Emotions

[Elliot Temple]

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/reason.html

> There is no necessary clash, no dichotomy between man’s reason and his emotions—provided he observes their proper relationship. A rational man knows—or makes it a point to discover—the source of his emotions, the basic premises from which they come; if his premises are wrong, he corrects them. He never acts on emotions for which he cannot account, the meaning of which he does not understand. In appraising a situation, he knows why he reacts as he does and whether he is right. He has no inner conflicts, his mind and his emotions are integrated, his consciousness is in perfect harmony. His emotions are not his enemies, they are his means of enjoying life. But they are not his guide; the guide is his mind. This relationship cannot be reversed, however. If a man takes his emotions as the cause and his mind as their passive effect, if he is guided by his emotions and uses his mind only to rationalize or justify them somehow—then he is acting immorally, he is condemning himself to misery, failure, defeat, and he will achieve nothing but destruction—his own and that of others.

Good stuff. So many people declare their emotions are "natural", refuse responsibility for them, do not make a serious effort to control/determine/fix/etc their emotions, and then live badly. And claim they are blameless!

Emotions are not a roadblock preventing progress and improvement. We aren't doomed to suffer them. And nor are they infallible. They can be wrong, and in such cases should be improved.

-- Elliot Temple
http://fallibleideas.com/