We are almost two hundred years past the Age of Reason yet its effects can be found in all aspects of our thinking. When we have a problem we use reason and logic to solve it. However while this is a great method for dealing with a whole host of problems, it is not effective when it comes to dealing with psychological problems.
Hating yourself? Feeling miserable all the time? Frustrated at your actions at a recent party? Reason has little to offer you but blame. Leaving your self-judgment to reason is to hang yourself out on a line or perhaps to become a bullseye to your own character flaw sniping. Reason cannot [really] help you when it comes to changing how you tactically pick yourself to pieces.
Instead we have to remember that we are not simply products of logic and reason and that even these tools can be corrupted to be our enemies. I can rationalize why I am the scum of the earth and deserve the worst punishments. I can use logic to jump me through loops to come to the conclusion that God wasted these molecules on a worthless human being.
So when we start with a new assumption – that we have innate value and worth and goodness at our core – we find that then logic and reason can have a more functional basis. This dignity serves as the console tower to our fragile and complex internal hardware. Without a solid tower, our parts are exposed to both the external dirt and dust as well as the horrors of internal malware.
Once protected and ventilated with a solid tower, we can look inward at the viruses and trojans that use our own brains against us….
(Stay tuned for part 2)