The supremacy of the heart over the head is modern thought. In the 19th century, Bergson, the great philosopher of France in his famous Creative Evolution, Rudolf Eucken in Germany, Professor Aliotta in Italy all insisting on the inadequacy of Reason. The head the seat of the reason the heart the seat of emotions sentiments and idealism. Intellect cannot reach far. Its inherent insufficiency. The reach of the spirit-infinite.
The 18th century in England – an age of reason rationalism. Royal Society of London, founded in the 18th century. The age of science and skepticism. In France Voltaire embodiment of the spirit of reason. Lytton Strachey in his Eminent Victorians his fine sketch of Voltaire’s character – Voltaire called Religion an infamous thing-hated religion as the worst of ills.
Excessive use of the head, intellectual cunning and subtlety – heads to rationalism – rationalism leads to skepticism – skepticism leads to despair and hopelessness. “All great thoughts come from the heart”. Vauven argues Great poetry – the poetry of Wordsworth (e.g., Ode on the Intimations of Immortality, The Solitary Reaper, etc.), Shelley (e.g., Ode to West Wind, Hymn to Intellectual Beauty, The Skylark etc. etc.), Keats (e.g., Ode to Autumn, Endymion) – born of the heart, not of the head, The poetry of Rumi (e.g., Masnavi), Allama Iqbal, Kalidas (e.g. Shakuntala) inspired by the loftiest ideals of art.
The world’s greatest artists, painters and musicians; Raphael Italian (Painter), Michael Angelo (Italian painter), Phidias (Greek sculptor); Mozart, Beethoven and Bach (German composers of music) not intellectualists but inspired by the highest of ideals – all dreamers and idealists. Even the greatest leaders of men – Carlyle’s heroes (in Heroes and Hero-worship) e.g., Cromwell, Shakespeare, Dr. Johnson, Martin Luther – idealists. Emerson representative men in Representative Men) e.g., Plato the Greek philosopher, Swedenborg the Mystic-inspired men.
The head analyses, dissects, sifts the heart sees as in a vision, inspires, intoxicates. Napoleon’s famous words: sentiment rules the world. Browning’s verse is memorable,
“Where the heart lies, let the brain lie also”
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Harmony of the ideal and the real, the insight, which is the gift of the heart and the sight, which is the gift of the brain. Even scientists make their discoveries and invent new instruments by vision that comes of higher imagination. Poincare’s fine analysis of the scientific imagination, according to Poincare, the moment of scientific discovery, a moment of inspiration.
