Reason vs. Imagination

Here's an interesting thought I encountered while reading GK Chesterton's "Orthodoxy." In the chapter entitled "The Maniac" he introduces the idea that it is not imagination that drives a man insane, but reason. If you look at all the lunatic asylums in the world, you'll find that whatever the insane believe is completely logical. For example: "Switzerland is anti-war. I am anti-war, therefore, I am Switzerland." That statement is completely logical, however untrue it is. According to Chesterton, a lunatic is a man who has lost everything BUT reason.

This is why imagination is so important to the human psyche. If you'll notice, poets and artists don't go insane through their imagination. The beauty of their works flows beautifully across the infinite, and they become insane when they attempt to make that art finite. Logic can very easily become the bane of the human mind and any source of peace and clarity. This is not to say that logic isn't a wonderful tool of understanding; by all means use it as such. I know I very much love logic and the use of it, but what we must learn is that our imagination is far more important than our logic, as it is more powerful than it. At some point, as Kierkegaard claims, we must abandon reason for faith, for faith is stronger than reason. The mental exhaustion that results from too much reason is so detrimental, and the peace of mind resulting from faith is the ultimate cure.