Chapter 20
But it happened that after walking for a long time through sand, and rocks, and snow, the little prince at last came upon a road. And all roads lead to the abodes of men.
"Good morning," he said.
He was standing before a garden, all a-bloom with roses.
"Good morning," said the roses.
The little prince gazed at them. They all looked like his flower.
"Who are you?" he demanded, thunderstruck.
"We are roses," the roses said.
And he was overcome with sadness. His flower had told him that she was the only one of her kind in all the universe. And here were five thousand of them, all alike, in one single garden!
"She would be very much annoyed," he said to himself, "if she should see that... she would cough most dreadfully, and she would pretend that she was dying, to avoid being laughed at. And I should be obliged to pretend that I was nursing her back to life-- for if I did not do that, to humble myself also, she would really allow herself to die..."
Then he went on with his reflections: "I thought that I was rich, with a flower that was unique in all the world; and all I had was a common rose. A common rose, and three volcanoes that come up to my knees-- and one of them perhaps extinct forever... that doesn't make me a very great prince..."
And he lay down in the grass and cried
Human Nature is really what is explored throughout the book. The book is based on a number of emotions however in this chapter focuses on love. The theme of human narrow mind ness is highlighted by the prince himself as he immediately jumps to various conclusions and starts to criticize the common things he has.
The Little Prince characterizes narrow-mindedness as a trait of adults. In the very first chapter, the narrator draws a sharp contrast between the respective ways grown-ups and children view the world. He depicts grown-ups as unimaginative, superficial, and stubbornly sure that their limited perspective is the only one possible. Yet ironically enough as the Little Prince explores and becomes more experienced and learned (his growth is symbolic of the transformation of a boy to a man) he himself starts behaving like these adults especially in this chapter. The Little Prince after seeing the earth starts putting himself down as worthless and not as great a prince as he thought he was. His emotion of sadness overpowers his reason and he starts to cry. Ironically enough this would not have bothered him if he hadn’t come to earth and seen that volcanoes and roses exist elsewhere. The little Prince disregards the love that the rose and he share and does not see that the emotion of love is what makes his rose unique.
Reason begins to fail him and we see the joyful prince becoming a wreck as he matures to the world again symbolizing a child growing into an adult. His reasoning is fallacious because he does not look at the counter arguments, he follows the James Lange Theory of emotions where he lets his worry of the reaction of his rose when he tells her that she is a common flower culminate to the end of his self- confidence. He needs to be shown the truth through the eyes of another.
However the prince's love for his rose is the driving force behind the novel and leads to the realization of the responsibility of relationships which in this materialistic and science driven world that ends emotions is hard to come by.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
THE CASES OF SPECIAL PLEADING
REFLECTIONS
Wednesday 22nd April’09
Cases of special pleading spate the world we live today. It is a personal disease that is caused by the effect our emotions. The desire to be content and the selfishness that sprouts from it has led to the human race making rules that they themselves never follow but accept the world to never break it. Everyone is trying to manipulate facts and laws to get away with things they are unwilling to accept themselves and hence make exceptions for the law only for themselves and use conflicting reason when doing so.
In the movie ‘Khudha Kai Liye’ Mariam’s father hypocritically continues having a live in relationship with a white woman while refuses to let Mariam marry David. He tricks her and takes her in a remote village on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here he marries her to her cousin and then abandons the village saying that the toilet was really bad. This is a complete case of special pleading which is based on his desire of wanting his own sins to be forgiven but not losing his partner. He says he loves his partner but disregards the same feelings Mariam had for David. To add to the irony of the situation he says to his family there is no harm in what he is doing as everyone does it in Britain yet when it comes to Mariam who is actually a British citizen, it has suddenly become wrong. He uses the dual cultures that he belongs to and creates a mixture of reason that lacks any logic and empty from any other emotions but self-interest and desire.
Cases of special pleading have plagued the world’s history as well. For example Hitler as a leader advocated the use of a set timetable and the importance of working a lot with utmost precision however in contrast to what he said he stood for, Hitler used to get up at any time he wanted (usually very late) and follow no set pattern of the day. He also used to go to work really less. His words were mostly followed by the people and failure to keep with the set times often led to punishments especially in the youth camps.
