When I think of some of my biggest decisions, some were made after long periods (often years), of careful (and often paralyzing) rumination. For example, when I became a vegetarian, I tried to argue with myself from both points of view. My view of our treatment of animals was a veil that was slowly lifting, but I still was unconvinced on a rational level that I should stop eating meat. The introduction to Peter Singer's Animal Liberation gives a fantastic logical argument for the idea of speciesism. Although an incredibly airtight argument to me, I could still not make the leap. In contrast, when I chose what college I wanted to go to I made charts and graphs illustrating the pros and cons of various schools. In the end, as soon as I read the description of my alma mater, I instantly knew that was where I wanted to go. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
As for the vegetarianism, was I setting the bar too high for a rational justification, or was there something else preventing me from accepting what I think I already knew? By actively avoiding looking at the emotional reasons to accept becoming vegetarian, I was also ignoring the emotional reasons to reject it (there are many!). I intellectually convinced myself, but I still needed to make the connection on the emotional level. Then one day sitting among my various books, my cat walked by. That sealed the deal.
What about love? We see people all the time making incredibly stupid decisions in the throws of infatuation, or justify staying with someone because they cannot bare to leave. I personally have a carefully penned list of what I am looking for in a mate, and take a lot of time before I let myself become attached. But when reasons to leave start becoming obvious, I analyze them to death, always erring on the side of staying. It's just too hard to leave, and I have too much optimism and loyalty for those I love.
There are people who affect one so strongly from the start (usually in a sexual way), that you cannot stay away. Every red flag is right there in front of you and you know it. But like chocolate cake, a little taste won't hurt, right? :) I am glad I have indulged myself a few times!
In order to make important decisions in a rational way, is it necessary to acknowledge the importance of emotion as well? I have read (sorry no citations) that increasingly the role of intuition is being explored as a possible component of smart decision making. This is especially true when it comes to experts relying on intuition to make snap decisions. It's not unreasonable to think that there is a part of us that is self-aware that we can never be conscious of. This is a question I will, ironically, have to think about for a while.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Thinking with a rational heart
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Speaking of decision making, I started reading a book by Dan Airely called, "Predictably Irrational," after watching his talk on TED. Even when we're being purposefully rational it's hard to make the right choice once emotion hits the mix. You take some of the brightest undergrads at MIT and ask them to make decisions while aroused, and you'll get disturbing results. You'll find that they're nearly 72% overall more likely to engage in "somewhat odd" sexual activities (like touching animals, drugging a woman to have sex, not always using a condom, etc) then they would if they made those choices in a cold state. Consider so much that some of these decisions have survival implications (especially regarding sex). Every twinkle in a lustful eye might be that initial drive for procreation. Raging out might prepare you for a potential encounter where your resources are at stake.
When I went vegan it was mostly an emotional decision, and my guerrilla style resistance towards the status quo afterward demonstrated this (I used to place "fact sheets" on milk cartons at the grocery store about somatic cell counts and bovine growth hormones). After some time passed I reconsidered my decision but in a much cooler state: the affluence of the society I lived in, my ontological view of life in the universe, and my initial emotional state as a contributing factor.
I'm still vegan today, and I think while I was abit extreme, my initial decision while emotionally charged was the right one (or maybe that's just confirmation bias talking).
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