Summary:
Essentially, the commentariat believe that reason is necessary, but not sufficient in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Comments constantly included emotion and instinct as equal or superior values, both in terms of prominence and importance. While some horror and fantasy series embrace the irrational as a chief virtue necessary for survival, as in the works of HP Lovecraft, none of the commenters noted the series representing the virtues of embracing irrationality or acknowledging that there are things “man was not meant to know.”
Your Comments:
Sometimes shown by the lack of rationality.
To an extent, but hesitation can get you killed. Sometimes it is best to go with your gut, not always but sometimes...
I would say emotions and emotional truths are given more validity than strict logic in most cases. Or at least are explored more fully.
Being logical leads to rewards, irrational behaviour usually leads to some sort of agony.
Again yes it is important, but is heavily balanced by placing emphasis on how important emotions are to decision making too. So the process of decision making is logical but emotions form a part of logic, it is not 'cold' rationalism.
There is wide variety of people and personalities on BTVS. Giles is very logical and rational. This can be a good thing, but it can also get you into trouble. Buffy, on the other hand, is rather impulsive. I think her and Giles balance each other out.
While sometimes irrationality saved the day (Buffy's roommate Kathy comes to mind), for the most part, yes, logic was portrayed as a strength on the show. Buffy was different from other Slayers because, while she saw the value in the books and other teachings, she ultimately was the one in the field, and needed to trust her gut, her own sense of highly refined logic and rationale. "That guy has a hopelessly out-of-date fashion sense? Maybe he is of another time. Let's follow him." Often this kind of thinking saved the day and was admired.
Yes: Riley, Oz, Giles, Xander, to some degree, Buffy and Willow… Not so much: Faith, Spike, Anya, Andrew
Almost every major moment is fueled by emotion but thought out rationally. If they hadn't be strategic, many things could have gone wrong (i.e. saving Dawn in "The Gift")
Giles.
I think being too logical could be bad, though it helps to have someone who is always logical there another person has to understand the emotion behind a situation.
Buffy is rational when it suits her, but very irrational when that suits her better…. "We all die and I'll kill anyone who goes after Dawn."
Destroying the Box of Gavrock would have saved dozens of lives on Graduation Day, but giving it to the bad guys saved Willow's life. Logic does not lead to a moral view. You've got to get to the moral value first.
On Buffy, rational motivations vs. instinctual ones is actually a subject, and occasionally a conflict. Usually, though, it's presented that at least *someone* needs to be logical and rational in any given situation.
There are times where I think you could argue that this is true on the show - however, more often than not I think emotion overrides logic during the course of the show. For instance in 'Choices' where Willow has been taken hostage by the Mayor and Faith and is being used by the Mayor as a bargaining chip in order to get his Box of Gavrok back. Wesley presents the logical argument: if they refuse to negotiate with the Mayor, yes Willow may die, but they will keep the Box of Gavrok meaning that the Mayor will not ascend and so possibly hundreds and thousands will be saved thanks to Willow's sacrifice. However, his argument is shot down my the emotions of the rest of the Scooby Gang - notably Oz - who cannot imagine giving up Willow even though 'rationally' Wesley is correct.
Buffy was not always rational. Her decision in The Gift to protect Dawn above all else put her in conflict with Giles, but ultimately her decision was the right one and she saved the world again.
Buffy was as much a force of chaos as any demon. It kept her alive. In the comics she creates a perfect world where all she had to do was be there and everything would be okay. She decided to go back to the world she knew and fight alongside her friends. How many people would do that?
see caveat above… (yes, but only if intellect and logic (below) do not over-ride intuition and non-logical (or, better said), non-linear logic: buffy is never one-dimensional, as there has to be a mix——this is why the buffy/giles partnership was so important, as they brought a mix of spontaneity, creativity, and rigorous intellect)
Much of BtVS was the conflict between logic and emotion, particularly regarding Angel in seasons 2 and 3.
Sometimes the heart comes first though (e.g. Buffy saying she WON'T kill Dawn to save the world; Buffy leaving the Watchers Council because they won't help save Angel; Buffy loving Angel even though he's her natural enemy).
Giles tried. LOL.
Start that way but whatever shows up instead deal with that without complaining
Wasn't always necessary...
It depends on an opinion of rational. If you believe things like risking the life of the entire world for your sibling, She is very Rational.
Not always. I liked that many of the characters followed their hears. Logic played only a portional part in the decision making process.
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