Recently America asked India to reduce its Carbon footprint while the amount of carbon they emit is the most in the world. This hypocrisy was also followed at the end of the First World War when the unjust Treaty of Versailles was being forced upon Germany. Since Britain and France were the victor nations, they forced Germany to disarm to nothing but 6 battleships and 100000 men taking the excuse that it was one of the clauses of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points but later refused to do so themselves later. This caused anger in the Germans and became one of the reasons for the rise of the Nazis. These cases of special pleading mostly resulted in negative consequences. However they only affect the area of History and Ethics. Special Pleading is really not seen in science but for science examples including the numerous arms and technology races that have recurred in History and still is happening now, in India as well in the form of the Nuclear Deal.
Wednesday 22nd April’09
Cases of special pleading spate the world we live today. It is a personal disease that is caused by the effect our emotions. The desire to be content and the selfishness that sprouts from it has led to the human race making rules that they themselves never follow but accept the world to never break it. Everyone is trying to manipulate facts and laws to get away with things they are unwilling to accept themselves and hence make exceptions for the law only for themselves and use conflicting reason when doing so.
In the movie ‘Khudha Kai Liye’ Mariam’s father hypocritically continues having a live in relationship with a white woman while refuses to let Mariam marry David. He tricks her and takes her in a remote village on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Here he marries her to her cousin and then abandons the village saying that the toilet was really bad. This is a complete case of special pleading which is based on his desire of wanting his own sins to be forgiven but not losing his partner. He says he loves his partner but disregards the same feelings Mariam had for David. To add to the irony of the situation he says to his family there is no harm in what he is doing as everyone does it in Britain yet when it comes to Mariam who is actually a British citizen, it has suddenly become wrong. He uses the dual cultures that he belongs to and creates a mixture of reason that lacks any logic and empty from any other emotions but self-interest and desire.
Cases of special pleading have plagued the world’s history as well. For example Hitler as a leader advocated the use of a set timetable and the importance of working a lot with utmost precision however in contrast to what he said he stood for, Hitler used to get up at any time he wanted (usually very late) and follow no set pattern of the day. He also used to go to work really less. His words were mostly followed by the people and failure to keep with the set times often led to punishments especially in the youth camps.
Recently America asked India to reduce its Carbon footprint while the amount of carbon they emit is the most in the world. This hypocrisy was also followed at the end of the First World War when the unjust Treaty of Versailles was being forced upon Germany. Since Britain and France were the victor nations, they forced Germany to disarm to nothing but 6 battleships and 100000 men taking the excuse that it was one of the clauses of Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points but later refused to do so themselves later. This caused anger in the Germans and became one of the reasons for the rise of the Nazis. These cases of special pleading mostly resulted in negative consequences. However they only affect the area of History and Ethics. Special Pleading is really not seen in science but for science examples including the numerous arms and technology races that have recurred in History and still is happening now, in India as well in the form of the Nuclear Deal.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Terrorism
Knowledge at work
Terrorism is the most pressing issue of this century and needs a solution. Terrorism is the use of violence in order to create a general fear in a population and thereby to bring about a political objective. This is the main issue of the article is the terrorist attack that Mumbai faced on 26th November.
The writer of the article claims to know facts about the trial of the prime accused of the attacks. He is really not arguing for anything but is merely stating facts. However these facts do allude to many things that he has not explored. There is a sense of detachment and the writer is really not using emotionally laden language to communicate anything. The article is centred on the terrorist Kasab and his trial. Even though the writer gives information, one cannot help but see how late the trial has started as the article has been dated for April 17th 2009, nearly 5 months after the attacks. The writer does not expand on this fact and thus show the lax in the Indian government. He also does not expand on the reasons for the change in a lawyer and what really happened during the attacks which would give the article a holistic appeal. It is more filled with reason as the writer does not let the emotions of anger and sadness over power him and scrutinize Kasab. It in a way it is right. Terrorism is not really born naturally, as the movie Khudha Kai Liye shows it is instilled in the young men by religious leaders who use the Quran as a confirmation bias. These religious leaders present their own interpretation (backed by their emotions) of the Quran as the truth and brain wash the men with fallacious reasoning.
In the end it is going to be Kasab who is hanged and killed yet the fact is that he has been growing up in a culture and society that perceives whatever they are doing to be ‘the right’ thing to do. Even if they do object, they cannot voice their views out of the fear of being killed. There is a famous saying that states 'one man's terrorist is another's hero. This may really imply to freedom fighters like the Mau Mau in Kenya and the Bhagat Singh in India but in a small way it does fit in with the Pakistani and Afghanistan society as well.
