What are the purpose of emotions?

[Abcdenfp]

I will never understand this question ..they are the paint brush in which you add dimension to all action

 

[The Cat]

They give you the energy to act

Now this I think I understand; it's like being "pissed off for greatness" that extra surge of adrenaline that makes you push just a bit further than you might have been able or inclined to go before?

 

[á´…eparted]

I don't think there is a person on earth who has no emotions. I do think however there are different ranges that people can experience, and how big those ranges are, and where the median of those ranges sits varies wildly.

Even something as simple as going to get food, something that is an inevitability for everyone, has emotion behind it. Why do you pick what you do? Is it because it makes you happy? That's an emotion. Is it because you're trying to lose weight? There are emotions behind it. Having it so you can forget emotions of the day? That is driven by emotion. It's very easy to forget and not see the small emotional currents that are with us all the time, we just generally don't think of them that way because they usually don't offer a larger cognitive purpose.

I am an incredibly emotional person. Frustratingly so. I have also experienced (and still am) what it is like to have specific emotions shrivel up and more or less die. It's not fun. It makes life a very trying experience if you keep running into it. In the words of the great Allie Brosh, there is a difference between not giving a fuck, and not being able to give a fuck.

 

[Red Memories]

This argument we can only make from our current standpoint of being emotional creatures since we project what it would be like to live a life without any emotions on this theoretical emotionless being. Even feeling a lack of passion or depressive apathy requires emotions to feel in the first place since removal of emotions is different from never having any in the first place in many ways. Also is there any logical benefit to pleasure or not do you think?. I personally think pleasure evolved from the base emotion of need that our more primitive ancestors felt when they had food, were able to mate or from bonding with their offspring as all actions are conductive to surviving.

Well if we were emotionless we would not have strived to pursue happiness, or a greater existence. Even in the Garden of Eden, God gave man emotion. The difference is before original sin, man had complete control over his emotions. Now our emotions sometimes control us.
In a more "logical" stance pleasure gives us the incentive to work and perform so we can enjoy things in life. In essence it also has a purpose in that light.

 

[Population: 1]

I don't think there is a person on earth who has no emotions. I do think however there are different ranges that people can experience, and how big those ranges are, and where the median of those ranges sits varies wildly.

Even something as simple as going to get food, something that is an inevitability for everyone, has emotion behind it. Why do you pick what you do? Is it because it makes you happy? That's an emotion. Is it because you're trying to lose weight? There are emotions behind it. Having it so you can forget emotions of the day? That is driven by emotion. It's very easy to forget and not see the small emotional currents that are with us all the time, we just generally don't think of them that way because they usually don't offer a larger cognitive purpose.

I am an incredibly emotional person. Frustratingly so. I have also experienced (and still am) what it is like to have specific emotions shrivel up and more or less die. It's not fun. It makes life a very trying experience if you keep running into it. In the words of the great Allie Brosh, there is a difference between not giving a fuck, and not being able to give a fuck.

Right. I reached a point in my life a few years ago where I was heading towards apathy. I still had emotions but it was like they were dulled considerably and slow to form. Almost like I was looking at life through a character and not myself. I had the distance of a fourth wall between me and my feelings. To think I almost slid into an emotionally comatose state is an unpleasant remembrance to say the least.

 

[❀༺♥༻ℭ𝔞𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔞_𝔄𝔦𝔰𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤༺♥༻❀༺]

Shutting off is not the same as ignoring. I don't ignore my alarm clock in the morning - I actually do get up - but I don't want to have to keep listening to it while I get ready for the day. Then there are crisis situations in which people can let their emotions get the better of them and lead them either to panic, or to paralysis. In these cases, it is best to set emotions aside and address the situation as calmly and rationally as possible. Panic is rarely if ever a productive response. Finally, what would you consider to be an invalid emotion? I consider all of them to be valid, because you cannot deny what you actually feel. It is not productive to act on all of them, and it may turn out that some of them are based on a misunderstanding of the situation. Once corrected, though, the emotions should adjust on their own.


This is one of the more understandable definitions I have seen. Risk needs to be balanced with reward, though, and I have yet to be convinced that it is here.

