"A Clash of Goals – Not Emotion vs. Reason": Matt Stichter, Washington State University (cohosted with University of Minnesota-Duluth))

Matt Stichter, Washington State University, will be joining us for a colloquium. (cohosted by UMD)

"A Clash of Goals – Not Emotion vs. Reason"

Abstract: We’re familiar with situations where there are competing reasons for action, and with situations that give rise to mixed emotions.  Neither competing reasons nor mixed emotions typically cause us to question the reliability of deliberative reasoning or emotional responses.  However, it seems our perspective shifts when a conflict arises between our emotional response and our rational judgment.  Suddenly, the processes of emotion and reason seem pitted against each other, and people debate whether one of these processes is more reliable than the other.  However, such debates are likely to mislocate the real source of the conflict.  We reason about our goals, values, interests, cares, and concerns (hereafter “goals+”).  What seems less widely appreciated, though, is that our emotional responses are also based on our goals+.  Thus, whenever emotion and reason seem to be in conflict, the problem likely stems from a conflict between the underlying goals+.  For example, a conflict might occur when reasoning about a consciously held goal while having an emotional response based on an unconsciously held goal (e.g., “outlaw emotion”).  This is important because such conflicts need to be settled by resolving the underlying goal conflict, rather than by merely privileging reason over emotion, or vice versa.