If the brain represents rationality, and the heart represents emotion, I think it suggests that using emotion is the 'wrong' way to approach situations, as in the prompt the heart is beat up and injured as if has just lost a fight. However, I also think that the prompt suggests that despite that, humans end up approaching situations using emotion anyway, hence the 'you never learn, do you?' speech bubble coming out of the brain. Going back to the image of the beat up heart, you can also interpret that emotion is the cause to human conflict, and as humans primarily rely on emotion to decide on their actions, conflict is inevitable. That's why we can never live in a 'perfect' society, because humans are incapable of thinking completely rationally.
Congratulations for being the first to post Ariana! You get a prize :) I think you have pinned down that perennial question of whether we humans are by nature Emotion/Passion driven. Even though we have the ability to reason, we still seem to end up using emotion more often than we should. I think you make a good point that we are "incapable" of being completely rational. This may be why artificial intelligence can never be the same us human beings.
I agree with Ariana, in that the image clearly shows the conflict between our rational and irrational tendencies, and further stipulates that we are more inclined to follow what our emotions (or ‘heart’) advise us to do in situations of decision-making - which leads to an undesirable result. As a philosophical prompt, the image therefore refutes a lot of theories which state that we are intrinsically rational (Aristotle's theory is a prime example of this). The nagging or sententious brain saying “you never learn, do you?” implies that, despite the rationality of its approach, its arguments hold little appeal until after the imprudence of our decision-making is made apparent. This is where the image hints at a prescription as well as a diagnosis; we are, by nature, irrational beings, but we should go against this by making an effort to exercise our innate ability of rational thought. Although this initially contradicts Aristotle’s premise of logos and the notion that we are rational beings, his idea of Eudaimonia comes in to play here, as the image essentially conveys the message that we should make every effort to exercise our ‘virtues’ of wisdom and rational thought in order to achieve our full potential and (presumably) avoid the figurative battered heart.
I agree with all of the previous comments, I agree with Rachel's idea that the image implies we need to use more rational thought and logic to our everyday lives, however I'd agree more with Ariana's idea in that humans are sometimes unable to think rationally and our emotions can take over our rational thoughts to cause pain (symbolized through the beat up heart) and regret for our actions (symbolized by what the brain is saying). I think that this suggests that our heart plays a big part of our lives in decision making (hence famous quotes such as 'follow your heart'), and the quote that the 'brain' is saying insinuates that the heart has been beat up before. I believe this shows that our hearts are the (somewhat rational) force behind our intuitive thoughts and feelings, and contrary to what the image suggests, our brain/mind and heart work together to form our actions and thoughts. This is why we may change our initial thoughts into more emotional or rational. For example, one might find themselves about to buy something on an 'impulse buy', but then rational thought would come into play and rationalize the idea, which could change someone's idea of buying it.
If the brain represents rationality, and the heart represents emotion, I think it suggests that using emotion is the 'wrong' way to approach situations, as in the prompt the heart is beat up and injured as if has just lost a fight. However, I also think that the prompt suggests that despite that, humans end up approaching situations using emotion anyway, hence the 'you never learn, do you?' speech bubble coming out of the brain. Going back to the image of the beat up heart, you can also interpret that emotion is the cause to human conflict, and as humans primarily rely on emotion to decide on their actions, conflict is inevitable. That's why we can never live in a 'perfect' society, because humans are incapable of thinking completely rationally.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations for being the first to post Ariana! You get a prize :)
DeleteI think you have pinned down that perennial question of whether we humans are by nature Emotion/Passion driven. Even though we have the ability to reason, we still seem to end up using emotion more often than we should. I think you make a good point that we are "incapable" of being completely rational. This may be why artificial intelligence can never be the same us human beings.
I agree with Ariana, in that the image clearly shows the conflict between our rational and irrational tendencies, and further stipulates that we are more inclined to follow what our emotions (or ‘heart’) advise us to do in situations of decision-making - which leads to an undesirable result. As a philosophical prompt, the image therefore refutes a lot of theories which state that we are intrinsically rational (Aristotle's theory is a prime example of this). The nagging or sententious brain saying “you never learn, do you?” implies that, despite the rationality of its approach, its arguments hold little appeal until after the imprudence of our decision-making is made apparent. This is where the image hints at a prescription as well as a diagnosis; we are, by nature, irrational beings, but we should go against this by making an effort to exercise our innate ability of rational thought. Although this initially contradicts Aristotle’s premise of logos and the notion that we are rational beings, his idea of Eudaimonia comes in to play here, as the image essentially conveys the message that we should make every effort to exercise our ‘virtues’ of wisdom and rational thought in order to achieve our full potential and (presumably) avoid the figurative battered heart.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all of the previous comments, I agree with Rachel's idea that the image implies we need to use more rational thought and logic to our everyday lives, however I'd agree more with Ariana's idea in that humans are sometimes unable to think rationally and our emotions can take over our rational thoughts to cause pain (symbolized through the beat up heart) and regret for our actions (symbolized by what the brain is saying).
ReplyDeleteI think that this suggests that our heart plays a big part of our lives in decision making (hence famous quotes such as 'follow your heart'), and the quote that the 'brain' is saying insinuates that the heart has been beat up before. I believe this shows that our hearts are the (somewhat rational) force behind our intuitive thoughts and feelings, and contrary to what the image suggests, our brain/mind and heart work together to form our actions and thoughts. This is why we may change our initial thoughts into more emotional or rational. For example, one might find themselves about to buy something on an 'impulse buy', but then rational thought would come into play and rationalize the idea, which could change someone's idea of buying it.