Big Q
Which is stronger emotion or reason? Emotion is the first and easiest response to any situation because it comes naturally, and is processed way before reason. Reason only overshadows emotion at very specific and unique times. Emotion is stronger than reason because it is more instinctual, heart-felt, and irrational, while reason is rigid and logical. Firstly, emotion outweighs reason because it happens instinctually in a situation before any sort of rational thought can be constructed. This is shown in the book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll when Alice chases the rabbit down into a rabbit-hole without giving it any thought Alice just jumps right in not thinking about the consequences “In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out” (Carroll 20). Another example of instinct overcoming rational thought is found in Mulan, a Disney movie about a girl who goes and fights for her injured father in a war that he would most likely not have survived in. In a specific scene she sees her father and grandmother arguing through the window and from that point is determined to do anything to keep her father from going back into action (Walt Disney Pictures 1998). Mulan does it because she loves her father and wants to make her family proud by saving him from having to fight again. Her instincts make her very emotional and lead to her becoming a warrior and bringing joy to her family. Most people act first and think later causing emotion to overpower their logic. Secondly, emotion prevails over reason because it is more heart-felt and sentimental. The book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens contains various quotes that help to connect to emotion. The first quote that relates to the big question is about a man who just lost his daughter due to the recklessness of the Marquis:
“A tall man in a nightcap had caught up a bundle from among the feet of the horses, and had laid it on the basement
“A tall man in a nightcap had caught up a bundle from among the feet of the horses, and had laid it on the basement
Cited: Mulan. Dir. Tony Bancroft. Perf. Ming-Na Weng, Eddie Murphy. Walt Disney Pictures, 1998. DVD. Carroll, Lewis. Alice 's adventures in wonderland. 1865. Reprint. New York, New York: New American Library, 2000. Print. Sherlock. Dir. Mark Gatiss. Perf. Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman. British Broadcasting Corporation, 2010. Television Dickens, Charles, and Charles Dickens. A tale of two cities ; and, Great expectations. 1859. Reprint. New York: Penguin Books, 2010. Print. "Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland." Novels for Students. Ed. Deborah A. Stanley. Vol. 7. Detroit: Gale, 1999. 17-40. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 11 May 2014. Champion, Matthew. "Census 2011: Christian numbers fall with atheism on the rise." . Metro UK, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 May 2014. .