This post makes no claim to scientific correctness, and is sappy, and it would be appreciated if any expert reading this could point out factual errors.
It has been said that reasoning and logic are what make humans superior to other animals, and that this is a result of the cerebral cortex being larger and better-developed in the human brain. Besides the fact that I consider this “superiority” questionable depending on how you define it, the animal with the largest cerebral cortex in relation to brain size is some anteater, I think in Australia, which is not especially famous for its intelligence or reasoning abilities.
We face a flood of sensory input all the time. The limbic system – associated more closely with emotion than reasoning – is the part of the brain that prioritizes this information, that filters out of the flood the bits that are most important, which only then is forwarded on to the cerebral cortex or wherever for further identification and processing. From which I conclude that emotion is our primary connection with the world, not logic, not that logic isn’t very important.
Which makes sense from an evolutionary point of view. Two people are standing on the curb, taking a step into the street. They receive sensory input. One filters it through a system that requires initial reasoning before any reaction – “large, heavy, dark object approaching at a high rate of speed; appears to be made largely of metal, which is hard, harder than I am… it is not stopping…” It would take seconds for any reaction, whereas the other person just goes, “holy shit!” and jumps back in time, even before identifying the object as a bus.
I believe that our emotional state, the emotions that control us when we are filtering information and then, later, processing it and reasoning, are extremely important. And that is why the level of hatred I see everywhere disturbs me mightily, because hatred precludes reasoning, it is a substitute for rational thought, whereas love allows it. You can’t be fair to someone you hate, while you can be fair to someone you really love.
Forgive me if this sounds unforgiveably sappy and naive, but it has to be said. Killing is wrong. Hatred is wrong. Cruelty is wrong. Disrespect is wrong. What part of that is so hard to understand? There is a tone of hatred in public discourse in many places and media that I find frightening. At the same time, maybe in reaction to this, I have seen more of the opposite lately as well. People preaching kindness, people being kind, and that is a comfort and gives me hope. I’m on their side.
