Understanding Human Reason and Emotions

What is Reason?

Reason is the human capacity that allows us to understand ourselves and the world around us. It enables us to express this knowledge through language. Our language is primarily auditory, relying on our sense of hearing. However, reason depends on other capacities:

• Senses
• Memory
• Imagination
• Will

Emotions and Feelings

Every human being is an individual unit. All we know of reality is perceived through sentient intelligence and emotional affect. Through mutual recognition, we realize our participation in the world of intersubjectivity. True dialogue requires cordial reason.

Emotions: Our capacity to connect with others and integrate them into our lives generates feelings and emotions. These are generally pleasant, but can sometimes be unpleasant.

Feelings: Intimate experiences of acceptance and rejection, enduring over time and not physically observable. Feelings can be hidden or even falsified for years.

Emotions: Spontaneous expressions of feelings, short-lived and often observable through physical reactions like laughter or crying.

Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman defines emotional intelligence as the ability to recognize our own feelings and those of others, to motivate ourselves, and to manage relationships effectively. The skills of emotional intelligence include:

• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social skills

The Dialogic Nature of Reason

Humans are communicative beings. When we engage in dialogue, we recognize each other as partners and acknowledge the meaning we hold for one another. Through mutual recognition, we realize our shared participation in the world of intersubjectivity. Rational dialogue is the process that allows us to establish fair rules for guiding our lives. The criteria for accepting a standard as valid in dialogue is its ability to satisfy universalizable interests.