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Do you prefer a more logical, or a more emotional lead character? Why?
Human emotion is messy. It can get in the way of logic. It is also, arguably, necessary...
This week's Action/Adventure Newsletter is all about logic, emotion, and the balance between them.
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I have a friend who is a huge fan of Star Trek’s Mr. Spock. She likes that he prioritises logic over emotion. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds we meet a younger Spock, who is still struggling to maintain a balance between his Vulcan and his human sides. Having been raised as a Vulcan, there are times when he feels shame about his humanity. It is interesting to witness this struggle. I think many of us have something about us that we want to suppress, yet cannot deny.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Data, on the other hand, is an android. He is a purely logical being, but he wants to know what it is to be human. Over the seasons, we watch him learn and grow, and finally, in Star Trek: Picard… well, I don’t want to spoil anything.
Emotion is often seen as irrational. It can prevent a person from making the best decision. It can cause them to lose control of themselves, and their actions. Then again, emotion can bring out the best in a person. It can lead to great, noble deeds. It’s both a strength and a weakness, depending on the situation.
I am quite an emotional person. I get excited seeing squirrels in the woods, and bats at night. I’ll cry over sad books, movies, series… sometimes even adverts. The smallest thing can make me happy. Watching the news often makes me sad. I’m not easy to anger, though, and on the rare occasion that I have an argument with someone I never shout, nor do I ever get confrontational. I rather see the situation as it being us versus the problem, than us against each other. If I get very upset, I just retreat for a while, until I feel calm again – it doesn’t do to solve a situation when you’re feeling ticked off with a person.
Perhaps I should agree, then, that logic is better than emotion – or at least better than anger – but anger has its place. Rights have been won through protests driven by anger at injustice. For example, women’s right to vote, and the right of the LGBTQ+ community to be treated as equals under the law. Anger can shake us out of inaction. It can help us set aside our differences and focus, together, on a common goal. Of course, it can also be destructive, and cause more harm than good. It’s a tricky emotion, and it is best used in combination with logic and reason.
Anger can set a hero on a path of revenge. It can help them wish to right a great wrong. It can drive them forward through a series of seemingly impossible obstacles. Somewhere along the way, though, we expect them to realise that there’s more to life than anger. We want them to find a balance – both for themselves and for the world around them. A good example is Sandor Clegane – The Hound – in A Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. He is driven by anger and a desire for vengeance, but over time he comes to care for Arya Stark, and learns that he has a greater purpose. Feeling that it may be too late for him, he warns Arya to choose a different path before she, too, sacrifices too much of herself in her search for revenge. A villain may never learn this lesson. A villain may never overcome their anger – whether righteous or otherwise – and end up destroying everyone around them.
Most good heroes do need at least some kind of emotion. I’ve met characters who were meant to be heroes, meant to be someone to cheer for, but they were such reasonable goody two-shoes that before long I actually couldn’t stand them. They somehow didn’t feel real. Their lack of emotion, and the messiness that comes with it, prevented them from being likeable. To be human is to be a little messy! We don’t always make sense, nor do we need to. We are flawed, and we make mistakes, but we learn, and grow, and that’s what life is all about.
It’s our emotions that lead to acts of compassion. We can place ourselves in other people’s shoes because we know what it feels like to be in love, to feel frightened, to feel sad, or overjoyed, or to have one of those days when everything and everyone gets on your nerves. We like to offer small kindnesses because it makes people happy and, in turn, that happiness makes us feel good, too.
Therefore, whilst emotion works best in combination with logic and reason, logic and reason work best in combination with emotion. Most of the time. You probably won’t need emotion to solve a mathematical problem, but you might be working on that problem because of your love – or even passion – for the subject.
Balance is key to so many things in our lives. Sadly, it can be difficult to establish, and even harder to maintain. It is worth striving for, however. I wish you luck finding balance in your life.
NaNoKit
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Action/Adventure: August 16, 2023 Issue [#12129]
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