The Opposition of Thinking and Feeling
Why They Exclude Each Other
Thinking and feeling are not two “different states” of the same process, but two distinct functions.
They relate to the same object or event, but perform different operations:
- thinking forms information
- feeling produces an evaluation (acceptance or rejection)
These operations cannot be carried out in the same act.
In one act, either information is formed or an evaluation is made.
The simultaneous realization of these operations does not exist.
When a person thinks, they:
- detach from immediate evaluation
- form a conceptual judgment
- express it in language
At this moment, evaluation does not take place.
When a person feels, they:
- produce an immediate evaluation
- accept or reject
- do not express this in concepts
At this moment, thinking does not take place.
Therefore, the issue is not that one function is “stronger” than the other,
but that at each moment only one of them is active.
How This Appears in Life
This can be observed in everyday situations.
Speaking in order not to feel
A person begins to:
- explain
- analyze
- reason
This is not merely a style.
👉 At this moment, thinking is operating,
👉 and therefore evaluation as full acceptance or full rejection does not take place.
Feeling is not “weakened” —
it is not realized in this act.
Naming the feeling
In therapy, one is often asked:
“Say what you are feeling.”
As soon as the person says:
- “I am afraid”
- “I am hurt”
a transition occurs:
👉 feeling ceases as an immediate evaluation
👉 and thinking arises (verbal formulation)
This is not the strengthening of thinking and weakening of feeling,
but a change of operation.
Cognitive therapy: inserting thinking
In cognitive therapy, one is taught:
- not to act immediately
- not to react from feeling
but to:
- name the situation
- describe thoughts
- examine them
👉 this means:
to stop the act of evaluation
and move to the formation of information
Strong emotions
When a person experiences:
- anger
- fear
- strong resentment
they:
- do not reason
- do not form concepts
👉 because at this moment only evaluation is taking place
Thinking here is not “weakened” —
it is not operating.
Rationalization instead of feeling
A person says:
- “It’s logical”
- “It had to be this way”
👉 here thinking is taking place
👉 and therefore immediate evaluation is absent
This is not a “weak feeling function,”
but the replacement of one act by another.
Decision
A decision can be based on different kinds of judgment.
In a judgment, two different acts are possible:
- thinking → forms conceptual judgments and draws conclusions from them
- feeling → evaluates a content (acceptance or rejection)
They may follow one another,
but they cannot occur simultaneously.
After an event
A person may:
- first feel, then think
or - first think, then feel
👉 but this is always a sequence, not simultaneity
Conclusion
Thinking and feeling are opposed in a strict sense:
👉 not as conflict
👉 and not as “different degrees”
but as mutually exclusive operations
In each act of judgment, either thinking or feeling is realized.