That's a good and fair point, but at the same time emotions aren't a switch. You can't just turn them on and off. You can find ways to cope with them so they don't disrupt your life, but you can't become cold and distant and call it rationality. Because you could easily become volatile in a flash by doing that, you'd lose control, which is worse than if you had just acknowledged what you felt in the first place. It's like trying to block out a traumatic experience so you can work and take care of responsibilities; you didn't let yourself grieve so it gets suppressed and comes out in unhealthy outbursts. That frankly sounds unstable and frightening.

Yeah that wasn't the diction I was going for, but you actually explained what I meant lol. I meant being able to differentiate a misunderstanding of your emotions in a situation, or if your feelings actually correlated with what was going on. And I do agree that giving into panic in a dangerous situation isn't usually a good response, but like I said acting on an emotion isn't always appropriate and accepting emotions doesn't mean "giving in." If you've gone through panic before, you might know what works best/what calms you down, thus a healthy coping mechanism and you are able to operate calmly in a dangerous situation. I think that's the reward of embracing vulnerability.

 

[Merced]

I say it almost every time emotions become subject, but your emotions are signals to the body. Nothing more, nothing less. They are only there to make you alert on how to maintain yourself. Each emotion is a signal for something different, but for base understanding, here's the main ones:

Anger is to signal a need for change. Questions to ask when you experience anger are "What's not going right?", "How would I do this?", "How can I get this to be different?"

Sadness is to signal a need for outside assistance. Questions to ask when you experience sadness are "Who/what could help me right now?", "Can I try this a different way?", "Am I thinking too narrowly about this?"

Fear is to signal a need to get away. Questions to ask when you experience fear are "Will this kill me?", "How can I escape, if so?", "How do I avoid this in the future?"

Obviously, there are more than three emotions, but those are the ones I most often experience. It is important to understand how your emotions so that they don't hinder you. There will be times that they overwhelm you and that's okay, but minimize being overpowered when possible.

Bringing up the cognitive triangle, as it feels relevant:

 

[The Cat]

That's a good and fair point, but at the same time emotions aren't a switch. You can't just turn them on and off. You can find ways to cope with them so they don't disrupt your life, but you can't become cold and distant and call it rationality. Because you could easily become volatile in a flash by doing that, you'd lose control, which is worse than if you had just acknowledged what you felt in the first place. It's like trying to block out a traumatic experience so you can work and take care of responsibilities; you didn't let yourself grieve so it gets suppressed and comes out in unhealthy outbursts. That frankly sounds unstable and frightening.

Yeah that wasn't the diction I was going for, but you actually explained what I meant lol. I meant being able to differentiate a misunderstanding of your emotions in a situation, or if your feelings actually correlated with what was going on. And I do agree that giving into panic in a dangerous situation isn't usually a good response, but like I said acting on an emotion isn't always appropriate and accepting emotions doesn't mean "giving in." If you've gone through panic before, you might know what works best/what calms you down, thus a healthy coping mechanism and you are able to operate calmly in a dangerous situation. I think that's the reward of embracing vulnerability.

you really can't? is this a common thing? I dont know if I could properly function if i couldn't flip them on an off as needed.

 

[Population: 1]

you really can't? is this a common thing? I dont know if I could properly function if i couldn't flip them on an off as needed.

Are you sure you aren’t toning them down instead of completely disengaging them? I don’t think I could selectively shut off any emotion anymore than I could detach an arm. Sure I can mask them and dampen them but just decide I don’t feel them?

 

[❀༺♥༻ℭ𝔞𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔞_𝔄𝔦𝔰𝔩𝔦𝔫𝔤༺♥༻❀༺]

you really can't? is this a common thing? I dont know if I could properly function if i couldn't flip them on an off as needed.

Hmm.... technically speaking, I suppose you could "turn off" completely and become numb, but that's some heavy suppression right there, which would likely be a sign of a mental disorder. I definitely don't think that's good for anyone's well being or happiness, even if it may seem that way to the person. It isn't really considered psychologically healthy, it actually seems like something a person with borderline personality would do in order to "cope" with their emotions (ie avoid them by shutting down or overreacting to them). This also sounds like disassociation, detaching yourself from a traumatic emotional or physical experience/memory. Which is a defense mechanism, but not a good one. Emotional dysregulation could also occur because you haven't learned to regulate your emotions. I could explain further but I admit I'm slightly rusty on psychology so I don't want to get anything wrong :') The answer I guess would be you can, but it isn't a healthy way to deal with things that's for sure. What's a situation that you would describe as completely turning off your emotions?

