The first thought that crossed my mind was of the chariot analogy in the Bhagavad-Gita when I read the article that stated that it was scientifically proven that the emotion rules the brain’s decisions.
Before reading this article, I always thought of decision making as an emotionless act. I thought to myself, “Why even bother with emotions? If we are asked to make a decision, why let the emotion cloud our judgement and slow us down?”
However, in the article, it is acknowledged that one of the main reasons emotion plays a huge role in decision-making is that:
The brain stores emotional memories of past decisions, and those are what drive people’s choices in life…What makes you and me “rational” is not suppressing our emotions, but tempering them in a positive way.
-Antonio Damasio
This simply means that it is natural for our emotions to take control of our thoughts and actions. However, it must be our goal to go against our natural tendencies so as to help our charioteer (intellect) maintain control over the reins (mind/emotions) so that we may rationally make decisions.
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