What Is More Important in Arriving at a Moral Conclusion: Reason or Emotion?

IB TOK Yr I
First Essay
What is more important in arriving at a moral conclusion: reason or emotion?

Reason is more important when it comes to arriving at a moral conclusion mainly being described through the quote “Don’t let your emotions get in the way”. As a teenager, from personal experience and observation, emotions can get in the way of smart decisions because hormones are always running high. Clearly and logically thinking through a problem or a situation makes you step out of the current situation and look at it from a different perspective. Sometimes however you have to follow your emotions when it comes to love and relationships because emotions are something that are hard to fight when someone else’s are involved. After recently reading an article regarding religion and its place in society it has come to the attention that people have a major emotional attachment to religion and can act out against societies status-quo in order to fulfill something for their religion that is against common law. This could be related to the topic about the islamic people who were acting out against the cartoonists who drew pictures of Mohammed which is strictly against their beliefs and they took physical action against them trying to kill them with an axe. Their emotions took over and let it get in the way of the smart and logical thing to do. If they had used reason instead of emotion, yes maybe their point wouldn’t have gotten across as drastically, however they could have taken a different approach that was less violent yet still gotten their point across. It can be proven that through emotion more violence is subject in society but when reason is used, less dramatic approaches to situations occur. The intensity behind emotions can blind people of the right thing to do. When emotions are running high people do not always think clearly and can let their rage or grief overpower them and take control of their body. In the movie Titanic, Rose is overpowered with emotions of love when she is leaving Jack behind and quickly jumps off the boat for him. She risked her life for true love. If she had used reason she could have recognized the smart solution, to stay on the boat, but with love comes emotions that drive people to do crazy things. Also when Rose and Jack are in the water waiting for rescue, Jack makes Rose promise to keep going and have a long and wonderful life knowing that he wouldn’t survive. When she is rescued and has to leave Jack because he has already passed away, she doesn’t want to leave because their love is so strong, but through reason she decides to call for rescue. She is brought onto a boat to continue her life fulfilling all of the promises she made.