Full Idea
It is perfectly intelligible and entirely human to experience an emotion when seeing a low-flying bat, where we would not want to say that the experience was either rational or irrational.
Gist of Idea
Some emotions are direct responses, and neither rational nor irrational
Source
Peter Goldie (The Emotions [2000], Intro)
Book Reference
Goldie,Peter: 'The Emotions' [OUP 2002], p.3
A Reaction
Goldie is attacking the common tendency of philosophers to over-intellectualise emotions. This example makes his point conclusively.