Serialised book (with a progressively updated >>dashboard/ToC<< page). Part II: Philosophy of the Life Instinct.
Book: Philosophy of Life Instinct: Chapter 12: Emotions
Agents of our mind
Why are we humans so much more emotional than any other animal on the planet? Even our nearest relatives, apes, don’t come close in this. If we think about it, life is nothing but one emotion after another. We go through a gamut of emotions daily and pretty much every known emotion in our lifetimes. We try to stay as much as possible in the positive ones, and the success of our life can be measured by how well we pull this off.
The Life Instinct has equipped us with the ability to observe and understand ourselves. There is nothing that needs their application more than our emotions and the emotions of those connected to us.
Over this chapter and the next, we will look at why we have emotions, their sources and types, review the basic ones, and finally study in the next chapter if we should manage them and how.
Why do we have emotions?
Emotional states are intertwined with our consciousness, intelligence and freedom of choice. (We can also consider consciousness to be awareness and intelligence to combine imagination, abstract thought and adaptability.)
Emotions are not a by-product of the advancement of our minds. They are part of its system of acquiring information, analysing it, considering the options, and choosing an action (or inaction). Emotions are mainly involved in the analysis phase but can also affect the information gathering and action phases, as we see when considering significant emotions below.
Like in other life forms, the human mind notes the body's actual state, the desired state, and the difference for the analysis. The difference is represented internally in the brain as an emotion. The emotional state’s composition and strength is the input for the mind to work out the potential alternative actions and select one for implementation (‘no-physical-action’ can also be a selection). Once it decides, the analysing part hands over the responsibility for acting to other parts of the brain that control motor functions, speech, etc. (Neurotransmitters and hormones are the agencies for emotional states and actions. However, we will stay at the macroscopic level here and leave it to the reader to check out the underlying physical mechanisms.)
In effect, emotions are the via media between inputs to the brain and actions of humans. That is their sole purpose. Once we genuinely absorb this fact, the higher functions of our aware and philosophical minds can decide the importance they should give to various emotions, how much they should control us, and vice versa. A closer examination of our emotions will equip us to make the best use of them and develop our emotional intelligence. We will take a closer look at the latter in Chapter 13.
(We will not consider purely physical states such as thirst, hunger and pain as emotions. Although we feel them, their function is evident.
We also differentiate emotions from actions. One or more emotional states drive actions. For example, empathy is an emotion that may lead to forgiveness, which is empathy in action. Another example: anger is an emotion that can lead to aggression, which is anger in action. In Chapter 13, we will consider the management of emotional states in the light of optimum actions for the Life Instinct.)
Types of emotion
Negative Emotions
When the current state is worse than the desired, our mind represents it as negative emotions — fear, anger, sadness, desire, envy, shame, etc. We can call this a condition of negative potential energy in our brain. Although we are calling them negative, they are essential.
Positive Emotions
When the current state is better than the desired, our mind represents it as positive emotions — happiness, interest, confidence, etc. We can call this a condition of positive potential energy in our brain. Although we are calling them positive, it is normal for them to be temporary.
Neutral Emotions
When the current state is the same as or close to the desired state, our mind has neutral emotions — peace, calmness, contentment, etc. We can call this a state of close to zero potential energy in the brain.
Hierarchy of mind and emotions
From the basic and distinct to subtle combinations, we have many emotions, forming almost a continuum of mental states. Chapter 9 discussed how the mind broadly operates at three levels — autonomic, aware, and philosophical. Each has different responsibilities and capabilities. These capabilities comprise rational and emotional mechanisms at all three levels. Therefore, to understand the interplay of Life Instinct and emotions, we will consider emotions through the same framework.
We will examine only the major emotions in each layer. The reader can similarly explore the rest.
Transformation of emotions
At each level, one emotion can often turn into another. For example, surprise can turn into fear within the autonomous emotions, love can turn into hatred within the aware emotions, and gratitude can turn into humility at the philosophical level.
Emotions also morph between levels. For example, fear at the autonomous level can turn into anger at the aware level and become composure at the philosophical level. Another example is of surprise at the autonomous level turning into amusement at the aware level.
Autonomous mind emotions
We can take the purely autonomous emotions as states of the brain's primordial part before our consciousness and thinking come into the picture. They are direct results of sensory information processing by the instinctive parts of our brain, as we saw in Chapter 9. At this level, the basic emotional states are the following (the strongest are in bold):
- Fear (including anxiety and horror)
- Loss
- Desire (including craving)
- Empathy
- Surprise
- Disgust
The inputs for the basic emotions are immediate sensory data and information from the environment and the body.
