Any attempt to appeal to reason based on emotional persuasion is a departure from reason. When a child asks for a reason as to why something must be so and the parent responds, “because I said so,” we have a departure from reason. When a person uses personal attacks, or unreasonable accusations to goad a person into an emotional response, it is generally because they have nothing else to use. Yet, how often and easily do we get pulled into emotionally debates. I would venture to say that most arguments between husbands and wives are driven by emotions rather than reason. The child on the playground is provoked to fight because someone said something about his mother, having never seen his mother. Political campaigns are run on the same basis, because we are an emotionally driven society.
Even the political, racial, and social polarization that we see going on in our world today has evoked emotional responses on both sides of the divide. I am not suggesting that one cannot have an impassioned reasonable response, but when the passion leads us off the path of reason we are treading on dangerous grounds. Irrational emotions are promoted by the media in advertising, sensationalism in news reporting, and by ratings driven by feelings. Success in all of these is determined by how people feel about things, rather than what they have thought out about things.
How do we stop the madness that has our world sitting on an emotional timebomb? Just don’t take the bait. We must discipline ourselves to think for ourselves and bring sound thinking and reason back to the forefront. The next time someone says something to you, or you hear a news report or read something on social media that is designed to trigger your emotions, even if it is true, don’t take the bait. Rational solutions can be made by emotional people who are not driven by their emotions, but this takes discipline. In order to be disciplined for success we must be impassioned, but not provoked by fear, and our reason must not be a defense for our emotions.