The dispute between reason and feelings is an eternal confrontation. Internal conflict: feelings versus reason - essay
Everyone can explain the term “happiness” in their own way. But, excluding all subjective details and details, we can safely generalize and say that happiness is that same harmony between feelings and mind, which is so little in our lives. The conflict of these two sides, thoughts and emotions, contributes to disharmony, anxiety, apathy and even attacks of depression, because a person has to make a choice, give up some part of himself, especially if his feelings ultimately do not have a response in the heart of that very object of sympathy . All this, of course, complicates and aggravates our already complex existence, but at the same time adds color to it, preventing a person from catching that very Onegin “blues”. It is no coincidence that so many writers and poets touch upon in their works precisely the problem of human passions and how often they come into conflict with our very essence, with what constitutes human existence.
When does conflict arise between feelings and reason? Exactly at the moment when one thing becomes counterbalanced to the other, when harmony disappears, when that very pleasant combination and “cooperation” develop into rivalry, and the outcome of this is determined by the person behind whom this confrontation is located.
For example, in I.S. Turgenev’s novel “Fathers and Sons” we get acquainted with a shining example such a conflict. The main character, Evgeny Bazarov, lived a considerable part of his life in complete confidence: any feelings and human values, in particular, love, art, faith - this is just “tinsel” with which a person decorates his existence, simple entertainment and a game that is not worth the candle. In his reasoning, it would seem, there was no room for doubt: nihilism eventually became one with the hero’s personality, but only until the moment when the smart and proud Anna Sergeevna Odintsova appeared in his life, a woman who shook Eugene’s entire philosophy. Previously unknown feelings and emotions began to worry Bazarov at the time when he began to communicate closely with Anna Sergeevna, and it was from that moment that the mind ceased to have complete control over the fate of the hero and began to enter into confrontation with feelings, which could not but play a role in fate Evgenia. The conflict between feelings and reason arose when complete confidence in the absence of love collided with sharply emerging emotions and created a strong dissonance, the result of which was a broken fate. Evgeny was able to fight this love and extinguish it for some time, even tried to establish his previous way of life, but this conflict was not destined to subside completely, just as the relationship between Bazarov and Odintsova was not destined to happen.
The heroine of N.S. Leskov’s story “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” turned out to be less resistant to the conflict of reason and feelings. Katerina Lvovna completely submitted to the wave of emotions that covered her after meeting Sergei, at that moment when her husband was not around, and the heroine was left “alone.” At that time, that same conflict arose, almost instantly and irrevocably flowing to the side of feelings, and a woman, having a marriage with a wealthy merchant, for the sake of new love commits many murders, the most significant of which is the murder of her husband. Even while in custody, the woman tries to spend as much time as possible with her lover, and he, in turn, throughout the entire work only takes advantage of her feelings. Could the “merchant’s wife” not have brought everything to such a tragic outcome, could she have cut off all ties with Sergei from the very beginning in order to save her marriage and not ruin the old one? lifestyle? No, she did not have the rigidity of reasoning that Evgeny Bazarov possessed, and therefore completely obeyed the dictates of her feelings. However, this is just one example of a vivid conflict between emotions and reason, in which the former have such a strong influence on a person that they become the meaning of his life.
The inner world of a person is filled with such components as reason and feeling. These are completely opposite concepts. Reason is the fruit of numerous analyzes and evaluative activities. A feeling is an emotional reflection of reality that occurs instantly. Are reason and feeling always in harmony with each other? How often does a person listen to the call of reason when he is overwhelmed by emotions? Or does he act as his heart desires? Why is a person forced to do this? difficult choice? Why does this fight break out? What will it lead to? Is a person, guided by one thing, capable of reaching incredible heights and making a great discovery? Or will this lead to the collapse of the human soul, the destruction of the previous foundation of life and everything inner world person? The great minds of mankind have been looking for answers to these questions for many years.
Let's turn to the works of the world fiction to understand the reasons why conflict arises between reason and feeling.
As an example, I would like to cite the work of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin “ Garnet bracelet" Here we can observe the internal struggle that took place in the soul of the main character, Zheltkov. He, a man of humble origin, is madly in love with Princess Sheina. But she - married woman. Zheltkov understands that they can never be together, but his feelings have such significant power over him that he writes letters to Sheina about his love. She rejects him and asks him not to bother her anymore. Zheltkov realizes that life without his beloved is impossible, it has lost its meaning, so he decides to leave this world.
