Rationality vs. Emotions

In philosophy, rationality and the emotions have always been described as opposing things. One can even extend this opposition to religion, where the emotions are seen as evil and diabolical, preventing one from doing what God wants one to do (the "rational" thing). I have never really thought about this battle between rationality and the emotions before. But once I did, I noticed that I've fallen into the same mentality: rationality vs. the emotions.

Through my reading and my discussions with other people, I've learned that the typical view of rationality is that it is objective (indifferent), dispassionate (emotionless), and founded upon logical and sound arguments. This view sees the emotions as irrational. Without really "choosing" to subscribe to this type of thought, I found myself (still do, at least to some extent) advocating this type of thought. My mom (women in general? Hehe) is extremely emotional, in part because of her health and the medicine that she takes. When she sees a problem, she uses her emotions to find a solution. When she comes to me with her problems, I basically tell her that she needs to calm down and look at the situation from an objective (as if this was possible) and logical (rational) perspective. Usually, I figure out a solution for her and everything is cool.

But now, after noticing this battle between rationality and the emotions, I can't help but feel that the emotions should play some factor in making a decision. After all, the emotions are funademantls to us as human beings. (What would life be without emotion?) To some extent, perhaps the emotions provide us with a rationality from which we base our decisions on. There is a sense in which the emotions can prevent us from thinking clearly and believing in things that we probably shouldn't. But there is also a sense in which the emotions help us lead passionate lives and make the right choices. If so, it would seem that the emotions are the most important thing to understand, not rationality. Because if you understand the former, you'll understand the latter.