The Ideal Society - Reason Vs. Emotions

The Ideal Society - Reason vs. Emotions

An ideal society is one in which people act together as one for the greater good of the society, rather than the individual. The question is: are people to look to their emotional or rational side in determining what to act upon? The obvious answer is - reason. Where with reason, the answers are clear, emotions often cloud judgment.

In a rational society, people know their place and their duty. For instance, a garbage collector may not enjoy the work he/she does, but knows that it is a vital task in society. Reason allows people live better lives through the development of technology, creating more comfortable and functioning lifestyles, and even to realize our personal human potential. If everyone were to use reason, people would know enough to be able to put the most rational people in the government (unlike the current setup), and no one would disagree (being rational people themselves). Petty fights and even wars would end in a true "Age of Reason," because the citizens know that arguments are pointless and there is no need for them. Governments (filled with the most rational people), would understand the repercussions a war has on society and that they are fought out of anger, greed, and sometimes even stupidity.

Emotion (n.) a mental state that arises spontaneously rather than through conscious effort and is often accompanied by physiological changes. How can a society rely on emotions, to become the ideal, when emotions can be played with so easily? Imagine if someone like the president had to make an important decision on whether or not to go to war with a country that has ties with a tiny terrorist organization, that had just killed his/her child? Using reason, the president would see that war would not be the answer, and would instead find other means to stopping terrorism. With emotion, the president would most likely lash out at any country that had had ties with the terrorists.

A society based on emotions, can never work. Reason, however, is the result of billions of years of evolution. It has built and consistently improved society, bringing people to the highpoint of human existence. Only through the use of reason, can the ideal society- The Age of Reason, be achieved.

Bibliography

www.history1700s.com

www.ushistory.org