Writing Question

To what extent is allowing our emotions to interfere with our rational judgment dangerous? How should we properly balance the emotional and rational aspects of our selves?

Follow-up questions

Should we distinguish between emotions felt by individuals and emotions that take over a group? Is the latter more dangerous?

Do emotions act as a guide to who we really are, or can they obscure our identities? We talk approvingly of someone’s passions, but can they can also ‘take us over’, destroy us?

Beck sees astrology as an emotional coping mechanism. What are the dangers of such a coping mechanism? What would the dangers be in not having any such coping mechanisms?

What practical things can we do to control emotion excesses?

Ronson suggests we need to be more empathetic. Is it an emotion we can and should cultivate? Or is it a closer to a way of thinking, as you need to think through someone else’s feelings and ideas?

Beck suggests contemporary use of astrology is partly rational. Is she right? Consider how the debate over astrology relates to the broader question of reason and emotion