Reason, Passion and Faith

Are they the 3 pillars of the personal motivation? Are they overriding each other? The 3 books “Assault on Reason” by Al Gore, “Consulting Mastery” by Keith Merron, and “The Master and His Missionary” by Iain McGilchrist all touched on these 3 concepts. In reason, Science, Philosophy and Logic are the dominant forces. In Passion, love, fear, happiness and natural instincts lead our daily life. In faith, principle, religion, and spirit control our destiny. Gore opined that fear masked by the pretense of faith has been used by politicians to attack reason in the public sphere. McGilchrist resorts to hemispherical physiology and Nietzsche’s metaphor to lament the diminishing role played by passion and faith in the face of scientific and technological advances in the Western Civilization. Interestingly enough, Keith Merron in his guidance to leadership and business consulting, enlists principle (faith) much more than knowledge (reason) and drive (passion) as the foundation for mastery.
Personally, I believe in the supremacy of reason over emotion, but I am hesitant on claiming that faith can be expressed in rational terms. Faith and principle to me can always overcome the void unoccupied by knowledge and guide our march towards immortality.
I enjoy this book not because it reaffirms my personal methodology, but because it exposes a lot of the “secret” of the management consulting trade from an insider’s perspective. While not totally discounting the framework and knowledge possessed by the common expert consultants, Keith does point out the true value of the consulting lies in the personal principle and strength of the individuals involved in the process and the learning and responsibility taking by the client organization. It is like the student and teacher relationship where the true value achieved by the teacher lies in the fit between the student and the teacher. A master consultant brings the best out of the client just as a good teacher brings the best out of the student.
I need to learn also not to teach knowledge but to facilitate the self-learning of my client (my kids, my organization and my audiences).

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