Running Head: THE DOMINANCE OF EMOTION OVER DECISION 1

The Dominance of Emotion Over Decision

Samiksha Varadarajan

Howard High School

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What makes a human, “human”? The ability to interpret feelings and use them as an aid

in decision-making makes a human, “human” (deSousa, 2017). The ability to decide when

feelings should interfere with and appear in physical manifestations makes a human, “human”.

Emotion can act as a decisive factor in certain circumstances by overpowering the rationale and

developed thought. The existence of the dominance of emotion over rationale is theoretically

proven through theories that declare feeling as a result of chemical imbalances; that define

emotion as an automatic response to bodily states, beliefs, and desires, and as expanse that has

yet to be understood; and that denote emotion as a deceptive entity that can alter direction and

intensity of feeling.

Feelings and emotion represent two different ideas. Emotion is sudden and can be

measured by objective means, whereas feeling, an intangible concept in respect to emotion, can

only be measured subjectively, or through the recollections of the individual (A. Amritwar,

personal communication, January 13, 2018). Emotions originate in the amygdala, or the human

center of emotion, which contains experiences accumulated over the time of human evolution

(Sapolsky, 2017). Sapolsky, a professor of neurology and biology, demonstrates the idea of the

accumulation of experiences in the amygdala through the example of events that occured

milliseconds ago, to events that occurred during the lifetime of the individual, to social

constructs set by the ancestors of the individual, to the basic emotional states of his/her neolithic

ancestors (Sapolsky, 2017). Feeling describes the resulting combination of rational thought and

emotion while emotion is more simplistic in its origins (Panksepp, 1998, as cited in deSousa,

2017).
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Philosophical theories declare the origin of emotions are chemical imbalances in the brain

and in the body; due to this, the emotion undoubtedly has immediate, as opposed to long-term,

prevalence over its corresponding rational thought, rational thought needing to be

well-developed in comparison to feeling (Panksepp, 1998, as cited in deSousa, 2017). Emotions

can interfere with the rationality, or reliability, of rational thought (Tuske, 2011). The dominance

of emotion over rationale is supported by the instability of emotions.

The imbalance of emotion is referred to as a “passion” from which humans “suffer”

(Tuske, 2011). Emotion is unwanted in the process of cognition when dissecting emotion from

event or emotion from thought because of the undue influence of emotion on feeling (Tuske,

2011). Though emotion can overcome rational thought when the decision must be made quickly,

it is not the always the procession with which cognition proceeds. The cognitive process which

arises from emotion dampens and interprets the emotion to come to a decision (Clore, 2011).

Though emotion can aid and also overcome decision in cognition, feeling also acts as an

influential factor in the discernment of choice. The contradiction of emotion to resulting feeling,

reinforced by the chemical imbalance of emotion, represents the influence of decision over

emotion in feeling, rather than the overpowering of emotion over decision. Due to these

experiences, the resulting feeling from the combination of emotion and cognition could be

completely opposite to the original feeling state (A. Amritwar, personal communication, January

13, 2018). Without overpowering or concurring with emotion in the cognitive process, it is

extremely difficult to refrain from acting on impulse, as emotion arises from a chemical

imbalance which cannot be controlled otherwise.

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The procession of the cognitive process is responsible for the overcoming of rational

thought by emotion. Emotions physically occur before the rational thought can be conceived,

resulting in the inevitable influence of the emotion on the rational thought (deSousa, 2017). As

exemplified in an interview with psychiatrist Mr. Amritwar, emotion is an immediate reaction to

an event, and this emotion is conceived before the experiences in relation to the event and in

relation to the emotion can be processed (A. Amritwar, personal communication, January 13,

2018). The idea of emotion and physical manifestations of emotion being held as separate

entities is developed in Buddhist philosophy, where feelings and physical manifestations of

emotions are separated; it is not necessary that one portray his/her affective mental states for the

emotion to exist (Franco, 1997, as cited in Tuske, 2011).