We have the least control over these emotional states, for they are driven directly by the autonomic rules needed by our inherent instincts of self-preservation and reproduction. If they are interfered with, we are unlikely to survive for long.
Let us have a look at the origins and functions of the autonomous mind’s emotions.
Fear is the mental representation of danger to the life form. Fear’s purpose is to protect us by putting us in a state of heightened alertness for data and analysis and physical readiness to fight or flee. Fear can originate in known dangers, imagined dangers and the unknown. The mind recognises known threats from immediate sensory data, e.g., the physical risk of maiming or death, such as climbing a shaky ladder or being bitten by an aggressive dog. Imagined dangers are represented as fear where we enter a situation of known risks of high probability, e.g., being bitten by a snake in a dense forest. New ecosystems with scant information and unknown dangers are reflected as intense fear by the mind, e.g., when entering a dark cave, lake, etc. Conditions that create closely related emotions of anxiety and horror can be explored further by the reader.
The emotion of loss is the mental representation of being dispossessed of something valuable. The purpose of the feeling of loss is to recover from the loss through restoration or replacement. The loss can be of physical objects, for example, the demise of a beloved family member. Or it can be the loss of a psychological property, for example, the end of a friendship.
Desire is a state of intensely wanting opportunities for reproduction or the materials of well-being. The purpose of desire is to fulfil our innate wants. For example, it is the desire for sex, and therefore for the sexual partner in reproduction. Material desires are for wealth, power, etc. Short and long term sexual desire creates an energy that is one of the great drivers of activity in our lives. Craving can be an especially intense emotion representing deprivation of something considered necessary by the autonomous brain, e.g., sleep when we have lost a lot of it.
Humanity is a social life form. We work closely with other humans and even non-human life. Empathy is a vital ingredient of this capacity, identifying with other human beings, imagining and understanding what they internally feel by putting ourselves in their position. Empathy’s purpose is to help someone altruistically while gaining self-confidence, bonding, gratitude, security, love or other favourable conditions in return. A simple example is to feel in our mind the weakness and hurt of someone who falls.
Our mind goes into a state of surprise when it finds something unexpected based on experience and its extensions. It can be a new object, interaction or outcome. The purpose of surprise is to address the unforeseen situation in the best way for self-preservation. An example is a rain shower in the dry part of the year or a sudden change in a known person’s face. For efficiency, the aware mind first analyses if it is genuinely a new piece of information or something known that appears different. Then the mind decides the action and files the new learning for reuse.
If the autonomous mind detects something nasty for the body or mind, it registers disgust. The purpose of disgust is to avoid the source or eliminate it rapidly to prevent its adverse effect. Examples are the sight and smell of rotting food, harmful chemicals, bodily wastes, and so on.
We should note why none of the six autonomous emotional states is a positive one. The lower brain is concerned with our basic survival as a life form, and it is only the higher brain that creates concepts such as happiness, sadness, etc., for better control over the environment, the self and other humans. The autonomous mind's highest level of emotion is neutrality when none of the six basic emotions is significant. It senses no danger, loss, or desire, sees no one needing empathy, and is not surprised or disgusted.
The timescale of the autonomous emotions — In the autonomous mind, the information gathering, state analysis, emotion potential creation and action occur over milliseconds to hours. So, these basic emotions have a short existence, disappearing when they have served their purpose. However, they can morph into longer-lasting forms and other feelings in the Aware mind, which we see next.
Aware mind emotions
Autonomous emotions are not cut off from the aware mind. It recognises them. But in addition, if the six basic emotions or states seen above are not quickly terminated, the aware mind converts them into more complex emotions with distinct features and purposes. We can take the key ones to be the following (the strongest are in bold):
- Anger
- Sadness (including nostalgia, disappointment)
- Happiness (including relief, satisfaction, triumph, joy)
- Love (including romance and adoration)
- Hatred (including contempt)
- Envy
- Guilt (including shame and remorse)
- Interest (including entrancement and excitement)
- Confusion
- Amusement
- Admiration (including awe)
- Pride
- Boredom
The inputs for Awareness level emotions can come from the environment and within the body, both from its physical state and the autonomous mind state. The aware mind’s emotions can note and override the Autonomous desired state. For example, when the aware mind is sad during bereavement, it can veto the action chosen by a desire in the autonomous mind.
Let us have a brief look at the origins and functions of our aware emotions.
