I’m passionate about logic! Love it! I realize, for some, this
seems like an oxymoron because logic is supposed to be
void of emotion, especially emotions as intense as passion
and love. But I would argue that being reasonable is itself
a form of love, that if we are not reasonable with others,
then we are not loving (Those who attend our Surak Society
should recognize this as a conditional proposition)
Here’s why; to be reasonable requires us to genuinely listen
to others and sincerely consider the value of what they say,
and to open our minds to the possibility they might be right.
Erich Fromm says reason gives depth to our relationships
because, “Its function is to know, to understand, to grasp,
to relate oneself to things by comprehending them.” He also
says this quality of love is fundamental to all types of love,
meaning love can’t be love without reason.
This is similar to what my own logic professor, Dr. Wallace
Roark writes in his book, Think Like an Octopus, “we have
a moral obligation to think more clearly in order to make
better moral decisions.” In other words, being reasonable
is the right thing to do because, as he goes on to say, it “…
is the language of relationship. It keeps us from forgetting
others and our relationship to them.” These are the reasons
I think we ought to be reasonable, to offer sound reasons
for our own beliefs, and to remain open to hearing what
others have to say.
— Rev. Dr. Todd F. Eklof, UUCS Minister