Romanticism in Blink

The thesis of Blink is that our first impressions, our gut feelings are the most reliable way to make decisions in our spheres of influence. This is similar to the romantics, who claim that the best way to evaluate situations is based not on rational decision calculus, but rather based on our emotional response. The way that Blink differs from the romantics, is that Blink comes to its conclusions scientifically. Whereas the romantics thought that following one’s instinct was good because it brought one closer to God, the conclusions of Blink come from innumerable studies and empirical evidence. It then begs the question, would the romantics agree with Blink? Surely they would agree with the thesis, that people should follow their instincts, but would they have a problem with the book’s epistemology? The way that Blink generates knowledge comes from rational thought. The way that the romantics generated knowledge came from emotional introspection. I think that Emerson would welcome the conclusions of the studies cited in Blink, but he would also think them unnecessary, as one can come to the same conclusion through meditation.