Gut decisions

Can you write about an intuitive decision that made recently? How did it turn out? How would it have been different if you had used reason?

I sometimes make gut decisions when I step into the Albert Heijn of Zuidplein. I usually have the intention of simply buying a coffee, but then I always end up buying also something else, either the triple chocolate cookie or the chocolate muffin, especially when one of those it's on sale and it only costs 1 €.

It's mostly a decision taken because of the smell of chocolate that takes over my conscious will or the irrational need of chocolate to get through a school day... Only one thing it's sure: reason has nothing to do with it.

When I take a bite of my muffin/cookie I'm usually overwhelmed by a feeling of satisfaction and delight that make me forget for a moment of the extra sugar I've fatten my body with, something I know I'll regret next time i'll look at myself in the mirror. However, I like to believe that -to some extent- it's better to regret something you've done than something you haven't done, so I don't make THAT big deal out of it, and i promise myself next time I'll be wiser.

If I had to use reason, I'll think that I don't need that cookie/muffin to get through the day, it's not that highly nutritional for my body and however cheap it can be, it's still too much for something I don't need. However, this kind of reasoning is way too hard to be made in the morning, when my conscious will is still basically sleeping or busy listening to music, so that my instincts and my subconscious take over. Maybe some of these days I'll learn.

Emotion as a way of knowing?

Is emotion a way of knowing or an obstacle of knowing?

As I'm doing TOK more and more, I've understood that there are no black-or-white answer in life, especially over the problem of knowledge. 

Emotion can be either a way of knowing or an obstacle, depending on the situation you're in.

An example of emotion as a way of knowing can be the instinctive reaction of running/stepping back when we cross the street and we see a car coming. On the other hand, emotion can be an obstacle when, for example, we are so biased by a passion (not only for a person, it can also be for an idea) that we can't see the bad aspects of that. 

Nevermind the situation, emotion does strongly relates to the other three ways of knowing: with language, because through language we describe our emotions and, in the other way round, emotions can often affect the way we talk or write; with perception, because the two things often work together, like when you eat something that you find disgusting and you don't want to eat anymore; with reason, because, sometimes, only in the balanced of the two the wisest decision are made.

Besides, it is clearly a way for someone to know himself: is through emotion that we understand our tastes or your desires. I decided where I mostly want to apply at university when, reading about the PPE course index, an indescribable feeling made me understood that was something I really really liked. Another example is when you like someone: sometimes you don't get "butterflies in your stomach", sometimes you get a smile on your face when you see that person. THEN you know you like him/her.

In conclusion, although it's hard to describe emotions, I believe they are a very important way of knowing. I can't really explain why, it's just a feeling :)