Barbie's Wisdom: Reconciling Logic and Feelings

We finally got to watch the Barbie movie this weekend. RIP stereotypical Barbie! There’s a lot to unpack from this movie. The moment that resonates most with "Logic in the Wild" is at the very beginning, when Barbie says: “This makes me emotional, and I'm expressing it. I have no difficulty holding both logic and feeling at the same time. And it does not diminish my powers. It expands them.” Yes, Barbie! This statement mirrors the concepts explored in "Logic in the Wild," challenging traditional perspectives on the relationship between logic and emotion.

Contrary to prevalent media portrayals and societal beliefs that position logic in opposition to feelings or emotions, I've never subscribed to the notion that these two are inherently in conflict. Take, for example, the character Spock from Star Trek. His portrayal embodies a kind of speciesist essentialism that starkly separates logic and emotions. It suggests a species inherently wired for logic, which I find overly simplistic and potentially misleading. It might be argued that for Vulcans, this dichotomy is more of a social construct than a biological imperative. However, this interpretation leads to the concern of a monolithic way of thinking enforced by societal structures, a concept I find equally troubling.

This binary thinking extends to the human experience as well. There's a common misperception that humans are innately emotional, setting us apart from machines and AI, with this emotional nature being constantly at odds with the rigors of logic. The oversimplified left brain/right brain theory, which categorizes one as logical and the other as emotional, and further aligns them with masculinity and femininity, is another manifestation of this flawed thinking.

Returning to Barbie's profound insight, she's absolutely correct. Embracing both logic and emotion simultaneously is not only possible, but it's also not a contradiction. Logic, in my understanding, isn't about truth per se; it's about coherence. Emotions, by their nature, are neither true nor false and thus cannot be deemed incoherent – not in the context of 'logic as the guardian of coherence', as I discuss in "Logic in the Wild."

Logic does not prioritize a simplistic interpretation of rationality over other decision-making methods or ethical lifestyles. It is completely viable to maintain rational thought while fully experiencing emotions. Credit to Barbie for expressing this so clearly! I aspire for "Logic in the Wild" to expand upon and defend this viewpoint, demonstrating how logic and emotion are not just compatible, but can synergistically amplify each other's effectiveness.