Here is an example of how a hero, finding himself in the center of a confrontation between reason and feelings, is unable to resist this struggle, he decides to die. After all, his heart wanted one thing, but his mind insisted on something completely different.
As the next example, I would like to cite William Shakespeare's tragedy "Romeo and Juliet". The main characters belong to two warring families - the Montagues and the Capulets. Young people experience the strongest feelings, they love each other madly. However, life circumstances do not allow them to be together, everything is against the feelings of the lovers. The voice of reason tells them not to succumb to the outbreak of love. But emotions prevail in the fight against reason. Unfortunately, the fates of Romeo and Juliet are sad, they both die. This is how the lives of people who give preference to feelings can end tragically.
Conflicts occur very often in our lives. The struggle between reason and feeling is a serious confrontation. It occurs when a person needs to do right choice, decide on something. A person must weigh all the pros and cons so as not to make a mistake when choosing. After all, the whole future life depends on it.
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Feelings fill our life with experiences, emotions, make it brighter, and the mind cools them down so that a person is not guided in his life by feelings alone. When in balance, these two opposing forces ensure a harmonious state of mind. But it often happens that a conflict arises between feelings and reason. This happens most often when love arises in a person’s soul. This is exactly the kind of conflict described by I.S. Turgenev in the novel “Fathers and Sons”.
The main character of this work, Evgeny Bazarov, was a convinced nihilist. He denied the romantic feeling of love, calling it “nonsense, unforgivable nonsense.” The hero did not believe in love, denied its existence, argued that this was all “romanticism” or “nonsense”, that there was only physiology or “the need of the body.” “And what is this mysterious relationship between a man and a woman?”
But here on life path Bazarova meets Anna Sergeevna Odintsova, who completely changes the hero’s attitude towards feelings, strong changes occur in him. Evgeny Bazarov could not even imagine that he would be capable of deep and strong love. I.S. Turgenev depicts the hero’s internal struggle with himself; he cannot cope with the feeling that has arisen: “he could easily cope with his blood, but something else took possession of him.” Love and romanticism, at which Bazarov laughed so caustically, capture the hero entirely, shaking his nihilistic convictions, which seemed so indestructible at the beginning of the novel. He even turns out to be able to feel the beauty of a summer night, its freshness, mystery during a date with Odintsova.
But Odintsova did not truly love Bazarov. For her, her way of life and comfort were more valuable. In all her actions, she is guided only by reason, completely subordinating her feelings to it, pre-calculates all her actions, choosing only those that can cause a minimum of emotional unrest. She chose a calm path that did not bring joy, but did not make her suffer. Behind the serene calm and measured existence of the heroine lies her spiritual coldness, inability to engage in hobbies, indifference, and selfishness.
Because of his love for Odintsova, a conflict arose in the soul of Evgeny Bazarov between reason and feeling. To distract himself, Evgeniy goes to his parents, begins to help his father in his medical practice, but, accidentally injuring his finger while opening a typhus patient, falls ill and dies. Bazarov leaves love in the world, not hatred or nihilism. The conflict that has occurred in his soul unexpectedly leads him to “eternal reconciliation” with “endless life.”
And in the novel L.N. Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" describes the conflict between reason and feeling that arose because of Anna Karenina's love for Vronsky, ending in the death of the heroine. She, like Evgeny Bazarov, was unable to resist her strong feelings. But, if Odintsova did not want to allow herself to respond to Eugene Onegin’s feelings, then Karenina’s love was mutual, but this did not lead her to happiness.
The heroine N.M. did not resist her feelings either. Karamzin " Poor Lisa", who fell in love with the rich nobleman Erast. She responded to his feelings without thinking about anything. But, unfortunately, the young nobleman’s feelings soon cooled. He went on a military campaign, where he lost all his fortune, as a result of which he was forced to marry a rich widow. Lisa could not stand Erast's betrayal. For a girl, the act of her loved one was like this with a strong blow, she was unable to cope with her mental pain and threw herself into the pond to die. Ardent feelings led Lisa to death and brought grief to her mother.
Apparently, when feelings win in a conflict with the mind, this does not bring happiness to a person.
