Q&A: The Place of Emotion
The Place of Emotion
Question
Hi, hello Rabbi,
assuming you’ve reached the conclusion that there is a God and that there is a soul, isn’t it reasonable that emotion would have some role in this faith? That is, most human beings feel a longing for God and feel that there is justice. Can’t we assume that this feeling has a real place, that it points to something, because we have a soul and apparently it is natural for it that He exists in the world?
Answer
I didn’t understand the question. What is a “real place” or an unreal one? And what exactly is it supposed to point to?
Discussion on Answer
Don’t ask me questions about something you don’t remember my saying. If you have a concrete quote, formulate a clear and precise question about it.
The quote itself isn’t crucial; it could be that it’s really not precise. My question is whether it isn’t reasonable to assume that the feeling I spoke about earlier points to God’s existence, after you’ve already reached the conclusion that there is a God.
If you’ve reached the conclusion that there is a God, then you’ve already reached the conclusion. What does emotion have to do with it here? Do you mean to ask whether, if I reached that conclusion, I would give cognitive significance to your emotion? My conclusions have no importance for this issue. If for you it’s an emotion, then you do not believe. Even if there is a God, you do not believe in Him. Emotions say nothing about reality. Intuition is of course different from emotion, and you can read about that on the site.
What I said earlier about the feeling that most people think there is justice, that they feel a longing for something greater than themselves—do you consider that emotion or intuition?
That has nothing to do with what I consider it. Each person can say about himself whether what is inside him is emotion or intuition. Longings, by definition, are emotions. The claim that there is something greater than me is a claim, not an emotion.
What is the difference between intuition and emotion?
In addition, why would God make it possible to reach Him only by means of intellect? It would come out that supposedly the smart people are the ones who will reach God. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Him to make us reach Him through emotion, or through intuition if that’s what you call it, so that people who are true to themselves will reach God?
Sorry for going on and on, but this is really a question that occupies me.
See column 653.
I didn’t understand what “only by means of intellect” means. What is there besides intellect? Do you want people to reach Him with their feet or their ears? Intuition is part of the intellect, and there are definitely quite a few believers whose faith is based on intuition without any philosophical arguments. Emotion is not connected to the issue; see the above column.
A lot of people come to God through emotion, through this longing for truth, for justice, and I don’t remember where I saw it, but you said that a person like that, who comes to God through emotion, is imagining things and doesn’t really believe. So I’m asking: after you’ve reached the conclusion that there is a God, why would you say he’s imagining things? Isn’t it reasonable to assume that because there is a soul, this feeling is real and not just some psychological need, that it really does point to God’s existence?