Are Reason and Emotion Equally Necessary in Justifying Moral Decisions - Essay Example

Are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions (Essay) Moral decision is something that everybody has to deal with at one point in life. The issue is even a bigger one when somebody has to take a decision that will affect another person. Many times in courts people go through conflict. It is there where there is an enormous struggle between reason and emotion. Sometimes both reason and emotion are important when considering a verdict that implies a moral decision. Some other times emotion is overshadowed by reason when it comes to the jurors to take the decision and state the verdict. In this paper I will discuss whether reason and emotion are equally necessary in justifying moral decisions while presenting both aspects of the issue. In the Reason, Emotion and Moral Decisions article it is said that usually people imagine that human decisions are "backed-up" by reason when in fact they are the result of emotion. For example, the author refers to the fact that oftentimes the results of death penalty that is attributed to the (inculpate) is the result of fear. This fear springs from the fact that people do not want to be hurt again by the found guilty person. Fear is obvious the expression of emotion rather than reason. Behold that in this case, the emotion which is overcome by reason leads to the decision that morally a person who has hurt people is not fit to live. Of course, we need to remember that this applies in the countries where the death penalty is the ultimate punishment decision to a person who has committed a grave crime. Let's take another example in which emotion is overcome by reason when it comes to a moral decision. Imagine two friends, one of which is very eager to becoming a millionaire. In his rush, he prompts his or her friend to consent to his endeavor and take part in it because by this time next year they might be "billionaires". Again it is noticeable that emotion plays a strong part in this case rather than reason. The emotion may be the results of "gullible ness" or of pure trust instinct in the other friend in order to undertake such an endeavor. In this case we notice that the decision to engage in the affair of becoming a billionaire, even though a decision may or may not be a moral one. It is not unusual that many times such ventures towards wealth are the results of immoral decision. Affairs like money laundering, tax evasion and the like are only a few examples of such situations. Nevertheless, assuming that the endeavor of becoming wealthy is a fair one, and the decision that one has to take is moral, we have seen that in our case emotion overtook the reasons. Usually, in business it is rare that reason is left behind. However, other kinds of emotion such as greed as it was mentioned previously may be the one that the emotion becomes a higher motif than the reason. Although this is true, many times in business reason is the primary object when dealing with situations that involve decisions. It is very important, however, to understand whether the business decisions are considered to be moral. If they are then, then it means that the moral decision of keeping an employee that has proved himself or she may be the result of the reason that the employee had a good work reputation and he or she deserves to remain in the company. In this case this moral decision to keep the employee in this company is less an emotional one, and it is more one based on evidence, on the fact that the employee had proved himself or herself to the management of the company over a long period of time. However, in general to decide whether "something is right or wrong", that is, to make a moral decision, both reason and emotion carry the same balance. In this case, reason represents the judgment being the decision; in its turn, emotion is the expression of feelings towards the issue. According to Sarah Vancy, to be able to make an informed good moral decision both reason and emotion are equally important. Specifically, she states that there has to exists an equilibrium between the heart and the mind the triggers of reason and emotion when making moral decisions. In the light of what Sarah Vancy had stated we can give an example of a situation whether reason and emotion are equally important. Let's return to the court where the guilty awaits trial. Let's assume that his capital offense would cause the jurors to give him or her capital penalty. However, let's also assume that the guilty person's mental capacities are not totally sound. In short, the guilty person is mentally ill. In this case, the jurors must also consider the action of the person in light of his or her health. Some jurors may even show compassion for his situation. As we have seen in this circumstance, a good balance between reason and emotion is necessary when making the moral decision about the guilty person's state. The juror as well as the judge who is responsible about the guilty person's future will have to consider both the facts (what the guilty person has committed) as well as the person's medical condition. After putting reason and emotion in balance and weighing both issues can they decide and a moral verdict. Throughout the paper we have presented all three cases: first, that emotion may sometimes overtake the reason as in the billionaire case, that reason may overtake emotion in the keeping of the employee case, or that both emotion and reason need to be in balance in the court case. In conclusion, we notice that both emotion and reason are important in making a moral decision. However, first it is important for that decision to be considered moral for the theory of reason and emotion to stand. Then, it is up to the persons who make the decision to put more weigh on emotion, or on reason or to balance both; this varies from cases to case according to what we have seen in those three cases. Works Cited Forum Categories, Reason, Emotion and Moral Decisions, September 2007. http://www.collegenet.com/elect/app/appservice=external/Forum&sp=5989. Sarah Vancy, Are Reason And Emotion Equally Necessary In Justifying Moral Decisions September 2007. http://www.schoolsucks.com/Are-Reason-And-Emotion-Equally-Necessary-In-Justifying-Moral-Decisions/4375.html. Read More