Life without feelings...

[Uberfuhrer]

If you were given the option to have a life without having emotions, would you choose it? Would you be willing to throw out happiness if it meant getting rid of sadness? Why or why not?

[Jennifer]

Life without emotions would be boring.

[disregard]

I don't really experience sadness often enough. Being emotionless is painful in a way very different from sadness.. I would never sacrifice happiness for that sort of torture.

[Night]

Absolutely not.

Emotion is a necessary element to experience the fullness of the human condition.

Emotions are powerful instruments instinctually aligned to protect our genetic survival. Without emotion, it is likely we wouldn't have thrived in the same historical capacity that enriches our present psychosocial condition.

Emotion is power.


To your specific question, a life without polarity is an existence of utter banality. It can sometimes be difficult to deal with the pain love and openness creates. Closing oneself off to possibility - especially associations with others - is a short-term strategy that might reduce the complexity of one's loneliness (what this thread is really about) by eliminating stimuli that might create adversity alongside stimuli that initiates self-satisfaction. In short, emotional poverty results in a shallow appreciation of life and one's identity.

In the long term, I think our shared (cultural) identity compels us into a state of community with eachother; some scientists consider the sophistication of our brains a direct result of our historical cooperation despite limited resources.

Uber, I'd recommend you look to why you feel so cut off from others and address the central elements that alienate you, rather than distance yourself from the structural materials that compose the byproducts of your alienation.


Best of luck. As I've said, I like you - sincerely - and think you've much to offer others.

[Uberfuhrer]

No, actually, I was inspired by the robot thread and wondered if emotions are things that people really want. It's also emotion that leads to destruction.

And I like me, too.

[Wandering]

Originally Posted by Uberfuhrer

If you were given the option to have a life without having emotions, would you choose it? Would you be willing to throw out happiness if it meant getting rid of sadness? Why or why not?

If you don't experience ANY emotion, then what do you live for ? If you can't even feel pride at a job well done, or even basic satisfaction, or a sense of accomplishment, then what will propel you to live from day to day and to be productive in one way or another?

I *might* be willing to give up some "good" emotions if I could throw some "bad" ones away too, but getting rid of ALL of them would make life meaningless, I think.

Not that I would care, if I didn't have emotions, of course

[Uberfuhrer]

Originally Posted by Wandering

If you don't experience ANY emotion, then what do you live for ?

That's the beauty of it, you wouldn't think about it.

[disregard]

Yeah! That's the beauty of it! You'd just be slaving away at life for nothing!

[Wandering]

What Dana said. What would be the POINT??

[Uberfuhrer]

What is the point of life with emotions?

This has derailed into a philosophical discussion, which is why I tried to avoid posting responses.

I just wanted other opinions, maybe to find someone who would prefer their own life to be without feelings, and maybe see if there is a correlation between that and type.