''Follow Your Heart,'' or ''Bad Advice Well-Intentioned People Give You''

The Thinker, Auguste Rodin

Once again, it was the title that gave me the inspiration to write the actual article.

I am very, very annoyed at the saying that goes ''Follow your heart,'' or ''Listen to your heart.'' It seems like I could elaborate a lot on how this sentence does not make any sense.

What does it mean to follow one's heart, in the first place? What exactly is ''heart'' referring to? I am assuming it is used as a synonym for ''emotion'' or ''feeling'', two other very vague terms.

Those who read my blog regularly probably know that I like to have a definition for the concepts I talk about! 

Merriam-Webster gives interesting 4^th and 5^th definitions of heart, respectively "the emotional or moral as distinguished from the intellectual nature," and "one's innermost character, feelings, or inclinations."

I really like how one definition defines the heart as the "emotional distinguished from the intellectual nature." 

So I will go with that definition. (Yes, I do make subjective decisions at times, which is very ironic considering the topic of this article!)

There definitely seems to be a dichotomy between what the heart and what the head say. In other words, reason and emotions are often at odds.

Maybe that’s too much of an overstatement. Reason and emotions are sometimes in harmony; you may, for example, want to go on a vacation because you have worked hard and have diligently saved money over the past year. But reason and emotions are at odds when you go on a vacation just on a whim, while you are behind at work and already have a heavy debt and bills to pay.

I wonder why, in 21^st century Western society, it is fashionable and encouraged to "follow one’s heart." Let us take a look at the message transmitted by popular culture.

Everyone knows Cascada’s  hit single "Listen to Your Heart." You can listen to the song here.

Here’s how the chorus goes:

Listen to your heart

When he’s calling for you

Listen to your heart

There’s nothing else you can do

I don’t know where you’re going

And I don’t know why

But listen to your heart

Before you tell him goodbye.

Let us analyze some of the lyrics for a second.

The song is called "Listen To Your Heart," so obviously that’s the key message. The song seems to be about some kind of romantic relationship. But really, the content of the song does not make any sense to me.

"I don’t know where you’re going / And I don’t know why."

(BTW, I will not analyze these lyrics in light of the context of the song, but more as general statements having to do with the Follow-Your-Heart philosophy.)

That’s very typical of a heart-centric worldview. We don’t know why our heart is inclined in one direction (Blaise Pascal: "The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing"), and we don’t know where it goes… But we must follow it nonetheless? Doesn’t look like a wise plan.

Where does the notion that subjectivity > objectivity come from? It goes against the simplest logic.

Our friends, the Greeks, had a radically different worldview. In Ancient Greece, the pursuit of "reason" was a very popular occupation among philosophers. To this effect, the Greeks have developed the art of reasoning by establishing different types of argumentation dealing with the relationship between premises, inferences and conclusions, so as to "attain the truth".

René Descartes

Ice-cold reason and logic were also highly valued by some Enlightenment philosophers. René Descartes said, "The senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once."

It seems to me that wisdom lies in holding fast to solid values and principles (which do not change), rather than trusting our feelings and emotions (ever-changing) for direction and guidance. A life entirely directed by "following one’s heart" can lead to many mistakes.

We can’t always indulge in what we want. We all love chocolate, but eating only chocolate every day would be a poor decision. 

In an ideal world, what we feel should be measured against what is right.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, "the heart is deceitful beyond all thingsand beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

Following our heart is thus not a wise way to go about life.

The Book of Proverbs encourages us to seek the wisdom that comes from the knowledge of God and a relationship with him:

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gainsunderstanding, for she [wisdom] is more profitable than silver and yieldsbetter returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desirecan compare with her. […] Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths arepeace.