Our reason enables us to perceive holistically as what they have done as wrong. But males in Pakistan are trained ever since they are 5 to kill and hate the western world. So can we really call Kasab evil? This is very debatable and has not been explored by the author.
Due to the detached tone the writer really does not seem to be taking anything for granted as such except the fact that his readers have really not been following the trials that closely and hence gives an overview of the whole issue.
What really impacts one as they read the article is how distant the writer is. Kasab and the other terrorists were responsible for murdering 184 people. The fact the he is still living after 5 months is astonishing. People should hence care about the issue as the victims deserve justice for the pain the families went through. The debate that he is evil from within is a different matter. The fact is that the government should press his trial with a sense of urgency and pressure in comparison to the other cases so as to atleat give some peace to the relatives of the victims.
http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?658415
26/11 Mumbai Attack Trial Begins
Mumbai | Apr 17, 2009 PRINT
The trial in the November 26 Mumbai terror attack case has begun at a special sessions court in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail, with the prosecution opening its case against the sole surviving terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and two others.
Special Public Prosecutor (SSP) Ujwal Nikam opened the arguments against Kasab, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed for their alleged involvement in the 26/11 attack case in which 183 people were killed.
Kasab has already got a new lawyer with the court appointing noted advocate SG Abbas Kazmi on Thursday (April 16) to defend the Pakistani terrorist. Unlike Kasab's previous lawyer Anjali Waghmare, Kazmi is not from the legal aid panel.
Kasab, the prime accused in the case, would be charged with murder of 166 persons in the attack unleashed by Pakistan-based terror outfit the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) on November 26, 2008. Kasab and two others have been booked in 12 cases related to the terror strikes.
Terrorism is the most pressing issue of this century and needs a solution. Terrorism is the use of violence in order to create a general fear in a population and thereby to bring about a political objective. This is the main issue of the article is the terrorist attack that Mumbai faced on 26th November.
The writer of the article claims to know facts about the trial of the prime accused of the attacks. He is really not arguing for anything but is merely stating facts. However these facts do allude to many things that he has not explored. There is a sense of detachment and the writer is really not using emotionally laden language to communicate anything. The article is centred on the terrorist Kasab and his trial. Even though the writer gives information, one cannot help but see how late the trial has started as the article has been dated for April 17th 2009, nearly 5 months after the attacks. The writer does not expand on this fact and thus show the lax in the Indian government. He also does not expand on the reasons for the change in a lawyer and what really happened during the attacks which would give the article a holistic appeal. It is more filled with reason as the writer does not let the emotions of anger and sadness over power him and scrutinize Kasab. It in a way it is right. Terrorism is not really born naturally, as the movie Khudha Kai Liye shows it is instilled in the young men by religious leaders who use the Quran as a confirmation bias. These religious leaders present their own interpretation (backed by their emotions) of the Quran as the truth and brain wash the men with fallacious reasoning.
In the end it is going to be Kasab who is hanged and killed yet the fact is that he has been growing up in a culture and society that perceives whatever they are doing to be ‘the right’ thing to do. Even if they do object, they cannot voice their views out of the fear of being killed. There is a famous saying that states 'one man's terrorist is another's hero. This may really imply to freedom fighters like the Mau Mau in Kenya and the Bhagat Singh in India but in a small way it does fit in with the Pakistani and Afghanistan society as well.
Our reason enables us to perceive holistically as what they have done as wrong. But males in Pakistan are trained ever since they are 5 to kill and hate the western world. So can we really call Kasab evil? This is very debatable and has not been explored by the author.
Due to the detached tone the writer really does not seem to be taking anything for granted as such except the fact that his readers have really not been following the trials that closely and hence gives an overview of the whole issue.
What really impacts one as they read the article is how distant the writer is. Kasab and the other terrorists were responsible for murdering 184 people. The fact the he is still living after 5 months is astonishing. People should hence care about the issue as the victims deserve justice for the pain the families went through. The debate that he is evil from within is a different matter. The fact is that the government should press his trial with a sense of urgency and pressure in comparison to the other cases so as to atleat give some peace to the relatives of the victims.
http://news.outlookindia.com/item.aspx?658415
26/11 Mumbai Attack Trial Begins
Mumbai | Apr 17, 2009 PRINT
The trial in the November 26 Mumbai terror attack case has begun at a special sessions court in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail, with the prosecution opening its case against the sole surviving terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab and two others.
Special Public Prosecutor (SSP) Ujwal Nikam opened the arguments against Kasab, Faheem Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmed for their alleged involvement in the 26/11 attack case in which 183 people were killed.
