- Sometimes, one responds emotionally to things of which one is not aware. For example, one may meet a person
for whom one feels an almost instant dislike; yet if one searches one's mind, one can think of nothing objectionable
that he has said or done. It may be the case that one was peripherally aware of affectations in his posture and way
of moving; or of some subtle insincerity in his voice; or of some negative implications in his remarks that one did
not pause to identify fully—and one's subconscious reacted accordingly. - The single most formidable obstacle to identifying the roots of one's emotions is repression. Since the values that
underlie some people's emotional reactions are offensive to their self-respect and conscious convictions, the causes
of such reactions may be barred from awareness. An artist who has a block against admitting the envy he feels
toward a more talented rival, may be quite unaware—and ferociously resistant to recognizing—that the elation he
feels was caused by news of the failure of his rival's art show.
It is interesting to observe that those who are most prone to rhapsodize about their emotions and to speak
disparagingly of reason, are those who are most incompetent at introspection and most ignorant of the source of
their emotions. They regard their emotions as the given, as mystical revelations, as the voice of their ''blood" or of
their "instincts," to be followed blindly.
For example, consider the following statement by D. H. Lawrence: " My great religion is a belief in the blood, the
flesh, as being wiser than the intellect. We can go wrong in our minds. But what our blood feels and believes and
says, is always true. The intellect is only a bit and a bridle. What do I care about knowledge? All I want is to
answer to my blood, direct, without fribbling intervention of mind or moral, or what not."^2
Lawrence expresses the position in an extreme form. But, in a milder, less flamboyant manner, many people live
by—more precisely, die by—this doctrine every day.
Man is an integrated organism, his nature (qua living entity) does not contain contradictory elements; reason and
emotion—thinking and feeling—are not mutually inimical faculties. But they perform radically different functions,
and their functions are not interchangeable. Emotions are not tools of cognition. To treat them as such is to put
one's life and well-being in the gravest danger. What