What is the point in emotion and feeling? why cant we all just be characters from 1984 or Brave New World with no love or feeling? Wouldnt the world be more efficient if we put all emotion aside and just concentrated on work?
Why must we feel?
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What is the point in emotion and feeling? why cant we all just be characters from 1984 or Brave New World with no love or feeling? Wouldnt the world be more efficient if we put all emotion aside and just concentrated on work?
Why must we feel?
I think humans are ment to have emotions, its just an integral part of our life. feelings and emotions help us appreciate our life, and actually live it to the fullest. concentrating on work is good, but other than material goods, it won't bring you anything else, neither joy no satisfaction. we simply can't exist without feelings and emotions, they guide us. :-)
We are created to be like this ,to have no feelings or emotions is absolutely impossible .We have two parts within us ,we are made of flesh (the machinery part ) and spirit (the emotional part ). Emotions are the fuel by which our machines(the bodies ) work or move with.
Very good points Ranoo and Yelena. But to go a bit deeper here, what is it about us that makes us so dependent and obsessive about our feelings? Why do we so often prioritize them over more "practical" things?
Being practical cannot be seperated from feelings. To get wiser/practical one has to fail also and go through the entire range of emotions, one has to feel the failure/success to go to the next level of maturity.
To improve in technical skills its not sufficient to be emotion less, as this will work only if we are living in isolation. But, we interact and need to understand human psyche. One can mend the technical faults, by maybe tightening some nuts and bolts, but the same will not work with people.
A very vague reply it is :D
A very good reply it is :D I especially like your comparison of the psyche to machinery.
What i am curious about is how emotion is not only neccesary, but has such a strong hold and influence on people. How people can knowingly do something inconvenient or immoral because they are listening to their heart. Feelings that are too complex for basic decisions and too wild for everyday speech can drive us to the extremeties of our ability, but for what exactly? What do our emotions lead us to?
Did you ever see Star Trek: The Motion Picture? Mr. Spock has decided to erase all emotion from himself, and hopes to do so by mind-merge with V-ger, the super-entity threatening Earth. When he comes to, he takes Kirk by the hand and laughs. "This simple feeling" (friendship) "Is so far beyond V-ger's comprehension." We feel because we are not mindless robots. With joy and love comes pain and sorrow, but we go through them together. It draws us together to share our feelings, our emotions. We become friends, family. We learn to care for others. We become intimate. Non-emotion would never work, the self would be all that mattered-- no friends, no lover, no one to share. We could be cold while another died before our eyes, for we would have no empathy.
Why mush we feel emotionally towards someone or something, you mean?
We must feel because feelings are the driving forces in life...Being a foreigner, I have noticed the inclusion of the word "motion" in the word "emotion"... By rejecting feelings, one is implying a non-existent state...If we are to assume that every deed is provoked by a certain emotion, imagining a life without any emotion is like imagining non-existence/which admittedly has been a futile attempt of mine/
That is why lack of feeling has been assigned to a clinical framework of thought...Someone deprived of emotions is terrifying for the observers/and sometimes accusors/, because he/she is ignoring the foundations of life and the necessary axiom of the driving force in emotions...
I think we "feel" things because we're designed to - and part of that design deals with the fact that we are relational creatures. The relationship might be with someone else, or it might be with ourself, but I think most of what we feel is a consequence of our relationship to the world around us - but specifically other people.
Hey that is profound Eagle. Yes I was going to say that humans are not really rational beings. Rational thought is really a very small part of humanity; if i were to assign it a number, I would say 5%. Emotions is what guides humanity and that is probably life preserving and good, for the most part.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eagleheart
Exactly. No emotion will lead to a life without meaning; a pointless existence. You would be like this computer. No matter how hard you try to make it feel your frustration when it doesn't work, it gives the same non-emotional answer: Blue Screen Error! :crash:Quote:
Originally Posted by Eagleheart
Emotion seems to be so much more complex then just a human neccesity. Like eagle was saying(fantastic points by the way eagle) there is something force-like about emotion. Lets consider the origin of emotion. It is like an instinctual protective device wired into our brains. It is not only neccesary for all aspects of living, but for survival. It has an incredible physiological effect too, like stomach pains when nervous or heartbroken, or those stories of mothers lifting cars off their babies because they loved and feared for them. We instinctually fear and seek a solution when put in danger, we instinctually grow angry and protective when our territiory is challenged.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pendragon
Yes. I get you. But you do recognize that your perspective on the value, use, function, worth of emotions seems to be a product of your emotions...on how you feel about the dire prospect of being a robot. You do not think being devoid of feelings would "feel" good or at least you currently have negative "feelings" in relation to the idea of not having feelings. And because we usually do not want to "feel" bad then any situation that gives us "bad" feelings is to be avoided. I would say, however, that simply because some possibile scenario gives us an array of nasties does not, by logic, mean that the scenario is one to be avoided or that it would lack any merit or virtues.Quote:
Originally Posted by Pendragon
If you did not have any emotions right now how would you think about the possiblity of having them. I would make a healthy wager that if given the choice a fair number of un-feeling beings would say "hey, you know what...I have spent a good amount of time checking out those folks who do have emotions and they are not doing all that well." I think I will stay just like I am.
Would a being who had the faculty of logic but did not have the capacity to feel actually choose, based only on logic, to have emotions. And if we think not then what does that imply about emotions? Or about logic and reason in relation to feelings?
You must understand there are a good number of emotions I would love to erase. Pain, sorrow, fear, feelings of rejection, etc. But then I wouldn't erase the joy, the love, the friendship, the imagination that I have that is fueled by my deep feelings. Pure logic but not ability to feel would be cold. Fact would be the only important thing. You might tell someone how their loved one met their end very precisely, but with no thought for their feelings, it would simply be a report of facts. Would that person chose emotion? In certain necessary jobs, perhaps emotion must be slightly distanced-- a doctor, policeman, fireman, paramedic, etc. If emotion gets to them every time they loose focus. So I cannot be an impartial judge. For me, emotion is necessary for my type of life. It may not be for everyone, but there will be a certain loss of humanity to my belief. Cheers.Quote:
Originally Posted by jgx