Kasab has already got a new lawyer with the court appointing noted advocate SG Abbas Kazmi on Thursday (April 16) to defend the Pakistani terrorist. Unlike Kasab's previous lawyer Anjali Waghmare, Kazmi is not from the legal aid panel.
Kasab, the prime accused in the case, would be charged with murder of 166 persons in the attack unleashed by Pakistan-based terror outfit the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) on November 26, 2008. Kasab and two others have been booked in 12 cases related to the terror strikes.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Hindu radicals vandalise Church near Nagpur, spread fear.
Knowledge at Work
Fanaticism because of religion is the main knowledge issue in this article, something that is evident by just glancing at the title. An event of 20-25 Hindus damaging a church has been summarized by the paper. They have injured at least two women and attacked despite the fact that children were there. They even destroyed property of the school run by the church all in the name of religion. The surprising factor is that the fanatics were from two political parties. This sad occurrence of how clouded religion makes one reasons. The ironic factor is that all of this violence is coming from a religion where peace is the base of it and also from political parties who we as public are supposed to choose in order to lead our country into the future.
The article alludes to a lot of issues in the society of India and across the world. One would be obviously being the involvement of uneducated and emotionally run fanatics in our government. Emotion as a base to make decisions is ultimately harmful. Anger of the Hindus is what led to this crime. Anger is also what led to the formation of the Al Qaida and thus the 9/11 attacks, 2006 Bombay blasts and the 26/11 attacks. The logic that science follows lacks in the action by the fanatics who follow more emotions as they are upset at the facts that the poor were converting their faith. What they do not see is the fact that their own faith has not done anything for the poor. At least the church funds go into the school and activities for the members. The money that the poor offer to the temples goes straight into the pockets of the pandits. History has many proof s of the frauds played by Hindu pandits who exploit the faith of the followers. How is any of this ethical? And to top it off committing a violent movement as this in which women are injured and proper facilities that the future of India needs to develop an educated mind is damaged, can hardly be called justified even on religious terms.
The bias of the article is that they have really made the entire Hindu community look bad which is not true. The people who committed the action do have a justified reason because the church is using money as a bribing factor for the poor to change their religion. Yet the fact is that the way they executed their action was unethical especially the fact that they were disrespecting someone else’s religious beliefs. Anger was what guided them and thus their actions lacked reason. A rational mind would have tried to use money to improve the facilities offered to Hindu worshippers which at the moment is hampered by the system of casts and status.
The circumstances of this situation are grave and based on religious differences. The fear that must have been instilled in the minds of those watching children may eventually lead to a desire for revenge. Religion is a clouding factor for reason, something that religious leaders use continuously as seen during the crusades of the middle ages and right now by the Taliban leaders. The movie Khudha Ke Liye is a perfect example in which one can see a mind being brain washed by beliefs. One should care as this is damaging to the unity with which one should live in this world. After the horrors of the first (1914) and the second (1945) world war, is it right to get trapped in another deadly universal war over God! Hence this is why people should care and give this a second thought because they should realize the fact that religion can make one do drastic things where reason has evaporated into nothingness.
Fanaticism because of religion is the main knowledge issue in this article, something that is evident by just glancing at the title. An event of 20-25 Hindus damaging a church has been summarized by the paper. They have injured at least two women and attacked despite the fact that children were there. They even destroyed property of the school run by the church all in the name of religion. The surprising factor is that the fanatics were from two political parties. This sad occurrence of how clouded religion makes one reasons. The ironic factor is that all of this violence is coming from a religion where peace is the base of it and also from political parties who we as public are supposed to choose in order to lead our country into the future.
The article alludes to a lot of issues in the society of India and across the world. One would be obviously being the involvement of uneducated and emotionally run fanatics in our government. Emotion as a base to make decisions is ultimately harmful. Anger of the Hindus is what led to this crime. Anger is also what led to the formation of the Al Qaida and thus the 9/11 attacks, 2006 Bombay blasts and the 26/11 attacks. The logic that science follows lacks in the action by the fanatics who follow more emotions as they are upset at the facts that the poor were converting their faith. What they do not see is the fact that their own faith has not done anything for the poor. At least the church funds go into the school and activities for the members. The money that the poor offer to the temples goes straight into the pockets of the pandits. History has many proof s of the frauds played by Hindu pandits who exploit the faith of the followers. How is any of this ethical? And to top it off committing a violent movement as this in which women are injured and proper facilities that the future of India needs to develop an educated mind is damaged, can hardly be called justified even on religious terms.
