Reason & Emotion

1. Reason & Emotion

2. We like emotion, we are human • Kill one to save many • One person disarms the bomb to save many • Sacrifice good life for love • We like emotional, but logically sound? Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion and knowledge ---- Plato Is it reason or emotion that SHOULD dictates action? Emotion v. Reason

3. Supports a conclusion with SOUND evidence • Critical thinking– Sound Thought • Problem solving– Sound Action • By using reason we hope to solve problems • Difficult Know Resistances • Unfamiliar Prepare for future • Challenges our values Question Beliefs • Open to solutions Flexible • Critical of evidence Evaluate ReviewWhat is reason?

4. Plato (400 BC): Three parts of the human soul • Emotional……………………Feel and desire • Physical Cravings………… Need and reactions • Reason…………………………Our mind and thought • Thomas Aquinas (1200 AD): God is Perfect Reason • Humans should strive to be like God, the world around them • Closer you are to God, the moreyou are to perfect reason • Charles Darwin (1800 AD): • Theory of evolution (survival of the fittest). • Higher Reason, higher on food chain of beings • Reason should adjust behavior to bring about the best outcome History of reason

5. Emotion and Reason

6. Western: Europe and Americas • Christianity: Emotion hinders reason and emotion generally leads to sin • Far East: China, Japan, India • Confucius: Emotions can improve life, especially loyalty and compassion. Understanding emotions is important. • Buddhists: Compassion and love of all things is the foundation of life. • Hindu: Emotion should shift from the good of ones self to the good of God • Middle East: Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia • Muslim: Emotions must be balanced • Good emotion: love, hope and determination • Bad emotion: Anger Depression and hate Culture- Balance Emotion

7. The ability to accurately perceive, appraise and express emotion Not that I am (mad, sad, happy) But Why I am (mad, sad, happy) Or Should I be (mad, sad, happy) And Empathy- we feel for others Emotional Intelligence

8. Faith & Reason

9. A trust in a higher power and it’s rules--- with no evidence • 10 commandments of Christianity • Six pillars of Islam • Koran of Judaism • Reason and faith • Do this because of faith.. No proof needed • Abraham sacrifices Isaac • He prepares (faith) • Stopped by God (reason?) Faith, NOT reason will lead you to the truth Faith

10. Faith with no reason. Reward driven • Christianity = Heaven and sit at the right hand of the lord • Muslim = Levels of paradise • Ancient Egypt = Aaru (East) • Greek - The Elysian Fields (West @ the end of the Earth) • Paradox: If faith was open to reason it wouldn't be faith? It is impossible to prove faith. • If so do we have any evidence for faith? • If so– can people just believe what they want? Fideism

11. How do we make informed decisions without reason? • How do we ever decide right (good) from wrong (bad) if we take everything on faith • It is all relative to what YOU think? • 9/11 • Crusades • Concentration Camps • My faith is more important than your reasons? • Shouldn’t religion want to be questioned and held up to scrutiny…….or proven Problem with Fideism

12. Does faith make your life better? • How? • Why? • Does you faith make common sense? • Suicide bombing • Abortion clinic bombings • Faith is for individual comfort not to influence groups • Why churches? • Why cults? More for acceptance than individual faith? Real Life Religion

13. Applying Reason to an emotional Argument Religion

14. Energy • Everything needs a reason to move/energy • Something Had to make the first move • Cause to an effect • Physical: every effect has a cause • Something had to be the first cause, nonphysical • CreationistThere must have been a time when no physical thing existed, but physical things exists now. Something non-physical must have brought it into existence….God Thomas Aquinas, Proofs for God’s Existence

15. Relativeness • Need to know absolutperfection to be able to judge degrees of perfection • All things on Earthcan be good and bad, they are not perfect…. • There needs to be a perfect being…..God • Designed life-- organized • Things look like they have been created for a reason • The created has to have a creator…..God Thomas Aquinas, Proofs for God’s Existence

16. Evolution just has a better argument • Evidence is verified and reliable • Religion relies on Emotion, rather than argument, leads to horrific results • Prayer, not medical attention • Bombings 4. Science can change as the world changes, religion does no allow for this. Rules are set. Richard Dawkins, God Delusion

17. Regression arguments • All three of these have the same problem ….False termination • Why terminate with God? • Why is God immune to such regress? If god is omniscience (all seeing/all good) and omnipotent (all powerful) there seems to be a problem. • If god is all seeing then he already has laid out his plan for the end of time • This means he never can change is mind. • This mean, then he is not all powerful. Richard Dawkins, God Delusion

18. 1. Is [God] willing to prevent evil, but not able to? Then is he impotent (not omnipotent--not all powerful) 2. Is he able, but not willing? Then is he malevolent (not omniscience—not all good) 3. He is testing us? Why? Why does a perfectly good being need to test anyone? Richard Dawkins, God DelusionPerfect God = No evil in the world.

19. Relative perfection • Is this an argument? • Take on faith(no proof)that perfection exists somewhere? • Assumes absolutism • Smelliest person that we compare all to. Richard Dawkins, God Delusion

20. Design Arguments is biggest problem By assuming the universe as a whole has a purpose just because we see a part of it is a fallacy. If the parts of the universe are ordered, it would not necessarily follow that the whole universe is ordered. • Fallacy of composition • The whole is not ALWAYS like its parts Richard Dawkins, God Delusion