An emotion is an automatic response, an automatic effect of man’s value
premises. An effect, not a cause. There is no necessary clash, no dichotomy
between man’s reason and his emotions—provided he observes their proper
relationship. A rational man knows—or makes it a point to discover—the source
of his emotions, the basic premises from which they come; if his premises are
wrong, he corrects them. He never acts on emotions for which he cannot account,
the meaning of which he does not understand. In appraising a situation, he
knows why he reacts as he does and whether he is right. He has no inner
conflicts, his mind and his emotions are integrated, his consciousness is in
perfect harmony. His emotions are not his enemies, they are his means of
enjoying life. But they are not his guide; the guide is his mind. This
relationship cannot be reversed, however. If a man takes his emotions as the
cause and his mind as their passive effect, if he is guided by his emotions and
uses his mind only to rationalize or justify them somehow—then he is acting
immorally, he is condemning himself to misery, failure, defeat, and he will
achieve nothing but destruction—his own and that of others.