Thread: Mini Rant: "I Feel" vs. "I Think"

For some reason this has become a new pet peeve for me: people using the phrase "I feel" instead of "I think" when they are thinking something and not feeling it.

The phrase "I feel" implies that what you are saying is based on intuition, and there is a lack of logical reasoning behind the statement.
I recently had a meeting where a coworker stated something along the lines of "I feel that we should reduce the price of x, because..." In this context, use of "I feel" cannot be followed by "because". Any reasons listed after "because" imply thought, and therefore the phrase "I think" should be used.

Of course, that's just language. I understood the meaning perfectly well. What bothers me more is wondering how did "I feel" come into common usage in that context, and does it diminish "I think", or more importantly does it diminish the ideal of thought?

I have no idea how to trace the origin of a contextual phrase, but what I have noticed is that people tend to use "I feel" because it somehow sounds less harsh than "I think". When two people are debating, "I feel" seems to fly back and forth commonly. Apparently debaters rarely think, and only feel their arguments.

For some reason it also bothers me when someone asks me "How do you feel about x?" in cases where x is something that I should have thoughts about instead of feelings.

I have more incomplete thoughts (or are they just feelings?) on this... More to come later...

In the meantime I'd like to hear any thoughts or feelings you may have about it.