On the other hand, if one is in a certain state of mind and undergoing an emotional outburst, emotions could also gravely affect justifying moral decisions. Take the area of knowledge of mathematics. In 8th grade, I had a fight with a very good friend after he stole my girlfriend and I wanted to prove myself better than him. I was even willing to cheat on a test, a thing that I never would’ve done before. This social aspect of emotions can easily undermine our ability to think, distort reason and lead to poor moral decision making. Reason is therefore vital to build a strong relationship with logic and rationality. If there is too little emotion, however, this is just as irrational as too much. In having to decide between going to a family members funeral or a friend’s 18th birthday party, emotion would help one to appreciate and respond upon feelings rather than logical, for surely it would not make sense to go see a perished person. Emotions are important in that one needs to consult them for important decisions, in which reason alone could result in what is known as a ‘rational fool’, meaning one would lose his/her ability to make decisions.
Too strong of an emotion at a given state of mind nonetheless can also make one justify moral decisions based on rationalisations and emotional prejudice. If a person has an emotional prejudice against African Americans, she/he will only consider the culprits and overlook the Samaritans. This makes it very difficult to be objective as this assumption is based on an emotional fallacy. She/he would conclude in saying that they are ‘criminals’ and ‘only harm people.’ Reason in this case would allow one to remonstrate the assumption and consider the wider context. Emotion nevertheless is a vital source of energy and not purely a manufacturer of bad reasons.
Emotions do not only distort reasoning however, they also make a person make short-sighted decisions in a situation of a turbulent emotion, such as anger. It is often the case that a person regrets this decision afterwards and justifies this irrational behaviour on temptation. After a person has finished his IB exams and hasn’t reached his desired points, she/he would most likely be angry and this would be passed on to his moral decision making and furthermore result in emotive language. The conflict between emotion and reason and is often one of heart vs. head. Though a person might clearly see an emotion as an obstacle to justifying a moral decision, it is often the case that emotion distorts reasoning. In Germany, after finishing primary school, there area four types of school that students can go to depending on their intellect. As a German, it is often the case that a person shares the attitude that because he has studied at a gymnasium (top-level) he is smarter than a pupil who has come from a realschule (middle level). This strong envy has resulted in a negative affect. That person is construed on the idea that his theory is right. He can longer decipher the right between wrong, as it has prevented that individual from being open-minded and undermined his ability to think clearly. Emotion does in fact, however, also play a more positive role. One cannot imagine a meaningful life without emotions. Emotions not only help us to guide decisions, but help us to understand the world and its fundamental beliefs. If a person, much like myself goes to a new school he will most likely want to find new friends. Would it be wrong to set up a point system and weigh the good points against the bad points on every person to arrive at a ‘rational’ decision? How would the ‘new’ friends feel, knowing that they have just been chosen based on points? An apathetic state of mind (emotional emptiness), as would be the case without emotion would thus disintegrate human morality.
As moral decisions are often based on the concept of relativism, meaning that morals change depending on human perception and not absolutism, found on the view that the values of morality are absolute and not conditional, belief and the way of knowing, language, are often the roots of justifying a moral decision, foregoing the conflict between reason and emotion. A person’s belief, be it tied to a distinct heritage or ethos, colour ones justification of moral decisions. On a personal level my heritage is split between Dutch and German. Take the area of knowledge of history for example. In a historical context, the two countries have been traditional enemies. In a recent interview with my grandparents in regards to an IB history investigate task, my grandmother was cited as saying, ‘when we found out that our son was married to a German women and that they would have children, we weren’t sure of what to do.’ She had to decide between both reason and emotion (scorn her son and family) or belief (family, regardless of culture). Emotion of course, whether conscious or subconscious told her to tell her son to find another woman, advocated by reason, as accepting this German women would logically disdain the Dutch family. She then told me that she no longer saw my mother, brother and me as Germans, but as her daughter in law and grandchildren, respectively. Irrespective of emotion and reason, belief has lead to a change in the corresponding emotion and reason.
Both reason and emotion can easily result in bad reasoning to justify a moral decision. Too much of one is as irrational as too little of the other. Too much emotion can often distort ones beliefs and blind a person of the reality, as is often the case that with prejudices. Reason allows one to check the emotional conviction against the roots of reality, but too little emotion would mean that a person would have no medium of long term memory and manner of appreciation. To arrive at an objective sensible position, emotion is a key player both mentally and intellectually. In justifying moral decisions it is however, both an intuitive matter of the heart and rational reasoning of the head. One needs to weight down the two ways of knowing to arrive at a balanced outlook. Belief and culture on the other hand can also cloud ones judgement and justification of moral decisions, as this is central to an individual’s mental mind.