Anger is a strong negative social emotion representing antagonism for someone (or something) that we think has deliberately done us wrong, emotionally or physically. The wrong can be in the form of pain, loss, threat, or rejection. It can be personal or felt on behalf of others we think are hurt. Anger is an emotion that involves more thought than others, as the Aware mind analyses the triggers and makes assumptions, interpretations, and perceptions. It is a common and quite useful emotion. Anger serves the purposes of communicating, connecting, generating confidence, tackling challenges, creative thinking, optimism, attaining goals, and even reducing opposing aggression. It mobilises our fight response in the face of danger. Examples are unnecessary. Extreme anger can turn into rage, aggression, physical or mental abuse, and so on.
Sadness is one of the most common negative emotions in our lives. It is a feeling of emotional pain on losing something, not getting something we feel we deserved or helplessness in reaching a goal or acquiring something. The purpose of sadness is to moderate expectations, improve judgement of situations, motivate movement back to happiness through contrast, increase empathy and generosity, and increase social bonding by enabling others to provide support and solace. Examples are unnecessary. Extreme and prolonged sadness can lead to depression or suicidal tendencies.
Happiness holds such a high place in our lives and motivations that we must give it extended consideration. We will examine the facets of this emotion in Chapter 25.
Love comes in many varieties, but the form that accompanies sexual attraction and mating is a powerful incubator and motivator of some of the best personal achievements in our lives. Love is important enough to deserve a separate chapter, and we will explore it in Chapter 14.
Hatred is a strong negative social emotion of intense dislike, disgust or hostility for someone or something one believes is malicious, harmful, or immoral. It can originate from a feeling of powerlessness, individually or as part of a group. It is closely associated with anger but differs from it — Anger towards an individual or group is for what they did; hatred is for what they are. Hatred’s purpose is to create a feeling of safety and confidence and, if possible, destroy the cause of the feeling. Examples are unnecessary. The outcomes of extreme hatred can be contempt, humiliation, coercion, reprisals, war, genocide, etc.
Envy is the negative emotional state when we feel someone else has superior possessions, skills, attractiveness or achievements that we desire for ourselves. The purpose of envy is to get the same things or somehow dispossess the envied person of them, although we may not go beyond wishing it. For example, we may envy a colleague’s lovely house and hope he gets caught for tax evasion. When taken to an extreme, envy can lead to malice, hatred and depression.
Guilt is the state of believing that one has done something we should not have done because it was wrong morally or ethically. It is associated with admitting responsibility and feelings of regret and shame. Guilt can be based on something real or imagined and may be limited to the person’s mind or reflected socially. Guilt may arise from an individual or collective action. It is a strong emotion that is critical to Life Instinct in humans. Guilt’s purpose is to stop our (or our group’s) harmful activities or make amends for past wrongs. When it becomes extreme, it can lead to repression of guilt or depression.
Interest is the positive emotional state of focusing the mind on an object, event or activity. The purposes of interest are numerous, from feeding, sheltering, avoiding danger, attracting, learning, creating, and so on. It is one of the most prevalent emotional states, often working with other emotions such as curiosity, thought, fear, pleasure, anger, etc.
As a simple negative emotional state, confusion represents uncertainty about the nature of observed objects or events for their fitment into our mental model. It includes a sense of bewilderment, lack of clarity, and an inability to analyse the information to decide a course of action. The purpose of confusion is to create sufficient mental discomfort to make the mind seek more information or assistance to bring order to the information and its proper processing. An example is when we enter a maze or get lost in a new area, and all paths look alike. Extreme states of confusion can lead to delirium.
Amusement is a temporary positive emotional state associated with humour, enjoyment, happiness and pleasure. It is one of the most complex and high-level emotions we experience. Amusement’s purpose is not entirely understood but appears to be to increase well-being through relaxing, increasing our resilience (ability to recover from adverse physical and mental conditions such as stress and pain), and improving cognitive functions. Examples are watching a stand-up comedy or going on a roller-coaster ride.
Admiration is the positive social emotion where our mind recognises in a good way that someone has more excellent knowledge, skills, attractiveness or power. It can be an internal feeling that’s also externally expressed. The mind’s purpose in creating admiration is to define our shortcomings so that we improve. For example, one may admire one’s teacher or a sports hero. When taken to an extreme, it can lead to feelings of inferiority or envy.
Pride is the positive emotional state of pleasure or satisfaction in our possessions, qualities, achievements, or group. The purpose of pride is to maintain the state as it is life-affirming and empowering. Examples are pride in owning a good house, getting a degree and winning a match. When taken to excess, it can lead to egoism, egotism, and narcissism.