Therapies employed to combat various mood illnesses focus on changing the cognitive

process to allow patients to control their affective mental states (Gaudiano, 2017). A tangible

representation of the prevalence of emotion over decisions is in mood disorders such as

depression and anxiety. Depression and anxiety embody an extreme of the overpowerment of

rational thought (Driessen, 2010). As seen in various medical and psychological research

journals, methods to combat this are medications to combat the imbalance, and therapies such as

the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and the Acceptance and Commitment Theory, which

teach individuals to alter their cognitive process in order to control the influence of emotions

(Driessen, 2010). These theories originate from American philosophy where the separation of

emotion from rational thought in feeling can allow the control of the cognitive process (Tuske,

2011). Mood disorders exemplify the dominance of chemical imbalance over experience and

rational thought.
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A simple epitomization of the contradiction of emotion with factual knowledge is the

idea of the “fear of flying,” an important perceptive theory when identifying the difference at

times in feeling versus emotion. The fear of flying is the idea that some may fear flying on an

aeroplane, knowing full well that flying is one of the safest methods of transportation (Stocker,

1992, as cited in deSousa, 2017). Through these perceptive theories, feeling is proven to be a

subjective response to an objective concept, or to emotion (Kraut, 1986, as cited in deSousa,

2017)​. ​The opposition of emotion, emotion garnered through previous experiences or previously

set mindsets, to decision can set apart those who can use rationality to their benefit and those

who let emotion rule their feelings.

As it originates from a chemical imbalance, emotion can be very influential due to its

unstable and irrational nature. The irrationality of emotion, its precedence in the cognitive

process, and the use of therapies that aid in suppressing predominant emotions are testament to

the prevalence of emotion over rational thought through its chemically imbalanced origin.

Emotion, along with originating from a chemical imbalance, is also an automatic

response, adding to its prevalence over rational thought. Rational thought requires time and

intelligence, defined as experience or knowledge of an event, while emotion is automatically

conceived as a reaction to an event (Sapolsky, 2017). The automatic and ambiguous nature of

emotion is fostered by the events and experiences recorded in the amygdala and by arousal, or

response of the body to events; by the vastness of classifications in relation to emotion; and by

the emotional paralysis that is often a result of too many choices presented to an individual.

Humans can, and often do, use cognition and logic to their benefit using the ability of emotion to
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narrow down the choices that an individual has, but in relation to stronger emotions or weaker

minds, the cognitive process can be overcome (James, 1884, as cited in deSousa, 2017).

Emotion originates from the amygdala, where events both millions of years in the past

and from one millionth of a millisecond ago can influence the decision that an individual makes

(Sapolsky, 2017). Though emotion is always automatically conceived, the interpretation of the

emotion by the individual an be different based on the experiences, or intelligence, defined as the

combination of experiences and knowledge that an individual has gathered of the individual. The

amygdala executes emotion, but what humans feel can be distorted due to a misinterpreted

perception of the bodily states (​James 1884, as cited in deSousa, 2017). This misinterpreted

perception is the propagator of the dominance of emotion over decision.

Emotion and its relation to cognition are vital in defining the prevalence of emotion over

thought (Jenkins, 2014). Emotion is an automatic response, relating it closely to the nervous

system and various parts of the neurological and psychological cycles. Arousal, or the response

of the body, is controlled by the parasympathetic and sympathetic branches of the central

nervous system (Jenkins, 2014). The sympathetic branch allows for a quick reaction of the body,

and is where the immediate emotion is conceived (Jenkins, 2014). Emotion allows the immediate

survival and reaction response that the body needs to act (A. Amritwar, personal communication,

January 13, 2018).

Emotion is often the combination of thought and feeling, the rational thought based from

the feeling itself, meaning the feeling influences the thought (Barrett, 2017). The vastness of

feeling is given by the enormous amount of classification in the idea of feeling; love, fear, and

desire are three of the main branches (​Śāntarakṣita, 1984, as cited in Tuske, 2011). Since feeling
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does not have an ability to be measured objectively, its vastness is amplified (A. Amritwar,

personal communication, January 13, 2018).