The bias of the article is that they have really made the entire Hindu community look bad which is not true. The people who committed the action do have a justified reason because the church is using money as a bribing factor for the poor to change their religion. Yet the fact is that the way they executed their action was unethical especially the fact that they were disrespecting someone else’s religious beliefs. Anger was what guided them and thus their actions lacked reason. A rational mind would have tried to use money to improve the facilities offered to Hindu worshippers which at the moment is hampered by the system of casts and status.
The circumstances of this situation are grave and based on religious differences. The fear that must have been instilled in the minds of those watching children may eventually lead to a desire for revenge. Religion is a clouding factor for reason, something that religious leaders use continuously as seen during the crusades of the middle ages and right now by the Taliban leaders. The movie Khudha Ke Liye is a perfect example in which one can see a mind being brain washed by beliefs. One should care as this is damaging to the unity with which one should live in this world. After the horrors of the first (1914) and the second (1945) world war, is it right to get trapped in another deadly universal war over God! Hence this is why people should care and give this a second thought because they should realize the fact that religion can make one do drastic things where reason has evaporated into nothingness.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
RATIONALISATIONS
REFLECTION
Wednesday 15th April’08
As human beings we usually tend to reason out unintentionally with our emotions. Sometimes what we see, hear, smell around us may play on our primary emotions of happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust and anger. These experiences contribute in overpowering our reason and thus swaying our judgements so as to satisfy the emotion that was felt. For example when a child has an ice-cream for the first time, the tactile pleasure that he will get shall instigate the emotion of happiness and he would want to feel this emotion again and again. He would generalize that an ice-cream is equal to happiness. On the other hand if one sees a drunken man, physically abuse his wife by slapping her repeatedly and openly, it would instigate anger within us. If one sees a similar incident again after a week or so, this anger would be directed towards trying to help such women and one would generalize that all drunken men beat their wives.
These generalisations when negative become prejudices. From then on we do not reason in a holistic manner with evidences from science, literature, math, art and ethics but we look at only evidence that supports our bias and we form a belief with a conformation bias that is illusionary as one has not looked at the counter arguments. A vicious circle will be formed and this uncertain belief would end up becoming stronger.
Sometimes this can be a source of motivation like in the example of the drunken man and the helpless woman. The people may ending up taking strong action against this social issue and thus help the society. But if the prejudice is more against a race or a particular group of people then this cycle could make them a fanatic as history has proven to us with examples like Hitler and the Al Qaida. Such a thing also happened in America during the 1950’s and 60’s civil rights movement where racism against the black people lacked all logic. In the 1950 some whites really feared that the wave of civil rights for the black Americans that was spreading was a threat to their own way of life because they would have to compromise on their sophisticated culture. There was also a sense of disgust at this thought cause of the skin colour of the blacks compared to the ‘pure’ one of the whites’. This formed a biased perception and backed by influenced newspaper reports (many of them fake to instigate anger against the blacks as the newspapers themselves were owned by the Whites) and one ignored all the good things about the Black Americans like their contributions in the first and the second world wars. This fallacious reasoning leads to emotive language that is filled with anger and hatred against the Blacks. And thus leads to even more powerful emotions against them. In America this cycle led to the formation of the Ku Klux Clan and many secret killings of the Black people. There was abuse, physical and emotional, beatings and unfair segregation.
This is rationalisation and many times the effects are horrifying as the example signifies.
Wednesday 15th April’08
As human beings we usually tend to reason out unintentionally with our emotions. Sometimes what we see, hear, smell around us may play on our primary emotions of happiness, sadness, fear, surprise, disgust and anger. These experiences contribute in overpowering our reason and thus swaying our judgements so as to satisfy the emotion that was felt. For example when a child has an ice-cream for the first time, the tactile pleasure that he will get shall instigate the emotion of happiness and he would want to feel this emotion again and again. He would generalize that an ice-cream is equal to happiness. On the other hand if one sees a drunken man, physically abuse his wife by slapping her repeatedly and openly, it would instigate anger within us. If one sees a similar incident again after a week or so, this anger would be directed towards trying to help such women and one would generalize that all drunken men beat their wives.
These generalisations when negative become prejudices. From then on we do not reason in a holistic manner with evidences from science, literature, math, art and ethics but we look at only evidence that supports our bias and we form a belief with a conformation bias that is illusionary as one has not looked at the counter arguments. A vicious circle will be formed and this uncertain belief would end up becoming stronger.