Boredom is a negative state of mind with a pervasive lack of interest in the current activity or state. It could be due to an environment lacking in stimulation or an internal condition caused by repetitive actions or doing something for which we are over-skilled. The purpose of boredom is to move the mind and body onto something that keeps it energetic and challenged to remain healthy and become more capable. For example, we may be bored with doing the same job for many years and learn a new skill and move to a different field of work. Or a bored person may sleep until the time of day changes, and something stimulating comes along. When excessively prolonged, boredom can lead to depression or distraction addictions.
The timescale of the aware emotions — In the aware mind, information gathering, state analysis, emotion potential creation and action occur over hours to days. So, aware emotions can last for quite a long time. For example, we may be sad about a loss for years or angry with a colleague for months. Aware emotions can also change into philosophical emotional states, which we examine next.
Philosophical mind emotions
In the longer time frame, the philosophical mind can consider the autonomous and aware emotions and develop evolved feelings of the highest level yet, as the following (the strongest are in bold):
- Philosophical state of mind (including calmness, humility and gratitude)
- Aesthetic Appreciation
- Spirituality
The philosophical mind and its emotions can modify Aware and Autonomous emotional states and create new ones. For example, we may be angry, but the philosophical or spiritual state may transform it into amusement or sadness. Or it may convert feelings of loss into humility and charity.
Let us have a look at the origins and functions of philosophical emotions.
The Philosophical mind state is the highest we can achieve. It is a state of detached yet deeply interested observation of the aware and autonomous minds in action as they respond to events. It can also be called constant mindfulness. When there is also the understanding of emotions' motivations and sufficient analytical ability, it allows the philosophical mind to begin altering those it finds suitable for intervention. For example, it can generate feelings such as gratitude, humility, and forgiveness. Few of us can enter this state of mind at will, and even fewer can maintain it. The philosophical mind state’s purpose is to be the sum of all the drives of the Life Instinct. In its best form, it is the most positive and life-affirming emotion for us and all life.
Aesthetic Appreciation is the feeling of pleasure and interest in something perceived as beautiful, elegant, or of high quality. It is unique to humans and one of the most advanced features of our minds. We will investigate this interesting topic, including its possible functions, in Chapters 21 and 22.
Spirituality is hard to define, and its meaning has changed with time. Currently, we can think of it as a subjective emotional state where we consider our and existence’s ultimate meanings and values. It may be mixed with a sense of awe for something transcendent and sacred, which may or may not be religious. The purpose of spirituality can be self-growth, healthful peace, freedom from painful desires or emotions, or escape from mundane life concerns.
The timescale of Philosophical emotions —In the philosophical mind, information gathering, state analysis, emotion ‘potential’ creation and action occur over a timeframe of days to our whole life. So philosophical emotions are the slowest to develop but also the longest lasting.
Frequency of emotions
The incidence of worse than desired states is highest as life is an almost continuous correction of needs, wants, pains, weaknesses, illnesses, losses, etc. It is why negative emotions are the most common, followed by positive and neutral feelings.
(We have not considered several well known emotional states or feelings such as shyness, nostalgia, energised, etc. As noted initially, there are many overlapping and blended states, perhaps over a hundred named ones. But the treatment of the major ones should suffice to understand the rest's situations and purposes.)
Humans can take steps directed by their Aware and Philosophical minds to reduce the incidence of negative emotions. For example, a family may migrate away from a strife-torn zone to leave behind fear, sadness and anger. But once a human being is stable in a physical situation, it is up to the highest reaches of the Aware mind and the special responsibility of the Philosophical mind to maintain as many stable neutral states as possible, interspersed with positive ones.
(There are many studies and frameworks with a variety of categorisations and lists of distinct emotions. It is still a developing field of study. For a good overview, see PNAS research article and graphic.)
Endnote
If we can explain every emotion and its purpose, are we essentially a machine? Should we let it work without constraining the engine's heart — our emotions?
We already know the answer from the Life Instinct. In the next chapter, we will examine why we need to manage our emotions, those of others in our life, and how we can best do so.
© 2020 Shashidhar Sastry. All rights reserved.
(As each chapter of the book is published, its link is updated in the ToC below.)
Table of Contents
Part I Metaphysics of The Life Instinct
Part II Philosophy of The Life Instinct
Part III The Life Instinct and The Future
Published By Shashidhar Sastry
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