Questioner: Hello sir, I am Utkarsh. I am pursuing my Master in Philosophy from the Department of Philosophy itself – Delhi University; my question dates back to the perennial debate between the concepts of EQ and IQ. And to expound my question, I would like to elaborate that this dates back to the philosopher, David Hume, who made the distinction between the reason part of the human brain and the passion. And in modern times—in modern cognitive science and psychology—some psychologists like Gardner and Goleman have made a distinction, and they have tried to establish that EQ is just as important as the IQ.
And bringing it back to pragmatic terms, I would like to ask that – if I am to make a very important decision in life, how much weight should be given to the emotional part of my brain? Because emotions do play a role. Even before I make a decision, I have an emotion attached to the decision already. So, how much of my attention or weight should be given to the rational part? How much of it should be given to the emotional part? Or is it a combination of both?
Acharya Prashant: See, what you call as Intelligence pertains mostly to your thinking self. So, your IQ has a very strong relationship with your thoughts. What you call as EQ has a strong relationship with your emotions – feelings. And whenever it will come to a tussle between thoughts and feelings, feelings will win hands down.
Even if it appears that you are choosing thought over feeling, even that choice would be a feeling. Because feeling is the very source of thought. We may not realize that, but emotions always take precedence over thoughts. Emotions dictate thoughts. And you will not know where your emotions come from. Emotions will simply change your thoughts. Emotions will very successfully construct arguments in their own favor.
