can be processed (A. Amritwar, personal communication, January 13,
2018). The idea of emotion and physical manifestations of emotion being held as separate
emotions are separated; it is not necessary that one portray his/her affective mental states for the
Therapies employed to combat various mood illnesses focus on changing the cognitive
process to allow patients to control their affective mental states (Gaudiano, 2017). A tangible
depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety embody an extreme of the overpowerment of
rational thought (Driessen, 2010). As seen in various medical and psychological research
journals, methods to combat this are medications to combat the imbalance, and therapies such as
the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and the Acceptance and Commitment Theory, which
teach individuals to alter their cognitive process in order to control the influence of emotions
(Driessen, 2010). These theories originate from American philosophy where the separation of
emotion from rational thought in feeling can allow the control of the cognitive process (Tuske,
2011). Mood disorders exemplify the dominance of chemical imbalance over experience and
rational thought.
THE DOMINANCE OF EMOTION OVER DECISION 5
idea of the “fear of flying,” an important perceptive theory when identifying the difference at
times in feeling versus emotion. The fear of flying is the idea that some may fear flying on an
aeroplane, knowing full well that flying is one of the safest methods of transportation (Stocker,
1992, as cited in deSousa, 2017). Through these perceptive theories, feeling is proven to be a
2017). The opposition of emotion, emotion garnered through previous experiences or previously
set mindsets, to decision can set apart those who can use rationality to their benefit and those
As it originates from a chemical imbalance, emotion can be very influential due to its
unstable and irrational nature. The irrationality of emotion, its precedence in the cognitive
process, and the use of therapies that aid in suppressing predominant emotions are testament to
the prevalence of emotion over rational thought through its chemically imbalanced origin.
response, adding to its prevalence over rational thought. Rational thought requires time and
conceived as a reaction to an event (Sapolsky, 2017). The automatic and ambiguous nature of
emotion is fostered by the events and experiences recorded in the amygdala and by arousal, or
response of the body to events; by the vastness of classifications in relation to emotion; and by
the emotional paralysis that is often a result of too many choices presented to an individual.
Humans can, and often do, use cognition and logic to their benefit using the ability of emotion to
THE DOMINANCE OF EMOTION OVER DECISION 6
narrow down the choices that an individual has, but in relation to stronger emotions or weaker
minds, the cognitive process can be overcome (James, 1884, as cited in deSousa, 2017).
Emotion originates from the amygdala, where events both millions of years in the past
and from one millionth of a millisecond ago can influence the decision that an individual makes
(Sapolsky, 2017). Though emotion is always automatically conceived, the interpretation of the
emotion by the individual an be different based on the experiences, or intelligence, defined as the
combination of experiences and knowledge that an individual has gathered of the individual. The
amygdala executes emotion, but what humans feel can be distorted due to a misinterpreted
perception of the bodily states (James 1884, as cited in deSousa, 2017). This misinterpreted
Emotion and its relation to cognition are vital in defining the prevalence of emotion over
thought (Jenkins, 2014). Emotion is an automatic response, relating it closely to the nervous
system and various parts of the neurological and psychological cycles. Arousal, or the response
of the body, is controlled by the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the central
nervous system (Jenkins, 2014). The sympathetic branch allows for a quick reaction of the body,
and is where the immediate emotion is conceived (Jenkins, 2014). Emotion allows the immediate
survival and reaction response that the body needs to act (A. Amritwar, personal communication,
Emotion is often the combination of thought and feeling, the rational thought based from
the feeling itself, meaning the feeling influences the thought (Barrett, 2017). The vastness of
feeling is given by the enormous amount of classification in the idea of feeling; love, fear, and
desire are three of the main branches (Śāntarakṣita, 1984, as cited in Tuske, 2011). Since feeling
THE DOMINANCE OF EMOTION OVER DECISION 7
does not have an ability to be measured objectively, its vastness is amplified (A. Amritwar,
The ambiguity of emotion results in paralysis of the brain in making decisions when the
individual is presented with too many choices (Schwartz, 2005). This paralysis overtakes any
rational thought that individual could possibly have made, due to the feelings (Schwartz, 2005).
At times, the emotion can be hidden or faked, depending on the choice made by the individual in
The ambiguity of emotion, the vastness of emotion as well as its overwhelming presence,
and the automatic response of the nervous system to and event all result in the controlling of
decision by emotion. This controlling factor develops humans as impulsive and emotional, due to
influencing his/her rationality based on how he/she perceives the feeling, can be pivotal in
relation to the direction that one’s decisions direct himself/herself (deSousa, 2017). This idea of
anger. Anger reduces the concern that individuals have for others, which therefore “disinhibits
emotion, induces dishonesty and immorality through emotional deception (The Emotion, 2017).
Emotional deception is defined in relation to emotion itself, but applies to the same object that is
emotions (Descartes 1984 [1649], as cited in deSousa, 2017). A source of emotional deception is
THE DOMINANCE OF EMOTION OVER DECISION 8
the idea that emotions paralleled with characteristics (Averill, 1982, as cited in deSousa, 2017).
The beholder convinces his/herself that the source of emotion is something viable rather than the
The ambiguity and vastness of feeling, as well as automatic nature, and the fact that
feeling is a chemical imbalance, leads to its inevitable prevalence over rational decisions and
cognitive thinking in the brain. Emotions, the original reactions, and feelings, the experiences of
body states, are both crucial in the decision-making process and can overwhelm decisions is they
are strong (Cotter, 2009). In society, though, the idea of strong emotions and strong feelings is
not encouraged, leading to both emotional deception and mental strength against feelings.
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References:
Barrett, L. F. (2017). Functionalism cannot save the classical view of emotion. Social Cognitive
Clore, G. L. (2011). Psychology and the Rationality of Emotion. Modern Theology, 27(2),
325-338.
Cotter, P. (2009). The Path to Extreme Violence: Nazism and Serial Killers. Front Behav
de Sousa, R. (2017). Emotion (E. N. Zalta, Ed.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from Stanford
Driessen, E., & Hollon, S. D. (2010). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Mood Disorders:
Efficacy, Moderators and Mediators. The Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 33(3),
537–555.
The Emotion That Leads to Deception [Audio file]. (2017). (January 23, 2017)
Gaudiano, B. A., Davis, C. H., Epstein-Lubow, G., Johnson, J. E., Mueser, K. T., & Miller, I. W.
(2017). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Inpatients with Psychosis (the REACH
Study): Protocol for Treatment Development and Pilot Testing. Healthcare, 5(2), 23.
Jenkins, N. (Director). (2014). Feeling All the Feels: Crash Course Psychology #25 [Motion
Sapolsky, R. (2017, April). Robert Sapolsky: The biology of our best and worst selves [Video
https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_biology_of_our_best_and_worst_selves
Tuske, J. (2011, March 1). The Concept of Emotion in Classical Indian Philosophy (E. N. Zalta,
Ed.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy website:
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-emotion-india/