 

[á´…eparted]

you really can't? is this a common thing? I dont know if I could properly function if i couldn't flip them on an off as needed.

I sort of can't. There are some emotions I can not turn off so I just suprress/ignore as much as possible, to the point where no one would notice unless they relentlessly pryed, and I still wouldn't tell.

 

[Coriolis]

Are you sure you aren’t toning them down instead of completely disengaging them? I don’t think I could selectively shut off any emotion anymore than I could detach an arm. Sure I can mask them and dampen them but just decide I don’t feel them?

I do believe it is possible to disengage them, if only for a brief time. I know they will need to be dealt with later, but postponing this encounter makes it possible to deal with something more urgent or time-critical. It is a very valuable skill, though some may have an easier time developing it than others.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I do believe it is possible to disengage them, if only for a brief time. I know they will need to be dealt with later, but postponing this encounter makes it possible to deal with something more urgent or time-critical. It is a very valuable skill, though some may have an easier time developing it than others.

I find it not always easy to turn them off, but I can often avoid acting on them or keep them contained. I used to have difficulty of this because I used to have a major emotional blindspot, but it's gotten much better at some point within the past 10 years.

 

[Hiraeth]

My emotions influence how I view the world. They provide color to where there is none, each infused with an infinite range of different shades and hues.

I see emotions as part of a duality: emotions / logic. Emotions are the feminine 'yin' qualities that emphasize on subjectivity and feelings, while logic represents the masculine 'yang' qualities that emphasize on objectivity and knowledge.

Both are a part of what makes us human beings. However, I think the general idea is for each individual to reach an optimal balance between both.

 

[Population: 1]

I do believe it is possible to disengage them, if only for a brief time. I know they will need to be dealt with later, but postponing this encounter makes it possible to deal with something more urgent or time-critical. It is a very valuable skill, though some may have an easier time developing it than others.

That sounds more like emotion management than disengagement. If an emotion is something I can completely dismiss it wasn’t very strong to begin with. For example, if my friend is severely injured my fear for their safety is probably going to be strong. However, in order to be of any use I need to tame that fear. I’m managing it, not shutting it down. It doesn’t disappear. When my friends been brought to a safe and stable environment I’ll most likely sit down and shake from the experience. That fear will still be with me until it slowly subsides because it’s catalyst has been dealt with. It was ever present yet controlled, not rendered dormant.

 

[Mole]

Each emotion has its own purpose, except some have no purpose, some emotions exist just for their own sake, they are intrinsic rather than instrumental, they are us and we are them, they are deeply satisfying, and transcend the quotidian, leaving us on top of the mountain with each breath of cool, fresh air.

 

[rav3n]

My perception of emotions is that they're equivalent to instinct in other species.

 

[Justin of Flavia Neapolis]

Skynet must've asked this question as well.

 

[Dreamer]

Each emotion has its own purpose, except some have no purpose, some emotions exist just for their own sake, they are intrinsic rather than instrumental, they are us and we are them, they are deeply satisfying, and transcend the quotidian, leaving us on top of the mountain with each breath of cool, fresh air.

Do you have an idea which emotions may serve no purpose and which do? Do you find that among all possible emotions felt, there is a hierarchy within this spectrum of which emotions should be paid more attention and which should not? Is this sort of categorization necessary even?

 

[Mole]

Do you have an idea which emotions may serve no purpose and which do? Do you find that among all possible emotions felt, there is a hierarchy within this spectrum of which emotions should be paid more attention and which should not? Is this sort of categorization necessary even?

Yes, as we honour each emotion, as we listen to each emotion, we can then analyse it, evaluate it, and integrate it into our daily lives, until we become an integrated person, and we are comfortable in and trust our own emotional skins, and we can trust ourselves to share our spontaneous emotions safely with others.

In other words, we become one with our own emotions, and as we trust ourselves we become a person of integrity that can be trusted by others.