Sometimes this can be a source of motivation like in the example of the drunken man and the helpless woman. The people may ending up taking strong action against this social issue and thus help the society. But if the prejudice is more against a race or a particular group of people then this cycle could make them a fanatic as history has proven to us with examples like Hitler and the Al Qaida. Such a thing also happened in America during the 1950’s and 60’s civil rights movement where racism against the black people lacked all logic. In the 1950 some whites really feared that the wave of civil rights for the black Americans that was spreading was a threat to their own way of life because they would have to compromise on their sophisticated culture. There was also a sense of disgust at this thought cause of the skin colour of the blacks compared to the ‘pure’ one of the whites’. This formed a biased perception and backed by influenced newspaper reports (many of them fake to instigate anger against the blacks as the newspapers themselves were owned by the Whites) and one ignored all the good things about the Black Americans like their contributions in the first and the second world wars. This fallacious reasoning leads to emotive language that is filled with anger and hatred against the Blacks. And thus leads to even more powerful emotions against them. In America this cycle led to the formation of the Ku Klux Clan and many secret killings of the Black people. There was abuse, physical and emotional, beatings and unfair segregation.
This is rationalisation and many times the effects are horrifying as the example signifies.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The War between Reason and Emotion…
REFLECTION
Monday 6th April
Both Emotion and Reason act as forces in our minds…that act in opposite ways thus leading to internal conflicts and sometimes tendencies to dominate. But only when they are balanced will the decisions that one makes are right and morally justified. Thus these tendencies to dominate are what cause the weak moments of our lives. At times humans become the ‘materialistic rational scientific city man’ as the poems of TS Eliot highlight clearly. In his poetry emotions have more or less vanished from earth…Humans are just ‘hollow men’ with nothing but money to guide them. They are robots…this happens when reason overtakes everything. When emotion leaves us not even the devastation of the war and the cruelty of death affects us. Our decisions become for our selfish needs.
Domination of emotions too causes nothing but wrong decisions. Dictators and politicians are expert at playing with emotions so as to blind reason. Even if there is a conscience, a cluster of emotions can lead it to become clouded. And thus irrational decisions are formulated and implemented. This not only ruins the life of the person who is thinking emotionally but also the people around him. Examples of emotionally swayed individuals in the 21st century would obviously have to be the terrorists. Even politicians try and use it by trying to instigate hate into his listeners against the other party.
It is not wrong to think emotionally or extra reasonably. Unconsciously we just perform what feels right at that point. However for justified and absolutely true decisions a balance combination of reason and emotions is true. I mean if our prime-minister Mr. Manmohan Singh ran the country without properly thinking about it in the diplomatic ways but yet making his decision so as to not go against his own sentiments, we would either be in a state of war with our neighbours or a puppet country up for show, not the IT centre and the largest democracy of the world!
Monday 6th April
Both Emotion and Reason act as forces in our minds…that act in opposite ways thus leading to internal conflicts and sometimes tendencies to dominate. But only when they are balanced will the decisions that one makes are right and morally justified. Thus these tendencies to dominate are what cause the weak moments of our lives. At times humans become the ‘materialistic rational scientific city man’ as the poems of TS Eliot highlight clearly. In his poetry emotions have more or less vanished from earth…Humans are just ‘hollow men’ with nothing but money to guide them. They are robots…this happens when reason overtakes everything. When emotion leaves us not even the devastation of the war and the cruelty of death affects us. Our decisions become for our selfish needs.
Domination of emotions too causes nothing but wrong decisions. Dictators and politicians are expert at playing with emotions so as to blind reason. Even if there is a conscience, a cluster of emotions can lead it to become clouded. And thus irrational decisions are formulated and implemented. This not only ruins the life of the person who is thinking emotionally but also the people around him. Examples of emotionally swayed individuals in the 21st century would obviously have to be the terrorists. Even politicians try and use it by trying to instigate hate into his listeners against the other party.
It is not wrong to think emotionally or extra reasonably. Unconsciously we just perform what feels right at that point. However for justified and absolutely true decisions a balance combination of reason and emotions is true. I mean if our prime-minister Mr. Manmohan Singh ran the country without properly thinking about it in the diplomatic ways but yet making his decision so as to not go against his own sentiments, we would either be in a state of war with our neighbours or a puppet country up for show, not the IT centre and the largest democracy of the world!
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