Are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions Essay

Are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions Theory of Knowledge - Essay Example 2006). The fact about reason and emotion being the same, there have been various questions involving the nature of the two concepts, one pertinent being "are reason and emotion equally necessary in justifying moral decisions" Only a meticulously analyzed study and discussion of the question may find an exact answer to this. Therefore, the most focal thrust of this discussion has been the question in the backdrop of the issues of abortion and ethnic cleansing. Abortion which is "the removal of a fetus from the body of its host (a pregnant woman) which typically results in the death of the fetus" (What is abortion 2004) and ethnic cleansing, "the attempt to create ethnically homogeneous geographic areas through the deportation or forcible displacement of persons belonging to particular ethnic groups," (Ethnic Cleansing. 2008) are the most obvious present issues which magnetize our rational and emotional deliberation of the issues in arriving at moral decisions. Consequently, in this discussion, we try to find out the magnitude of both the philosophical concepts in our moral decisions. "Everything human is part emotion and part reason All domains of knowledge lie somewhere between these two end points; with music being the end of the line at emotion and mathematics being at the end of the line at reason" (Human Essence is Pattern! 2006). A comprehensive analysis of the issues of abortion and ethnic cleansing clarifies why emotion gives you musical effect and reason mathematical. On the one hand, these issues are to be looked at and comprehended on the basis of emotion so as to side with the suffering, the affected, and the neglected. It is necessary to see things in this direction so that the moral considerations are given due attention. When we discuss the consequences of abortion and ethnic cleansing, we need to identify the moral factors that make the people miserable and victimized. In this sense, emotion has a wider relevance and scope in moral issues concerning humanity. As the Bhagavad Gita establishes, it "has the advantage of being open to all, the weak and the lowly, the illiterate and the scholar. It is seen to be as efficacious as any other method and is sometimes said to be stronger than the others, since it is its own fruition, while other methods are means to some other ends" (Diploma Program, Theory of knowledge Guide. 2008). However, on the other hand, moral decisions cannot always be arrived at by considering emotion alone as it would be a thoughtful activity. The basic characteristic of human beings, as may be by far identified, is that they are rational beings and therefore we need to use our reason as well as emotion in taking moral conclusions. "David Hume wrote that reason is a "slave to the emotions." But new research suggests that in our moral decision-making, reason and emotion duke it out within the mind" (Shea 2006). For a better understanding of the concepts, let us consider the issues of abortion and ethnic clearance and analyze the role of emotion and reason in arriving at the right moral conclusions. First we will examine the role of emotion and reason in making a moral decision on the significant and often discussed issue of abortion. Abortion is a topic of common discussions and most