The ambiguity of emotion results in paralysis of the brain in making decisions when the

individual is presented with too many choices (Schwartz, 2005). This paralysis overtakes any

rational thought that individual could possibly have made, due to the feelings (Schwartz, 2005).

At times, the emotion can be hidden or faked, depending on the choice made by the individual in

regards to the emotion (Hirstein, 2005, as cited in deSousa, 2017).

The ambiguity of emotion, the vastness of emotion as well as its overwhelming presence,

and the automatic response of the nervous system to and event all result in the controlling of

decision by emotion. This controlling factor develops humans as impulsive and emotional, due to

the strength of their emotions.

Emotional deception, or the ambiguity of emotion resulting in the beholder further

influencing his/her rationality based on how he/she perceives the feeling, can be pivotal in

relation to the direction that one’s decisions direct himself/herself (deSousa, 2017). This idea of

emotional deception in relation to unrelated situations is well represented by the emotion of

anger. Anger reduces the concern that individuals have for others, which therefore “disinhibits

[the individuals] to engage in self-serving deception” (​The Emotion​, 2017). Anger, as an

emotion, induces dishonesty and immorality through emotional deception (​The Emotion​, 2017).

Emotional deception is defined in relation to emotion itself, but applies to the same object that is

the propagator of the emotion (​Greenspan 2000, as cited in deSousa, 2017).

Emotional deception in relation to personality is a common result of the ambiguity of

emotions (​Descartes 1984 [1649], as cited in deSousa, 2017)​. ​A source of emotional deception is
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the idea that emotions paralleled with characteristics (Averill, 1982, as cited in deSousa, 2017).

The beholder convinces his/herself that the source of emotion is something viable rather than the

similarity of one individual to another (Averill, 1982, as cited in deSousa, 2017).

The ambiguity and vastness of feeling, as well as automatic nature, and the fact that

feeling is a chemical imbalance, leads to its inevitable prevalence over rational decisions and

cognitive thinking in the brain. Emotions, the original reactions, and feelings, the experiences of

body states, are both crucial in the decision-making process and can overwhelm decisions is they

are strong (Cotter, 2009). In society, though, the idea of strong emotions and strong feelings is

not encouraged, leading to both emotional deception and mental strength against feelings.
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References:

Barrett, L. F. (2017). Functionalism cannot save the classical view of emotion. ​Social Cognitive

and Affective Neuroscience​, ​12​(1), 34-36.

Clore, G. L. (2011). Psychology and the Rationality of Emotion. ​Modern Theology​, ​27​(2),

325-338.

Cotter, P. (2009). The Path to Extreme Violence: Nazism and Serial Killers. ​Front Behav

Neurosci​, ​3​. https://doi.org/10.3389/neuro.08.061.2009

de Sousa, R. (2017). Emotion (E. N. Zalta, Ed.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from Stanford

Encyclopedia of Philosophy website: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/emotion/

Driessen, E., & Hollon, S. D. (2010). Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Mood Disorders:

Efficacy, Moderators and Mediators. ​The Psychiatric Clinics of North America​, ​33​(3),

537–555.

The Emotion That Leads to Deception​ [Audio file]. (2017). (January 23, 2017)

Gaudiano, B. A., Davis, C. H., Epstein-Lubow, G., Johnson, J. E., Mueser, K. T., & Miller, I. W.

(2017). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Inpatients with Psychosis (the REACH

Study): Protocol for Treatment Development and Pilot Testing. ​Healthcare​, ​5​(2), 23.

Jenkins, N. (Director). (2014). ​Feeling All the Feels: Crash Course Psychology #25​ [Motion

picture]. USA: CrashCourse.

Sapolsky, R. (2017, April). ​Robert Sapolsky: The biology of our best and worst selves ​[Video

file]. Retrieved from

https://www.ted.com/talks/robert_sapolsky_the_biology_of_our_best_and_worst_selves

Schwartz, B. (2005, July). ​The paradox of choice​ [Video file].

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Tuske, J. (2011, March 1). The Concept of Emotion in Classical Indian Philosophy (E. N. Zalta,

Ed.). Retrieved December 17, 2017, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy website:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/concept-emotion-india/