It was not by chance that I chose the topic of internal conflict between feeling and reason. Feeling and reason are two of the most important forces in a person’s inner world, which very often come into conflict with each other. There are situations when feelings oppose reason. What happens in such a situation? Undoubtedly, this is very painful, alarming and extremely unpleasant, as a person rushes about, suffers, and loses ground under his feet. His mind says one thing, but his feelings raise a real riot and deprive him of peace and harmony. As a result, an internal struggle begins, which often ends very tragically.
A similar internal conflict is described in I. S. Turgenev’s work “Fathers and Sons.” Evgeny Bazarov, main character, shared the theory of “nihilism” and denied literally everything: poetry, music, art and even love. But the meeting with Anna Sergeevna Odintsova, a beautiful, intelligent, woman unlike others, became a decisive event in his life, after which his internal conflict began. Unexpectedly, he felt a “romantic” in himself, capable of deeply feeling, worrying and hoping for reciprocity. His nihilistic views failed: it turns out that there is love, there is beauty, there is art. engulfed him strong feelings they begin to fight against rationalistic theory, and life becomes unbearable. The hero cannot continue scientific experiments or engage in medical practice - everything falls out of hand. Yes, when such a discord occurs between feeling and reason, life sometimes becomes impossible, since the harmony that is necessary for happiness is disrupted, and the internal conflict becomes external: family and friendly ties are disrupted.
One can also recall the work of F. M. Dostoevsky “Crime and Punishment”, which analyzes the rebellion of the main character’s feelings. Rodion Raskolnikov nurtured the “Napoleonic” idea of a strong personality who has the right to break the law and even kill a person. Having tested this rationalistic theory in practice, having killed the old pawnbroker, the hero experiences torment of conscience, the impossibility of communicating with family and friends, and practically becomes morally and physically ill. This painful condition arose due to the internal conflict of human feelings and fictitious theories.
So, we analyzed situations where feelings oppose reason, and came to the conclusion that it is sometimes detrimental to a person. But, on the other hand, it is also a signal that one must listen to one’s feelings, since far-fetched theories can destroy both the person himself and cause irreparable harm and unbearable pain to the people around him.
Sample essay abstracts
Mind and feelings. These words will become the main motive one of the topics on a graduation essay in 2017.
You can select two directions, which should be discussed on this topic.
1. The struggle of reason and feelings in a person, requiring mandatory choice: act in accordance with surging emotions, or still not lose your head, weigh your actions, be aware of their consequences both for yourself and for others.
2. Reason and feelings can be allies , blend harmoniously in a person, making him strong, self-confident, able to react emotionally to everything that happens around him.
Reflections on the topic: “Reason and Feelings”
- It is human nature to choose: to act wisely, thinking through each step, weighing your words, planning actions, or to obey your feelings. These feelings can be very different: from love to hatred, from anger to kindness, from rejection to recognition. Feelings are very strong in a person. They can easily take possession of his soul and consciousness.
- What choice to make in a given situation: to submit to feelings, which are often selfish, or to listen to the voice of reason? How to avoid internal conflict between these two “elements”? Everyone must answer these questions for themselves. And a person also makes a choice independently, a choice on which sometimes not only the future, but also life itself can depend.
- Yes, reason and feelings often oppose each other. Whether a person can bring them into harmony, make sure that the mind is supported by feelings and vice versa - it depends on the will of the person, on the degree of responsibility, on those moral guidelines which he follows.
- Nature has rewarded people with the greatest wealth - intelligence, and given them the opportunity to experience feelings. Now they themselves must learn to live, aware of all their actions, but at the same time remaining sensitive, able to feel joy, love, kindness, attention, and not succumb to anger, hostility, envy and other negative feelings.
- One more thing is important: a person who lives only by feelings is essentially unfree. He subordinated himself entirely to them, to these emotions and feelings, whatever they may be: love, envy, anger, greed, fear and others. He is weak and even easily controlled by others, by those who want to take advantage of this human dependence on feelings for their own selfish and selfish purposes. Therefore, feelings and reason must exist in harmony, so that feelings help a person to see the whole gamut of shades in everything, and the mind helps to react correctly, adequately to this, and not drown in the abyss of feelings.
- Learning to live in harmony between your feelings and your mind is very important. Is capable of this strong personality living according to the laws of morality and ethics. And you don’t need to listen to the opinion of some people that the world of the mind is boring, monotonous, uninteresting, and the world of feelings is comprehensive, beautiful, bright. Harmony of mind and feelings will give a person immeasurably more in understanding the world, in self-awareness, in the perception of life in general.